So I’ve arrived for another week of work in Sydney. After travelling a few times I’ve learnt some tricks to add to Mitch’s.

On the plane

• Use the self check-in facilities and choose your own seat. Obviously an over-wing exit is best for the extended leg room, otherwise I tend to go for the following:
• A seat as close to the front of the plane as possible. It makes a difference after the captain turns off the seatbelt sign, but the doors aren’t open yet. So minimise the time you spend doubled-over underneath the baggage lockers.
• A seat with an aisle to the right. I’m right handed, so it means that I can drink my water and eat my crackers comfortably without my elbow bashing into the person beside me.

At the hotel

• If you have a choice, try and get a hotel that has a gym. It’s easy to eat too many rich foods and get out of shape. There’s also nothing better than a workout to clear your mind and get those Ideas flowing after a solid day’s work.
• Turn the in-room airconditioner off. You don’t need it. My experience is that my head gets all clogged up and I start feeling unwell if I use the air-con. I think it might be the overload of recycled air.
• Go down to your local store and buy some fruit. It’s easy to skip breakfast when you’re travelling. Often a room won’t have a kitchenette or even a bowl! But if you have some fresh fruit in the mini-bar, you can pick it up on the way out in the morning and kick-start your day.

Staying connected

If you’re fortunate enough to be working and staying in Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney or the Gold Coast then you should check out iBurst. Wireless internet at reasonable prices with excellent coverage. It’s great for checking your email at the airport, or on the train/bus commute to work. It’s also much better than the expensive “in-room broadband” I’ve seen at many places. It’s also better than the hideously over-prices Telstra Wireless Hotspots that Paul Stovell was talking about.

Miscellaneous

• Get yourself a stimulating novel. Paperback versions are best, it’s easier to bend the pages back on those cramped plane seats. Along with the gym, it’s important to clear your mind after work - it allows you to sleep better and be more focussed the following day. I’m currently reading Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything - it’s great, the more I read, the more I realise that I don’t know about the world.
• Meet people. Use it as an oppurtunity to catch up with people in the city you’re visiting. Other co-workers, other bloggers, friends and family. You need to keep your social skills toned.

So there’s a few of my tips to help you alolng. There’s a few other tips I’d like to share, call me selfish but if everybody knew about them they wouldn’t work for me.