Caribbean Estates - Balancing Business Travel and Personal Life

You hold in the back of your mind all of the duties and responsibilities that you would face if you were home, in addition to having the ever present stresses of maximizing your job performance in a very competitive business climate. You already know the challenges that you face everyday that the average person cannot relate to, if you travel for business.

Make sure your kids know that you realize the importance of the little things that make up their lives. We take for granted all the little things our children do that are important moments to them, sometimes in our every day lives, as simple as this sounds. Talk to them. And get a daily report of what is happening in their lives, make sure you stay abreast of all the activities they may be involved in. It certainly may be something that they can talk to their friends about at school etc. And it may be that they will even think it is kind of cool that you travel for your job, our kids are lot more resilient than we sometimes give them credit for. Make sure they understand exactly what you do for a living and why it is necessary to be away from them, with your children. The key is to communicate with your spouse and/or children and make sure they know that they are in your thoughts all day every day while you are gone. That presents special challenges, if you have children at home while you travel. We are all individuals and our personalities lend themselves to handling these issues in various ways.

It will only reinforce your support for them. DO NOT miss this chance, if you have the opportunity to attend a function when you are home. Let them know it is as important to you as it is to them. Awards ceremony etc, school play, it really does not matter if it is a sporting event. Call them as soon as possible after an event to see how they did. You are there with them in spirit, so your children know that although you may not be there personally, make a big deal of them before they occur. Be sure you know when they are happening. School functions are a good example of the everyday things that you may miss.

The smallest words of encouragement can go a long way. Call your spouse several times during the course of the day to let them know you have them in your thoughts, if you can. That can be a lonely thing. They have to deal with themselves, anything that comes up while you are gone. But remember that your spouses life goes on as well without you, you may have a long day working on the road. Constantly enforcing your support for them and having a compassionate ear will go a long way towards calming any anxieties they may have about your absence. Communication is the key, again. It doesn't make it any easier but it is a fact. That is human nature. He or she will be at home dealing with "everyday life" and may feel some resentment, while you are traveling eating in fine restaurants and/or entertaining clients or business associates. Spouses are a little different issue.

Even more so than if you were there, be sure to face them together. There are many possible challenges you may face, when you travel for business or you have a spouse who does.

Please keep an eye out for additional tidbits of information and lessons from the road( most learned the hard way). These are words of advise from a seasoned business traveler.