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Three Ways to Implement Think Space Without Thinking

Paul has SO much going through his head all of the time; it never shuts off.

He does a good job of sharpening the mind, but he continues to put content in and doesn’t know what to do with it. He desperately needs to do something.

Paul and I were talking on a plane with a rare empty seat between us.

At first, it just started out in the normal “what do you do for work/how often do you travel” questions, then it worked its way into the question I ask every chance I get, which is, “What is one of your biggest challenges on the road?”

After the conversation took a break, I pulled out my Think Space journal and began to write. This intrigued Paul, and he began asking questions.

To Paul’s credit, it sparked something in him; he saw the need and the value in processing thoughts. He responded, “That’s exactly what I need to do.” The process below was flushed out from our conversation.

Here’s a paradox for you: the faster and busier things get, the more we need to build thinking time into our schedule. The noisier things get, the more we need to build quiet reflection spaces in which we can truly focus.1

No matter how busy you think you are, you can carve time and space to think. Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, schedules up to two hours of blank space on his calendar every day.

He divides them into thirty-minute increments where he schedules nothing. It is a simple practice he developed when back-to-back meetings left him with little time to process what was going on around him.

At first, it felt like an indulgence and a waste of time. But eventually, he found it to be his single-most valuable productivity tool. He sees it as the primary way he can ensure he is in charge of his own day, instead of being at the mercy of it.

Do you realize how little the average person actually takes time to think? I don’t mean for a moment but for an extended period of time.

We rarely say, “Let me think about that.” We need to get to the point where we reflect instead of react in the moment.”

Most people don’t think because of one or more of the following excuses:

It requires time – Time is elusive for us, especially on the road, but there are pockets of time for the things that are important to us, especially if we schedule them.
It’s hard – Really thinking through something, especially at the beginning, can be a challenge, but once you create the space for your thoughts to flow, you’ll be amazed what comes out.
It requires focus – It’s much easier to simply react then to spend time focusing. As Greg McKeown says, “In order to have focus, we need to escape to focus.” By the way, it’s worth the price.

Creating Think Space is a new concept for most people, and the road is one of the toughest places to think! Or is it?

THINK SPACE IS DEDICATED TIME TO PROCESS ANDS DEVELOP KEY IDEAS AND CONCEPTS.

Another way of looking at Think Space is as an “idea formulator.” This isn’t just for creative people who brainstorm. It’s time to think through what is important to you. We seem to schedule almost everything else but not time to formulate our thoughts.

If we work non-stop, we’re overwhelmed with information because we don’t give ourselves time to process any of the information.

With business travel, we’re responsible for our normal job AND a ton of new information that requires us to think through how best to make good on our responsibilities from the road.

THREE WAYS TO IMPLEMENT THINK SPACE WITHOUT THINKING

1. WHAT TO DO BEFORE THINK SPACE

• Simply Breathe before You Think

I don’t know about you, but my mind often runs faster and harder than I do, and it’s all over the place. It’s like an untamed black stallion. Before I have a shot of processing anything, I need to calm that thing down! I used to inwardly mock those who meditated until I did some simple breathing exercises that began to calm my mind down.

Now, I take 60 seconds to breathe in for four seconds, hold for five seconds, and let out for six seconds. This simple breathing exercise gets me in the thinking space I need much sooner than later.

The key is not overcomplicating this and turning it into a “meditation thing,” because that’s not the overall goal here. Preparing your mind to think is the goal.

• Find and Schedule the Time

What gets scheduled gets done. Since it’s a new habit, it MUST be scheduled to have a chance of taking root in your routine. Look at your existing travel schedule and determine natural windows.

Flight Time – It’s amazing when you finish a minute of breathing, open up your cool journal then look out a window to get a real 30,000 foot perspective of life, how different you feel going into Think Space.

Depending upon how long my flight is, if it’s over two hours, I’ll dedicate 15 minutes for Think Space. It’s amazing how, with no plan and just a blank page on my computer or iPad or a journal and pen, my mind will unload in a matter of moments. Even if it’s a short 1-hour flight, I still take 5-10 minutes for Think Space.

Hotel Time – I also do the same thing at a hotel. I’ll go to the lobby for X minutes and a journal/pen to process my thoughts. It is ALWAYS worth the time.

Margin Time – Another ideal time for me is when an unexpected margin occurs. Most people open up social media during this time.

I used to be that guy, so no blame here. Now, I pull out my journal and pen (I have a small awesome pocket-size journal I picked up at a trade show. Imagine that!) and unload my thoughts or solve a problem. If I end up waiting unexpectedly, I have an Evernote specific note for Think Space that has ideas I can pull up that I need to work through.

The key is finding a few dedicated minutes to literally “be alone with your thoughts.” Start with just 5-10 minutes. See what that time can do for you after implementing the concepts, and then you can adjust. If you truly do what is suggested, you will be looking at ways in your schedule to increase this coveted time. The key is finding and scheduling the time first and foremost.

• Prepare for the Time in Advance

I’ve wasted more time when Think Space is available because I was simply unprepared in two key areas:

Concepts to think through – I now have the time and couldn’t really think of what I wanted to spend this time on, and I need a dedicated period of time to process.

Means of recording it – If and when an idea would come, I had nowhere to record it and had to leave it to my memory. Guess where THAT idea ended up!

These are solvable issues when you prepare in advance. When I know I’m going somewhere that I’m going to have to wait, I always plan ahead and bring a journal and/or clipboard, blank paper, and a few fine-tipped colored pens. (So… I’m a creative type who likes old school pen and paper but specifically different colors and blank white paper). I then label my Think Space topic at the top of the page.

• Create the Right Environment When Possible

You know what distracts you, so do what you need to do to make the most of this time. This is absolutely key. You want to keep your mind in the thinking zone, so definitely remove email, text, and phone alerts.

You also know when the environment is advantageous for thinking. Do you need quiet? Music? Headphones to either knock out the sound or for a certain type of music?

When I’m home and have to control my environment, I sit in my office at a mechanical drawing board with paper and colored pens, look out a window, and get lost in thought. It’s my perfect environment.

Other times at the airport (which often gives me the gift of unexpected windows of extra time with delays), I try to find the most secluded and conducive location to think. I put on my Bose noise-canceling headphones, pull out my think space journal and/or clipboard with white paper and colored pens, and maximize whatever additional time is given to me to think.

Think Space will change your attitude on waiting if you learn to make the most of the time. But the key is being prepared for it.

• Be Ready to Actually Think and Write

This will be the ACTUAL TIME to develop these thoughts that are dying to come out. Harry A. Overstreet once said, “The immature mind hops from one thing to another; the mature mind seeks to follow through.”

This is the time to really work through whatever you chose to think through with a mature mind. If you do the above, you will be prepared, but discipline is sold separately, yet it will yield incredible results.

2. WHAT TO THINK ABOUT DURING THINK SPACE

So, you’re all prepared and it’s actually go-time to process the thoughts. If you don’t have a clue already on how you could spend the time, here are some ideas:

PROFESSIONAL

Preparation – What do you need to develop or review for any upcoming meetings/presentations, etc.?
Follow-up – Who do you need to follow up with as a result of your business travel?
Deliverables – What did you promise that you need to take action on to be a person of your word?

PERSONAL

Goals – What do you want to accomplish in the next 90 days? What are your yearly goals? Do you want to write a book? Run a 10K?
Big Decisions – Do you move? Do you take the job offer? Should you change careers?
Your Future (looking forward) – What changes do you want to make in your life?
Evaluation (looking backward) – Did you accomplish your goals? How did your presentation go? Workouts?

PROBLEMS

Professional problems at work
Personal problems at home
Anything that needs time and thought to solve with thinking

Think about what to think about. As odd as that sounds, use Think Space as a roadmap to formulate the thoughts you want to develop. You will be surprised at the results if you take the time. Then, write your ideas to think about for a future Think Space session.

3. WHAT TO DO AFTER THINK SPACE

If you’ve completed a Think Space session, that’s great and very impressive. But is there anything else you should possibly do?

• Find a centralized place to keep your notes from your Think Space session.

There is nothing worse than finally having a great idea but losing it. You may have even written it down, but now you cannot find it.

Talk about maddening! Learn to keep all your Think Space results in a centralized location for easy access.

For me, since I like to handwrite my ideas, I either write in my notorious trade show small journal special or I take a picture of the blank pages written with colored markers then upload them to Evernote. This way, I have access to them on all my devices (MacBook, iMac, iPad, iPhone, etc.).

• Take action!

Many of my ideas from Think Space have actionable items, so I need to either schedule or follow up with the next step. Don’t lose the momentum by failing to take action. Let your next action item be the last thing you do during your Think Space time.

• Breathe Again

Simply take 60-seconds to close your eyes, breathe, and prepare to move on to the next activity. This little transition will make a big difference when applied.

THREE-POINTERS

1. Think Space is a dedicated time to develop and process key ideas and concepts.
2. Processing your thoughts has two requirements: time and thinking.
3. Know how best to move into Think Space, what to do during Think Space, and how best to conclude a Think Space session.

How to Implement Think Space Without Thinking

Do you realize how little the average person actually takes time to think? I don’t mean for a for a moment but for an extended period of time.

How rare we say, “Let me think about that” and not only do we actually think about it, but we have the space to actually think it through.

Most people don’t think because of one or more of the following excuses I mean reasons:

it requires time

it’s hard

it requires focus

Think Space is a new concept for most people.

Think Space defined – dedicated time to develop and process key ideas and concepts

Another way of looking at Think Space is as an “Idea Formulator”. This isn’t just for creative people brainstorming. It’s YOU time to think through what is important to you.

We seem to schedule almost everything else but not time to formulate our thoughts.

This is a solvable problem, planning fans.

Here is How to Implement Think Space Without Thinking (because the plan is laid out before you…)

1. What To Do Before Think Space

Find and Schedule the Time

What gets scheduled gets done. Since it’s a new habit, it MUST be scheduled to have a chance of taking root in your routine.

Look at your existing schedule and determine natural windows:
drive time
lunch break
early morning
late morning

My wife has a Bible Study at our house every Monday night. Once the kids go to bed, I have a a full hour to myself to either watch TV or… seize this perfect Think Space window as an ideal and natural time for me.

I also have 8 hours of drive time every other weekend which could be a huge disadvantage or a blessing depending upon how I use that time. I choose to use it as my long stretch of Think Space and can get SO much thinking time in with this natural Think Space opportunity for me.

The key is finding a few dedicated minutes that you can literally “be alone with your thoughts”.

Start with just 15 minutes. See what that time can do for you after implementing the concepts then you can adjust.

IF you truly do what is suggested, you will be looking at ways in your schedule to increase this coveted time.

The key is finding and scheduling the time first and foremost.

Prepare for the Time in Advance

I’ve wasted more time when Think Space is available because I was simply unprepared in two key areas:
1. concepts to think through – I now have the time and couldn’t really think of what I wanted to spend this time on

2. means of recording it – If and when an idea would come, I had no where to record it and had to leave it to my memory. Guess where THAT idea ended up..?

These are solvable issues when you prepare in advance.

When I know I’m going somewhere that I’m going to wait, I always plan ahead and bring a clipboard, blank paper, and a few fine-tipped colored pens. I then label the Think Space topic at the top of the page.

If I end up waiting unexpectedly, I have an Evernote specific note for Think Space that I have ideas and can record them anywhere.

Create the Right Environment

You know what distracts you so do what you need to do to make the most of this time.

This is absolutely key. You want to keep your mind in the thinking zone so definitely remove email, text, and phone alerts at a minimum.

You also know when the environment is advantageous for thinking.

Do you need quiet?

Music?

Headphones to either knock out the sound or for a certain type of music?

If I can control my environment, I sit in my office at a mechanical drawing board with paper and colored pens, look out a window, and get lost in thought. It’s my perfect environment.

Other times at the airport (which often gives me the gift of unexpected windows of extra time with delays), I put on my Bose noise-canceling headphones, pull out my clipboard with white paper and colored pens, and maximize whatever additional time given to me to think.

Think Space will change your attitude on waiting if you learn to make the most of the time.

Think / Write

This is the ACTUAL TIME to develop these thoughts that are dying to come out and take them some where!

Harry A. Overstreet once said, “The immature mind hops from one thing to another; the mature mind seeks to follow through.”

This is the time to really work through whatever you chose to think through with a mature mind.

It will require motivation and discipline but yields incredible results.

But what do you think about during Think Space and make the most of the time?

2. What To Think About During Think Space

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” – James Allen

What a motivating quote to think on the things that will bring you a better tomorrow! Here are some ideas:

Goals

What do I want to accomplish in the next 90 days? What are my yearly goals? Do you want to write a book? Run a 10K?

Big Decisions

Do we move? Do I take this job offer? Should I change careers?

Your Future (looking forward)

What changes do you want to make in your life?

Evaluation (looking backward)

Did I accomplish my goals? How did your presentation go? Workouts?

Think about what to think about

As odd as that sounds, use Think Space as a road map of what ideas you want to formulate or thoughts you want to develop. You will be surprised at the results if you take the time.

Then write your ideas to think about for future Think Space.

3. What To Do After Think Space

Find a centralized place to keep your notes from your Think Space session

Nothing worse than finally have a great idea and now it’s gone. And you even wrote it down but now you cannot find it. Talk about maddening!

Learn to keep all of your Think Space results in a centralized location that has easy access.

For me, since I like to handwrite my ideas, I take a picture of them then upload them to Evernote. This way I have access to them on all of my devices (MacBook, iMac, iPad, iPhone, etc)

Take Action!

J. Jacobson once said, “A good idea is like a wheelbarrow; it goes nowhere unless you push it.”

Many of my ideas from Think Space have actionable items so I need to either schedule or follow-up with the next step.

Don’t lose the momentum by failing to take action. Let your next action item be the last thing you do during your Think Space time.

In the End…

Think Space must become a habit to be fully utilized. It’s a gift I give to myself at least once a week and I’m always SO charged after this time.

This is when you as a motivated, busy professionals truly escape your average and grow into the person you ultimately want to become.

Creating and implementing Think Space will become the means to this end.

But this requires two specific things of you: TIME and THOUGHT.

This seemingly simple discipline can be a game changer for you. It has for me. Two tangible ways? This website. This post.

Are you up for the challenge of Think Space?

Closing Challenge…

Schedule 15 minutes this week for your first Think Space. Take the ideas in this post to maximize this time.

Elite Road Warrior Leather Pen Case and Pens

Finding a pen is always challenge let alone a good quality pen. But the more I use pens with my Elite Warrior Journal to write in the Think Space and Road Life journal inserts, the more a variety of colors matter.

This black leather branded pen case comes with the following fine print pen colors:

Black
Blue
Red
Green

And it’s a perfect accompaniment for the Elite Road Warrior Journal and Not Forgotten Journal by having quality pens in multiple colors always in one location available!

Energy Habit Focus – PERFORM

What Every Elite Road Warrior Does the 1st Hour on the Road

I’ve been humbled and honored by all the feedback, support, and positive takeaways from so many people who’ve read my book, ERW – Six Energy Habits to Master the Business Travel Life.

This book would NOT have hit #1 best seller in two categories (business travel reference and work-related health) without your incredible support so know how much I really do appreciate it.

I try to bring you tangible and practical strategies based on the six energy habits, the premise of the Elite Road Warrior book, that make a difference on your business travel day.

My challenge is two-fold:

1. Don’t think “this will never work” and never even try it
2. Don’t say “I’ve already tried it” and discount the content

The goal of this blog and the ERW podcast is to leverage the road and what it CAN give to you not let it limit you and what it can’t give to you. That’s old school and why most people on the road are just existing road warriors simply getting by.

We’re here to get better not get by.

I’ve seen MORE than my share of existing, sloppy road warriors and it breaks my heart. They can leverage the road to transform their work, health and home life! It’s possible and I’m living proof.

So here’s a question for you right out of the gate (and quite possibly an airplane gate for you):

Do you consider yourself a morning person?

Just hearing the word “morning” can often cause a mixed reaction of joy, excitement, anticipation.

Some people are HUGE morning people. They wake up with the sun and the morning is their best friend. “Give me that early morning sunlight and let me attack this new day!”

Then, there are the others…

I would say they’re described in this famous quote, “I’d like mornings better if they started later say, after lunch” by the great philosopher, Garfield.

Regardless if you’re a morning person or not, every single one of us on the road from executive to regional manager have one specific thing in common:

We ALL have the FIRST hour of the day. But here’s where it changes: how we spend the 1st hour is dramatically different.

I’ve found most people’s mornings are one of the following:
1. Lazy (do whatever I feel like doing) – meander
2. Reactive – check email, text messages, phone calls

Do either of these sound like your morning routine?

You roll over and immediately check your phone. In Bed. You check your email and start reacting to everyone else’s false emergencies and needs.

You eventually stand up and stumble over to the tiny coffee maker in your hotel room and gulp down as much coffee as possible, rush to get ready for the day and then start working based on what’s in your inbox.

By checking your email upon waking you have just hijacked your day. You are now reacting to what everyone else wants from you versus proactively setting the direction for your day.

I love this quote by productivity specialist, Carson Tate: “The first 60-90 minutes of the day is your opportunity to lay the foundation to achieve your goals and dreams. Yet, for many of us, our morning routine is undermining our achievement. Instead of setting up the day for purpose, success and enjoyment, we become reactive slaves.”

Jeff Sanders of the 5AM Miracle says, “the norm for most people is starting off each morning with the decision to procrastinate by smacking their alarm clock and delaying the decision to bounce off to bed and dominate their day. Snoozing inadvertently becomes a reactive choice, which leads to further reactivity.”

I love this Hal Elrod quote: “Most people just focus on getting through the day, taking the path of least resistance, and pursue short term, short-lived pleasures along the way, while avoiding any pain or discomfort that might cause them to grow.”

I can hear the pushback already: Alright Mr. Self-Proclaimed Elite Road Warrior, you don’t know my travel schedule or how long my evenings are or….

You’re right… and wrong.

You’re right, I don’t know your exact schedule.

But you’re wrong in that when you pushback you already are in a defensive mode and the more road warriors I talk to, the more I learn this is Pandora’s Box where there’s a lot more involved:

working too late with your laptop lover over dinner then in your room and it’s taking you twice as long and your work is half as good
hanging out too long at the hotel bar
catching one more inning or quarter of the game or mindless binging on streaming services

Shall I go on?

But the most successful are both of the following in the morning:
1. Intentional – They have a plan
2. Focused – They execute the plan

And THIS is regardless if they’re a “self-proclaimed” morning person or not.

They use the 1st Hour to do one specific thing: take care of me first (it’s all about me, baby!) – but in THIS instance, it’s a GOOD thing!

How do you use the FIRST hour of your morning on the road?

Lazy and Reactive
or
Intentional and Focused

My goal is for you to be willing to experiment with your first hour of your morning on the road and ask how you can maximize it to be a catalyst for the day ahead.

Spoiler Alert: the KEY to a successful 1st hour of the day begins the night before: getting a good night of sleep

Most people struggle in the 1st hour of the morning simply because they’re just too tired, maybe even exhausted. They’re just not getting enough sleep.

George Lorimer had a challenging quote: “You’ve got to wake up each morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”

And how do you do that? By leveraging the power of the first hour of your day. What can you do each morning that will create energy for you for the day ahead?

That question is intentional and focused and what gives the high achiever an energy edge.

So, Why the 1st Hour of the Day?

1. Blank Slate – the day has not taken over just yet
2. Your Mind is Clear
3. Nobody else’s agenda yet
4. What you choose to do will give direction to the rest of your day

But this is assuming you’ve not had only a few hours of sleep, and waking up a little hungover or feeling like you swallowed a half dozen cotton balls.

Here are some Definite Don’ts right from the start:

Don’t email
Don’t check my phone
Don’t turn on the TV
Don’t waste time

Now, everything is viewed through the Six Energy Habits on the Road, so the ideas are to encourage you to implement as many of the six energy habits when you leverage your first hour of the day.

2nd Spoiler Alert: You can hit 4 of the 6 Energy Habits in the 1st hour of your awake time.

So What does every Elite Road Warrior do the 1st hour on the road?

Here are 8 Practices to Creating An Energy Hour Before Your 1st Minute of Work:

Two quick details:
1. You don’t have to do every single one – they’re practices, ideas for you to pick and choose what works for you
2. The 8 are in no particular order except the 1st one:

1) Drink

I don’t mean alcohol or even coffee.

Chances are you don’t drink enough water during the day and/or have an adult beverage or 3 close to bed and you have that feeling when you wake up that someone stuffed a cotton ball in your mouth multiplying every hour!

Water is absolutely critical to get your high performance vehicle, aka: your body, the fluids it needs to run at an optimal level.
You need to add water into your body immediately to wake your system up and ready for the day ahead and this means before Coffee (which is morning booze to most road warriors)
But what does an ERW do? – My morning drink – room temp water / lemon essential oil / hymalayan pink sea salt / greens powder

Two Quick Tips:

Set a goal of how much water you’ll consume within the 1st hour – if your only water absorption is from water hitting your body in the the shower or rinsing your mouth after brushing your teeth, set a goal of 8 oz. If you’re taking the Morning Drink then set a goal of 16 oz.
Think Convenience – have it set out or made the night before – ease will help set the habit

Drink falls under FUEL Energy Habit #3

2) Learn

Read or listen to something for personal/professional growth. The 1st hour of your morning on the road is a perfect time to “get your read on.”

What if you reserved time (30 min / 20 min / even 10 min) to learn – activate your brain and put something good / challenging in the 1st hour of the day? You could read, I don’t know, maybe a book called Elite Road Warrior. There’s an audio version too, so no complaints, man.

Learn falls under DEVELOP – Energy Habit #5

3) Meditate / Pray

This is time to be mindful. This could be a spiritual practice or just a stress release, centering practice.

Meditation can be simply clearing the mind and finding a place of peace. Prayer is well, prayer. Talking to God. I’m not trying to sell either concept but a reminding you of their value especially the 1st hour of the day to give you energy.

Many do breathing exercises as they meditate. Others use Guided Meditation.

I recommend the 10% Happier App – but there a number of other apps.

Prayer reminds me life is not all about me. Just think through which one would serve you during the 1st hour of your road morning. Just 5 minutes will make a big difference.

Meditate/Pray falls under DEVELOP – Energy Habit #5

4) Write

Journal / think space

I realize this is a big step for most road warriors and definitely higher up in the Elite Road Warrior levels.

But it needs to be on your radar and hence one of the options.

This could be as simple as writing one line, the concept from Scott Mawdesley which says it doesn’t matter what you write but that you write. It could be something reflective, a way to process your past day, something you’re learning, etc. Here are Scott’s Write One Line Journals: www.WriteOneLine.com

Or consider the ERW Branded Journal

THINK SPACE – this is putting your thoughts on paper. I’ll take even 5 minutes with my Think Space Journal (TSJ) to “get things out” (it could be work-related, ideas for connecting with my family, writing ideas, anything)

I love looking back at the end of the quarter for trends and where my list has gone the past few months in both my quarterly journal and my think space journal.

The point is trying something that works for you and give it a real shot

Write falls under DEVELOP – Energy Habit #5

5) Move

We simply don’t move enough when traveling. The road does the moving for us but we’re usually sitting down. On a plane, in a rental car or RideShare, in a conference room or restaurant.

We need to be intentional about adding movement into our day and we do that by Increasing movement in 4 ways.

Stand – up on my feet not down on my butt
Walk – take that stand and move forward
Run – think cardio
Lift – think strength training

And the morning is a perfect time to “get your MOVE on” You can even combine energy habits with MOVE and DEVELOP – listen to this podcast or an audiobook as you go for a walk or run or workout

Moving creates energy in your morning and gets you ready to perform.

Move shockingly falls under MOVE Energy Habit 1

6) Connect with Family/Friends

Connect focuses on not being a check-in guy or girl but a connect-in guy or girl and this is done in a Block & Tackle time like now.

This may be a text banter with a spouse, child, or friend.

But the purpose here is to have real purpose that moves the relational needle

Connect: Intentionally / Thoughtfully / Creatively

In the ERW book in the Connect chapter, I dive deep into each one of Connect: Intentionally / Thoughtfully / Creatively so that may be your best reference.

Ideas:

thoughtful text/audio/video
Not Forgotten Journal
Flat Kiddos

The point is taking time to connect with those back home in an intentional, thoughtful, and creative way.

Connect with Fam/Friends falls under CONNECT – Energy Habit #6

7) Eat

This is an absolute MUST to get something healthy to refuel your body especially if you don’t know when you’ll eat next or exactly what.

Control every meal you can on the road with CLEAN & GREEN. Clean and Green is a process.

Remember: Add first then reverse. Get the good stuff in then begin eliminating the bad stuff.

Too many people have a coffee and donut/bagel breakfast and wonder why their energy tanks mid morning or make a bad lunch decision.

Not the ERW.

Remember, food is fuel and fuel is energy. Most mid to high level hotels have a good breakfast selection but you need to “select” the right food.

We must make smart choices that increase and almost guarantee our success for the day ahead and that 1st hour means fueling the Ferrari!

Drink falls under FUEL – Energy Habit #3

8) Plan / Review

Sadly, most of us go into reactive mode for the day ahead. We put it little to no thought of where our day is headed and then we wonder why didn’t get much of anything done especially of any importance.

But what if we took even a few minutes to plan our day and really think through the Top 3 tasks that need to get done?

We know the value of planning but how about making it part of your energy hour that affects the rest of your day? If you don’t plan the night before, this could be your time so you know where your day is heading before it officially begins.

I choose my Big 3 – Must Do No Matter What most important tasks. I ;ist my appointments for the day which include appointments to myself to Block and Tackle (discussed in detail in the ERW book).

Review is looking at who you’re meeting with today, do some research on LinkedIn, review your presentation, pitch, etc. I want to be sharp and on my game by not only knowing people’s names but a little about them, the agenda, and what I want out of the meeting. This all comes out of a quick review.

Take a few minutes to plan your day and to review. It’s a must to becoming an ERW.

Plan / Review falls under PERFORM – Energy Habit #4

So let’s make some changes!

1. Choose which of the eight options we just discussed that you want to begin to implement
2. Create two versions. Why? Because some mornings you’ll have more time than other days and you want to be able to do something, anything, just not nothing! (heard THAT line from me before?!?)

Long Version (ideal)
Short Version (bare minimum)

Here’s a Personal Examples of My Normal Routine:

1. Drink – 1 min (make and drink)
2. Read – 20 min
3. Pray and Meditate – 15 min
4. Write – Journal – 15 min
5. Move / Listen – 30 min
6. Connect – 10 min
7. Fuel – 15 min
8. Plan (my day / names and research of the people I’m meeting) / Review – presentations, etc. – 15 min

My long version is 2 Hr
My short version can be 30 min or preferably 1 Hr

Leverage that for road for YOU to become an ERW today.

You Got This!

How I Shocked My Wife with the Not Forgotten Journal

One of the hardest things about the road for me personally is the loss of time and connection with the love of life, my wife Susan.

We enjoy being around each other – from playing sports to going for a walk and just talking and laughing.

The road steals that from us and cannot ever give it back.

It’s a reality she’s accepted through the years but it didn’t come easy. My contact with her on the road was as absent as my presence. I was lousy at it for a long time. I’m just being vulnerable here.

In my role as a business travel performance expert, I hear the good, the bad, the ugly, and the brutal unfiltered truth.

Too many men have wrecked their marriages and heck, most of their relationships as a result of the road.

Too many women are not only burned out by the road, but also by additionally taking care of home life back home before they leave, while they’re gone, and picking up any collateral damage when coming home.

I have nothing but the highest respect for traveling mothers – truly unsung heroes.

I’ve had my share of senseless and needless fights before leaving. In my interview with Megan Bearce in my podcast episode #024 she says “it’s easier to leave mad than sad.”

My biggest blowout came not from an argument, but by a hurtful thing I did, or in this case, did NOT do coming home from a trip.

Here’s the backstory for context…

I was coming off a brutal stretch including international travel and back-to-back trade shows where I was up early for C-suite breakfast meetings and had late evenings for corporate parties and customer dinners. My wife and I were basically competing by text who was more tired. She was raising my kids as a single mom in my absence, which remember, was a brutal stretch.

When I came around the corner and pulled into my driveway, I only saw my wife’s arms and my youngest child at the time as a one-year-old as the “Running Man Baby.”

I’d like to say that I grabbed my baby, kissed my wife, embraced my kids, and gave my wife the night off for me to clean the house and take care of the kids.

But what I did… walked right by my beautiful and exhausted wife, heard my kids say “Daddy’s home!” and all I said was an agitated, “Daddy’s tired,” and went to lay down on the couch in the family room. Who does that? I woke up to a beautifully angry wife who had tears in her eyes and let me know with a soft, strong tone: “Something needs to change.”

I realized I had become a Check-In Guy. My family always had to adjust to my exhaustion and my check-in schedule when I was on the road. I had become “That Guy” I swore I’d never become as a husband, father, and even friend. This became my “Wake-up Call” that didn’t come from a hotel but a call that was the result of my unawareness and selfishness.

I still had a choice – I could heed the call or ignore the call.

Too many business travelers not only ignore the call, they minimize the call, justify their actions with the call and go on to do their business (travel that is) as usual.

I knew I needed to change and it was the start of the Six Energy Habit – Connect.

This change didn’t happen overnight – or over one business trip, but a series of months.

It took what I learned as the three elements of Connect:
1. Connect Intentionally – on purpose
2. Connect Thoughtfully – reflective
3. Connect Creatively – memorable

To be honest, I found it easier to begin to do some creative things for my kids – I have a creative side so this was an easy and quick win for me. But I had a ton of ground to make up for with my wife and just didn’t know what to do that could “Move the Relational Needle” with the amount of neglect I had done.

I had created so much distance while I was gone, and then so much tension when I came home – I had such high and unrealistic expectations on the house being clean, everyone adjusting their schedule to dad’s exhaustion or work that still needed to be done. Instead of helping I was criticizing and critiquing – this is coming from the guy who was gone most of the week to a functioning single mom when I was gone.

Can you see the pain that I caused?

I desperately needed to find something meaningful for my wife – something that showed her that she was not forgotten while I was on the road – that I thought of, loved, missed, needed, and deeply appreciated her.

One day for one of my road downtime activities, I was in a Barnes-n-Noble looking at books, and I noticed the Journal section. In my curiosity, I saw one that was really cool and thought I’d get it and figure out what to do with it at some point.

I knew I could use it for my wife in some intentional, thoughtful, and creative way. I was on a flight doing what I call Think Space, dedicated time to process my thoughts. I decided I would figure out a way to utilize this beautiful journal.

Then it hit me – what if I wrote something, anything in this journal every day I was on the road to let her know she was not forgotten.

And there the idea for the NFJ (Not Forgotten Journal) was born.

What I did:

Reserved a couple of minutes every day on the road to write in the journal
Planned ahead – I used Think Space for ideas on what to write
Chose one of the following to write about:

Memory – funny / serious – song, scent, location, picture, food
Encouragement
Inspiration
Appreciation
Feeling – missing home, lonely

Full Disclosure – the journal I chose had a TON of pages in it which felt like it was never going to end

The response – I finished it on June 21st and gave it to my wife the very next day.

Lessons Learned

You don’t have to wait until you blow it. You should do something now
It was harder and easier than I thought – harder because I put a lot of pressure on myself and it was a super big journal, and easier because it only took a couple of minutes per road day
When I couldn’t think of what to say/write, I looked at a picture of my wife and asked myself “what would she need to hear from me?
Having ideas to stimulate the creativity was huge – I needed the primer for the days I was in a hurry or just not feeling creative
This was not about me – so when I didn’t feel like it, I had to remind myself “this is for her, not me, and I cannot wait for her to read this page.”

Suggested Next Steps

Experiment with the NFJ concept – what would this look like for you to apply and work in your situation
Buy a NFJ journal
Keep it a secret – take the pressure off of yourself

This isn’t going to be a quick win overnight. But I challenge you to consider upping your connect game on the road and giving the NFJ a real shot.

Hopefully hearing the NFJ story between me and my wife inspired you.

You can do this too!

So, wherever you are, do something, anything, just not nothing to master the business travel life.