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Ask HN: For those who travel a lot, what are you survival tips?

13 points by biastoact ↗ HN
I once ran into a guy coming down the hotel elevator with a portable bike. Brings it everywhere so he can always get a bike ride in. Now that I'm traveling a lot more, what have you found useful to say healthy mentally, physically, spiritually, etc

11 comments

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anon1m0us
If you stay at the same hotel for a month or more at a time, get a monthly rate and get two of everything so you can leave supplies and clothes in the hotel over the weekend. Not having to pack up once a week is very nice. Pay the hotel to clean and press your clothes if that applies to you.

Most hotels have gyms and pools. Use them.

Don't eat all 3 meals a day. I gained 40 lbs doing that. It feels like a luxury with per diem, but it's glutinous.

Meet locals to hang out with.

DrScump 

  glutinous
Gluttonous, I think you mean. Gluten not required.
humbleMouse
Get TSA pre-check and Global entry.

Eat at local Co-ops.

Find hotels that have saunas.

rajacombinator
+1 to pre/global. Sad that this scam exists and is needed, but it makes a big difference even though minor.

Travel light, do local wash n fold or laundromat when needed.

Try to stay in convenient locations with great walkability.

matt_the_bass
For long layovers pay to use the business class lounge. They generally have good, healthy food, decent bar, quiet areas. Some have showers and even nap rooms.
jasonkester
Never, ever, recline your airplane seat.

Sit up straight, with your weight on your spine like a human being. Even when sleeping.

When you lean back and try to get "comfortable", you force all of your weight sideways onto your butt, which now has to act as a scootch-guard to keep you on the seat at all. That works for a couple hours max, after which you're in agony for the rest of your 12 hour flight.

Learning to sit on chairs is a good skill in general. Getting an office chair that doesn't recline will do wonders for your health as well.

palidanx
Bring a portable sinus rinse bottle (like a neti pot) and rinse after flying. It usually helps with the air from being in a plane for a while.
dazc
Many hotels rent bikes now, you don't need to bring one with you.
et-al
This is a broad question. What type of traveling? Consultant travel when you're M-F at a client's repeatedly? RTW digital nomading? Domestic/international?

- obvious is don't check your bags if you don't need to

- noise-canceling headphones for the airplane are worth the $2-300. be sure to pack spare battery (the Bose case has a slot for one)

- bring a lacrosse ball in case you get a tight back, sore muscles. maybe a Theracane if you have more serious issues

- be sure to tag your luggage and throw a business card in there just in case the checked bag happens to get lost

- do a morning bodyweight routine instead of relying on a gym and equipment since you don't know how facilities are at every hotel. check out the 7-minute workout for ideas: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-m...

- if you're a traveling consultant, pay someone else to do your laundry instead of trying doing it yourself on your shrinking weekends

- splurge for Global Entry (gives you TSA-Pre). ideally you've already applied for a travel rewards credit card that will credit you for it

- make it a point to hang out with your friends on the weekends when you're back home. schedule things in advance, check out concerts, museums, etc.

fairpx
Audiobooks. For me there's no better way to take my mind off the journey than that. Mostly on the topic of business or what ever specific thing I'm working on at that moment. Audiobooks and a notebook to scribble down ideas and learning is such a brain booster.
siegler
Got this one from Bill Burr's podcast: Never order scrambled eggs. They usually get made ahead of time in large quantities and sit underneath a heat lamp.