My New Rules for Professional Travel

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HR professionals must invest in learning to be relevant.

An investment in learning means "learning how HR professionals in other organizations address problems similar to yours, how they are innovating on behalf of the organization . . . " HR From the Outside In

And that involves an investment in travel.

I love to travel. The almost-four years I was stationed in Germany, I utilized my 4-day passes, Federal holidays and 30 days of leave a year to see the highs and lows of Europe. Save my salary for future? Not me. I returned to the states with very little in the bank but a ton of memories. My husband and I share a love of travel with the kid as we embark on trips that have included the continental United States, Alaska and the Caribbean. Personal travel rocks!

Then, there's professional travel.

I don't travel for business often, but when I do, it seems to come in rushes. The next 4 weeks or so have me in Des Moines, Minneapolis, Chicago and Rochester, MN. I'll be away from home more than I am at home.

Driving to the airport early one morning after leaving a sleeping family behind, I've come up with a few rules for my travel from this day forth:

  • No back-to-back trips for me and the husband. At least a full 24 hours together is required.
  • Combine professional and family travel together when we can. What's a missed school day here or there when Washington D.C. is the destination?
  • Leave in the light of day vs. stealing away in the dark. (Having a private jet would eliminate the 2 hour drive to the airport. Just saying)
  • Upgrade the home technology to support FaceTime, Skype or something more than a quick text or hurried call in the midst of group dinners.

Above all, always tell each other you were missed. I enjoy being with my family. Our time together is already absorbed with the what not's of the day and, when you add in travel away from home, our time is reduced even more.

What rules do you have for your professional travel?

Photo credit: iStockphoto

Alaska, Udo and Heart: A Day In the Life Sunday

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This idea for this post was stolen shamelessly from Jennifer V. Miller and her recent post, What the Heart Knows.

Jennifer writes, "The heart knows what it wants. You just have to listen." and proceeds to share her story about fun salt-and-pepper shakers she picked up on her vacation last year in northern Michigan. She loved them at first sight.

Reading her story, I remembered traveling through Alaska in 2008 with the family unit and coming across Udo, the fisher boy.

I saw this in a store in Juneau. Or was it Ketchikan? I can't recall. What I do recall is I picked it up, put it down and left the store. I did some shopping with the clan and kept thinking about it.

The figurine called  to me. I had to have it so I went back and bought it.

Legend (aka the store clerk) has it that Udo brings you luck when you rub his mukluks. I think of our Alaskan adventure whenever I see it. Yes, I have been know to rub the mukluks from time to time.

So, as Jennifer asked her readers, I now ask you, "What is your heart saying? Are you listening?"