Paul Worthington

After years of frequent travel, I have learned some valuable personal guidelines that I am happy to share with you now.

• Don’t be in a hurry - Allow yourself plenty of time during every stage of your journey. You’ll feel a lot better and make smarter choices along the way if you don’t have to rush everywhere.
• Plan and prepare - Do your research to know where you’re going, when you have to be somewhere, and all the logistical details that get you from point A to B: Flight number, time, airline, gate, arrival time, frequent flier number, rental car membership number, reservation confirmation number, driving directions, address of the hotel, hotel membership number, hotel confirmation code, driving directions to and from your client site and the hotel, driving directions to the airport from both hotel and client, return flight number and so on, transportation to and from home airport if necessary along with confirmation numbers and dispatch/customer service phone numbers. You don’t want to have to figure this out on the fly, and you don’t want to have to dig for anything while driving, etc.
• Whatever happens, roll with it and don’t lose your cool - Things will go wrong, plans will change without your permission, there’s always something unexpected that will happen. Just roll with it. Be smart and use what options you have, but don’t lose your cool about things you can’t control. And definitely don’t yell at innocent service workers. Practice being patient and serene. You can do it.
• Don’t count on good signs and instructions - Take it from me, an experienced traveler: nearly everything and every place has extremely poor signs and instructions. I’m talking about booking travel and accommodations, using airports, rental car desks and lots, highways, hotels, everything. Most places are run by people who have no idea how to communicate clearly and efficiently with signs and instructions or directions. So don’t count on them. And when you find yourself in a tough spot because someone failed with the signs and so on, roll with it and don’t lose your cool. This is where the other guidelines will really help you - don’t be in a hurry, do lots of research, planning, and map-printing, etc., and just remain calm when things go wrong.