Process the Thoughts

How to Deal with “IT” When “IT” Happens on the Road

So, it was 2:15 am, and I was stuck outside my own house pounding on the door because my wife had locked the screen door and I was home early from a brutal three days of travel that felt like three weeks.

Ever had that trip?

Let me start from the beginning.

I had a big meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was one of those locations where I waffled between driving or flying. I chose to drive.

Not a few minutes into my drive I dealt with on-and-off rain that was just paralyzing. Not the mist that annoys you when you can’t decide if you should manually flip on the wiper every minute, or bear the awful windshield scraping noise because it’s going too frequently.

This was black skies driving into the abyss.

As if the weather wasn’t enough, there were non-stop road repairs.

In Chicago, we have a running joke that we have two seasons: winter and construction.

We were definitely in construction season and now the horrible weather was added.

And then there were the semis driving 66 mph to pass the other semi going 65mph and traffic backs up for a mile. My biggest life pet peeve is someone driving slow in the fast lane or the passing lane.

So, between the weather, construction, and traffic, my three-hour trip took well over five hours.

The meetings were good and I was to fly out of Cedar Rapids Regional Airport to Denver via Dallas.

I was required to fly an airline I don’t normally take because of convience, and it was a good idea until my flight was delayed two hours. You guessed it: weather.

Shockingly, I landed in enough time to make my connection flight although all my connection margin was shot. I was on the ground in Dallas at my gate waiting to get off my plane to make my connection waiting and waiting for almost 30 minutes as I was watching my plane board and take off literally at the gate RIGHT NEXT TO ME!

Who misses their flight, but gets to watch others board and take off without them?!?

Cruel man. Just cruel.

The good news is there was another plane I could take from Dallas with the only catch: it was two and a half hours from now.

Mind you, I have no status with this new airline and the customer service line was longer than bathrooms at a baseball game in the 7th inning at Wrigley Field.

I finally board and the flight took off an hour late.

Of course. Why not, right?

Needless to say, I was supposed to land in Denver at 9:45 pm and landed at a crisp 2:00 am (Chicago time).

My drive to the hotel was 45 minutes which felt like an hour and 45 minutes. Interstates down to one lane due to paving.

I made it to my hotel that was sold out and I didn’t care as long as I had a room, until I was put in a handicap room right next to the elevator. So by 6am I was woken by the elevator ding every five minutes and within a few elevator dings, I was awake and just chose to get up.

The next day I was moved locations only to enter a room that smelled worse than the designated smoking room in an airport where you can cut the air with a knife.

Of course.

I changed rooms, recovered, and looked forward to getting back on track.

I made it to the Denver airport in enough time to leverage my TSA Pre-Check and get to my gate with time to get water, walk a bit, then board.

So I thought.

The North TSA-Security line was closed. Huh? So, I walk to the South TSA-Security line to find out my TSA-Precheck was not on my boarding pass. Huh? It’s been on there every flight for years. And years. And years.

Of course.

Now I’m in line with everyone else strapped for time and just wanting my carry-on so I can run to get to my gate.

As someone who’s not used to a mild strip at security, I was fighting the annoyance and inconvenience but missing my flight was the only thing on my mind.

But now what?

My bag gets flagged and I have to wait for someone, anyone to look through the same bag that always goes through security with zero issues.

And I waited. And waited.

I finally make it to my gate in just enough time to board. Whew, all good, right?

We board, get in my seat and watch dark skies take over what was suppose to be a picturesque sunset over the Rocky Mountains as I fly home to surprise my wife.

Then the lightning happens. Over and over. And the heavens open up. I was wondering if my plane was going to turn into an ark.

Grounded. Everyone. And who knows how long. 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 minutes have gone by and I’m a captive audience.

We’re told all the time that **IT happens. Easy to say but what do you do on business travel when **IT happens to you?

And YOU KNOW what I mean by IT happens…

What did I do when I was challenged with this in the very moment when “IT” is happening to me not just once but this whole week on the road?

Four Responses to Dealing with IT When IT happens on the Road”

1. Roll With IT

Before I acted like I was the only one affected. I would get worked up, find others to join in on my complaining, and build my team against the wrongs done against us.

Do you know what changed? Absolutely nothing.

Except I was miserable. And those who had joined me were all riled up now.

The reality is nothing really improved. In fact, until I started to roll with it, I was even more affected.

Roll With It means “what happens happens” especially on business travel.

Here’s the reality we so quickly forget:

Not much should really surprise us on business travel especially if you’ve been doing it for any length of time.

When IT happens to you on the road, ROLL with it – what happens happens.

2. Let IT Go

I found that too often once I would ROLL with IT, the rolling would stop and I would get all worked up again.

Either the roll would lose momentum and just stop or it would be an abrupt pothole!

For example, I finally would “roll with the delayed flight” only to get re-worked up when the flight would be delayed again.

Like I never saw THAT coming, right?

Let IT Go means let IT keep rolling. Don’t pick IT up again

It’s not a one-time decision. You must keep letting it go.

An example would be forgiveness. Just because you forgive someone doesn’t mean you never have those feelings again. When, not if it comes back up again, you need to remind yourself to forgive again.

In this case, let IT go again.

Otherwise, it will own you all over again.

3. Learn From IT

Excuse me, did you say learn from IT? I didn’t want IT in the first place?

Welcome to life.

We want the easy, the smooth – but that’s not life, especially road life.

Things will happen even to the most prepared elite road warrior. The key is finding what we can learn from the situation.

My father used to say to me: “Son, you can learn from absolutely anything. Even how NOT to do something.”

With my trip, I was reminded how many things are just out of my control and just how quickly even after all these years of traveling, I can still get sucked back into the frustration and cynicism, and let it own and control me.

I can learn from what has just happened and the best way for me is to journal about it.

One of my daily seven writing prompts is Lessons Learned and this is my time to reflect or “process the thoughts” as I call it under Energy Habit Five – Develop.

Learn from IT is looking BACK to get BETTER

I take just a minute or two and really think through what I learned so I can accept what happened and move on to the last response of dealing with IT when IT happens on the road…

It’s asking:

How did I respond to what happened?
Could I have avoided it?
Did I pick IT back up again?
What can or should I do differently?
Did you get frustrated with someone that didn’t deserve your entitled wrath?
Did you waste time when you were given extra time?

4. Make the Best of IT

It really gets down to this 4th response. After you roll with it, let it go, I mean really let it go, then learn from it, you’re forced with a choice.

Will I make the best of IT and what IT just handed me?

Do I reflect on the smell of IT and all the negative or do I learn from IT and just make the best of IT?

Make the Best of IT is Looking FORWARD.

I was given a piece of advice by a mentor who told me when IT happens to me, ask this one question:

What does this now make possible?

Did you catch the power in that very simple six-word question?

As a result of IT, the delayed flight, the canceled meeting, the short night, the (you fill in the blank), what does this now make possible that otherwise might never have happened?

This is a knowledge bomb I’m dropping right now.

It takes maturity and wisdom to get to the point where you begin to learn and make the best of IT especially on the road and can ask such a powerful question.

An Elite Road Warrior takes the IT that happens on the road, washes it off, doesn’t smell like IT, and is actually better for it while others are owned by it.

Choices.

The road has it’s challenges especially when “IT” happens to you on the road. And many times IT’s not an isolated event. IT comes in waves and can hit hard.

If you can walk away and apply even one of the four responses, you’ll bet better for it.

And if you can begin to ask the question “What does this now make possible?” you will regain control of your road life and begin to defeat IT when IT happens on the Road.

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

Stop getting by and get better.

This post is brought to you by the book, Raise Your Game by Alan Stein, Jr.

How an Unexpected Surgery Has Exposed Struggles in my Life

This article will be unusual for a few reasons:
1. It discusses my off-road life
2. It’s personal
3. It’s something I’ve never experienced and challenges the six energy habits

I’m known as a very healthy guy and work hard to keep this elite status both on the road and at home.
Then 2020 hit. If Covid-19 wasn’t disruptive enough in every area of life, 2020 was brutal on the health side in the Buck Fam.

In May, my 9-year old was severely burned and it was one of the scariest moments of my life as I wondered if my son would have skin damage for the remainder of his life. He’s come a long way amidst this scare and time will tell on the long-term scarring.

Then I had a colonoscopy and a scope done due to unknown stomach issues. Another rough health stretch that required going in-and-out of the hospital.

Over the summer, I severely bruised my rib and pulled some muscles playing with the kids that required X-rays and an MRI and dramatically affected my summer. #RoughHealthStretch

Until….
I had the mother of all falls. And due to the severely bruised rib and pulled muscles, I instantly protected my ribs at the cost of my shoulder. For weeks, I just pushed through it and it kept getting worse. Then… my 4-year old flew through the air with the greatest of ease from a retaining wall and absolutely finished the job on my left shoulder.

The next day something pops and a few days later, I’m getting an MRI. If the technician’s face had words, it was “you have no idea what you’re in for buddy.” 24 hours later I’m seeing a specialist at Northwestern Medicine in the Chicago land area who told me I had multiple tears in my rotator cuff. Within 36 hours, I meet with the surgeon, and my surgery was made for the next possible surgery slot.

Now, if you’ve ever had “one of those surgeries” everyone has a story for, you know what I’m talking about and this is definitely in that category. At this point, I listen, smile, or read the text, and just say thank you.

Surgery happened a few days ago,

Exposed Struggle #1 – I’m getting little to no movement

Movement creates energy.

First taken away was my ability to lift any weights after the initial injury which was an immediate red flag that something was wrong. After the 2nd blow, I lost the ability to do any cardio due to the pounding on the shoulder.

This has left me to standing and walking which as you know, “something, anything is better than nothing.”

But I’m feeling the loss of Run More and Lift More in Energy Habit One: MOVE.

Post-surgery, I’m having to spend a ton of time icing so my stand time has decreased as well.

Physical therapy starts soon and it will be three months of intensity – bring it on.

I know this will be the longest of my exposed struggles due to the nature of the injury but each day feels like a month at this point.

Word to Myself: Walk Away – I need to increase my walk time every chance I get every single day and no matter what the weather

Exposed Struggle #2 – I’m unstructured and unproductive

I was able to get work done pre-surgery up until the back-to-back tests and doctor appointments but I had no idea how much I would be scattered and unmotivated post-surgery.

My pain has been higher than planned and for the first time I’m balancing lack of meds and pain with clarity or more meds, less pain, and cloudy. #NotAFan

I don’t have my normal morning routines because my nights are absolutely brutal. Even though I took off work and I’m playing it day-by-day, each day just feels like a meandering of nothing really getting done.

And for someone who is a high achiever and loves seeing results, there is more pain than just my shoulder shooting pains!

I get it. I’m days after a surgery that majorly affects my day-to-day life. But I’m already done with feeling like I’m wasting hours and now, days.

Word to Myself: Get a Plan – I need to start with my morning routine to begin my day with structure and then choose one major thing I can accomplish every single day.

Exposed Struggle #3 – I’m a night owl again

By nature, I come alive in the evening especially if I stay up past 10:00 pm. Something in my body ignites and I’m ready to go another round or two.

I used to stay up late all the time. I can blame the NBA and MLB playoffs which usually are my fall mistress but it’s far more than just some games that I don’t have a dog in the fight. My family goes to bed and I’m clocking hour after hour of awake time which I used to be “that guy.”

Word to Myself: Sleep with your wife! I need to go to bed with my wife no matter what even if it takes me forever to crash. I need to put a “kibosh” on this loose bedtime which is never good.

Exposed Struggle #4 – I’m lazy on my eating

My meds have affected my appetite so I’m all over the place of what and when I’m eating.

Then you add the exposed struggle of becoming a night owl again. And what did I do when I stayed up late before? Trashed a perfectly good eating day in a matter of moments with the late-night cravings.

I cannot depend on those around me to make good choices for me. Unfortunately, when I’m not working out, I’m lazier on my diet but I cannot let this one go especially with being down for three months of intense physical therapy.

I know better and need to get a new hot streak going in the right direction eating healthier.

Word to Myself: MTHC (Make the Healthiest Choice) – I need to continually hydrate more along with eat cleaner and greener

Exposed Struggle #5 – I’m not sleeping

Between us girls, the roughest part of my post-surgery recovery has been sleeping (or the lack thereof). I’m like a pet taking multiple short naps through the night. And it’s absolutely killing me. It affects my early morning routine which I mentioned, and then it affects my structure and productivity, already mentioned.

I have this gadget called the “ultra sling” which keeps my arm in a certain position for my rotator cuff to heal after multiple tears that had to be re-attached. I get it and understand it but I struggle so much during the night time.

It was recommended to sleep in a recliner but again, that’s the nap spot and I’m just not comfortable there all night every night. I prefer my bed.

And as a result, I may be in my own bed, then the recliner, then the guest bed all in one night and it’s killing me, smalls!

Word to Myself: Don’t make it worse – I need to make the best of the rest I get knowing it will eventually get better

Exposed Struggle #6 – I’m drinking at home like I’m entertaining on the road

This one has been already in the works with Covid and all of the changes that have challenged my family and especially me the past six months.

But I’ve succumbed to drinking to make me feel better and this is a slippery slope at best. I’m not in a good place and drinking all the time like I’m entertaining on the road is not the answer.

I’m drinking less amounts but the frequency needs to be addressed.

I’m not a good example in this area for my kids and this needs to matter to me more especially right now since everyone is home all of the time.

Word to Myself: Lay off the Sauce – I need to “be dried out” during the week. No excuses.

These side exposed struggles have exposed three primary emotions I’m experiencing on a consistent basis:

Frustration – I can’t move as I’ve always done. I literally cannot move my arm and it’s paralyzing and frustrating to need so much help and struggle on so many simple tasks like taking a shower, getting dressed, really anything that requires two hands
Anxiety – I’ve never had a limb so damaged and affect my life and it’s created this rare emotion in me. I’m anxious around people. I feel trapped in the sling especially at night and it’s revealed a level of anxiousness that is concerning to me.
Depression – I’ve not been one to stay discouraged or depressed for long but all of the financial and health blows my family and I have suffered this year have put me in a place where I’m fighting this demon. It’s also feeding some of these struggles such as not eating well, not wanting to go for a walk, not caring if I’m structured or productive, and definitely drinking too often.

I need to be honest, I hate admitting these struggles but I want to be real to you in the good and the bad. This unexpected injury and now surgery exposed these struggles and deep emotions that are overwhelming but part of my journey right now especially being off the road.

I hope you found my vulnerability sincere and refreshing. As my brother has taught me for decades, “this too shall pass.” I’ve been through worse and will choose to grow through it not just go through it.

I’m blessed to have close friends and a counselor to process these struggles and emotions which is absolutely critical right now in my life. I want to help you become and remain an Elite Road Warriar today to eliminate burnout and exceed results.

You Got This!

References

10 Business Travel Hacks Guide

7 Early Warning Signs for Companies to Avoid Business Travel Burnout

Eight Questions I Ask Every Morning on the Road

If you’re interested in the audio version of this article in these locations:

Do you know what most business travelers do one thing when they wake up in the morning on the road in their hotel room?

The first guess would be to hit snooze on the alarm and many do.

But Elite Road Warrior Group Research has shown that most business travelers…

Reach for their phone.

Why? Well, there’s a handful of reasons but no matter the reason and what they do, there is always one thing in common:

It hijacks their morning.

Why? Because it’s a time sucker especially if we jump into the news or social media.

It’s also filled with OPAs – other people’s agenda.

What they want or need from you
What they want to tell you
What they want you to buy

Many lose easily a half hour or more and haven’t even climbed out of bed yet!

No condemnation here, Road Warrior.

I believed and justified in my head that if I could “just get ahead” looking at my email, calendar, Slack or WeChat, etc. it would help me.

Lies nothing but lies!

I used to be so unintentional and reactive to whatever caught my attention or the path of least resistance in the morning on the road.

And I was the advocate for how impossible it was to do anything but work on the road and especially no time for professional or personal development.

So I get it.

But here’s what I missed…

I missed the gift of the morning.
I missed the silence.
I missed the solitude.
I missed the chance to invest in me, the one thing nobody else can do for me.

And nobody else will guard unless I seize it. The morning is the perfect place for it especially if I’ve had a good night of rest.

Let me state upfront. Right now, my 1st hour in the morning on the road is filled only with energy habits.

The two largest of my morning energy habits are:

MOVE – Increase M4X – Stand more / Walk more / Run more / Lift more
DEVELOP – Sharpen the Mind / Process the Thoughts / Monitor the Heart

And my motto, my theme is two phrases used often with Road Warrior Nation:

Consistency Over Length
Something, Anything, is Better Than Nothing

There are two things I do immediately after single morning on the road:

Hydrate – (Fuel – Continually Hydrate) with 16 oz water, lemon, sea salt, and greens powder
Read – (Sharpen the Mind and Process the Thoughts) – my Bible then something inspirational (if it’s the day of a flight, I save this reading for the 1st 20-30 minutes of the flight)

Once those two habits are done of hydrate and read, I move on to my Elite Road Warrior Journal. It has two portions:

Think Space (Process the Thoughts) dotted page Notebook
Eight Questions Journal (Monitory the Heart) blank page Notebook

Here are some initial questions asked of my personal process:

Q1 – How long do you take to journal your questions?

5-15 minutes

Q2 – Where do you journal?

Most of the time in my hotel room at the desk but sometimes if my hotel is near a park, forest, water, etc. I’ll choose there.

One time I climbed Mount Spokane and journaled there – talk about silence/solitude/ and inspiring!

Q3 – What do you write with?

I’m pretty anal and OCD and have four fine tip Zebra multi-colored pens I use that I keep in a leather pouch I found off Amazon.

For the record, there will be a branded leather case for the pens and the pens included in the very near future. Just go to EliteRoadWarrior.com for details.

I use different colors for different reasons when I write for both my Monitor the Heart journal and Think Space journal.

Q4 – What do you write in?

The ERW (Elite Road Warrior) Branded Journal

Q5 – What does your layout look like?

Top Left – location (for example: Outer Banks, NC)

Top Right – date (for example: W.10.16.19)

I use two pages of my journal so there’s a lot of free space. Here’s an example:

Before we get into the Eight Questions I Answer Every Morning on the Road, let’s talk about WHY I do it.

The road has the ability to suck out any empathy, compassion, generosity, etc within a person and especially men.

I found that too often I was coming home jaded and it was affecting my wife and kids.

I was bringing home the stress of the road from the long hours to the draining people I encountered or dealt with and my family and friends didn’t really care for “that Bry or that guy” if you will.

I didn’t grow up journaling. I didn’t have examples of people around me who journaled. Notetakers yes but not journalers and there’s a difference.

I viewed journaling as a girl thing in a diary therefore not for me.

And when I eventually tried it after prompting from a mentor, I sucked at it.

I was SO inconsistent. Huge entry one day then days and weeks would pass with radio silence and major gaps.

Then my perfectionism would come out and I had to journal and do it “just right.”

Way…Too…Much…Pressure.

And I quit.

A few years ago Scott Mawdesley, Elite Road Warrior subject matter expert for Develop energy habit, really challenged me its’ more important THAT I write, not what I write and I should try just journaling “just one line” per entry.

I could write more but Write One Line became my mantra.

And you know what? It worked.

Then another mentor of mine, Jonathan Milligan, encouraged me with key questions he asked himself every morning to give structure to his journaling and encouraged me to do the same – hence the Eight Questions I Answer Every Morning on the Road.

But WHY do I journal these questions and what comes as a result?

Clarity – What do I want out of my life
Themes – What’s happening on a consistent basis in my life – what are the patterns I wouldn’t normally see without reflecting
Focus – where should I spend my time

MONITOR the HEART, the 3rd part of the Invest in You Formula of the Develop Energy Habit has three Checks of the Heart Engine: (think of check lights coming on your dash about your engine).

One – PULSE CHECK
Learning to ask: “How am I REALLY doing?”

We ask people all the time, “How are you doing?” We don’t really care or even want them to give an answer beyond fine or great. My father used to have a drop-dead line when someone asked that question. Here’s how it went:

Acquaintance: “How are you doing?”
My father: “Depends”
Acquaintance: (Confused and stops in their tracks.) “Depends on what?”
My father: “How much time you have. If you only have a second, I’m fine. If you have a minute or two, I’ll actually tell you how I’m doing.”

That interaction was always awkward to me as a kid, but wow, do I understand it now. On the road, we would change the word “fine” to “busy” then compete with each other on who is busier (aka who’s more important!).

Two – GRATITUDE CHECK
Learning to ask: “Who or what am I grateful for right now?”

We want to be grateful people.

We may even say we’re grateful people but here’s the proof – every single day.

Three – SOUL CHECK
Learning to ask: “What do I need to get out that I’m keeping in?

This is beyond touchy-feely feelings but making sure we get to the heart of you as an elite road warrior.

I have three simple categories for my questions:

Review Yesterday – 3 questions

Reflect Now – 2 questions

Rehearse Today – 3 questions

REVIEW YESTERDAY

Question 1 – What Happened Yesterday?

I want to be able to track my time so I know what my day looked like.

NEEDED DISCLAIMER – These are bullet points, not sentences or paragraphs.

I want to be able to remember that specific day at a glance just looking at What happened yesterday listings.

I want to know:

Was I productive?
Were there the margins in my day and where?
Did the six energy habits exist?

This is GREAT intel at the end of my month and the end of my quarter when I review my journal to see how I spent my time.

Question 2 – What Were My Biggest Wins?

These are the answers to what I actually accomplished.

Some days my response is “busy but not productive” – I detest these days on the road.

Notice it’s my BIGGEST wins, not any wins. I want to see forward motion on my goals for the week and the day to day big wins give me that intel.

Question 3 – What Were My Lessons Learned?

This may come from what I read or listened to yesterday or this morning.

It may be from my big wins or lack thereof.

It’s how I’m doing and what I’m learning in regards to the three focus areas of ERW: Work / Health / Home Life.

This is feedback on if and how I’m growing on a DAILY basis – is there a theme?

This 3rd question challenges me and sometimes it takes me a minute or two to think of something if the answer is not top of mind.

Note: sometimes I may need to move on to another question and come back to it but I always want to answer this key question.

Three Review Yesterday Questions – which, by the way, I write in red in my ERW Journal with the answers in blue.

Two Reflect Now Questions… which I write in black in my journal with the answers in blue.

REFLECT NOW

Question 4 – Who / What Am I Thankful For RIGHT NOW?

This is the GRATITUDE CHECK
Learn to ask: “Who or what am I grateful for right now?”

I have to be honest, some days it’s easy to mail it in and put something generic but that’s not the goal.

It’s The Who and/or the What but also the WHY – why am I thankful for that person or situation?

I’ve learned through the years people I’m grateful for actually don’t know I’m grateful for them UNLESS I TELL THEM!

This is a GREAT chance to prompt you to take action RIGHT THEN to let them know – send them a text/email/voicemail.

Sometimes I actually take a picture of that answer in my journal and send it to them.

You’d be shocked how just this little gesture means to people especially people who you care about and are thankful for.

If I’m struggling to answer this question on a consistent basis, this is a heart issue on my part that needs attention.

Question Five – How Am I Feeling Right Now?

This is the PULSE CHECK
Learn to ask: “How am I REALLY doing?”

I know what you guys are thinking: here’s the diary “touchy/feely” part of the program. And you’re right – suck it up and try it. I’m not asking for you to write paragraphs and have a Kleenex available.

Mine are short bullets. For example:

Exhausted from…
Better rested because…
Proud of…
Disappointed in…
Frustrated by…
Missing home right now…
Motivated to…

Nothing earth-shattering but I want a pulse on how I’m really doing.

Am I seeing patterns of day-after-day-after-day of being frustrated or tired?

This question is not nearly as hard as you think especially if you do it bullet style and lead with a key emotion word: proud, disappointed, tired, motivated, etc.

Three Rehearse Today Questions: which I put in green and answer in blue.

Why rehearse the day?

It’s like an athlete or a performer playing their game or performance in their mind.

Too often we just let the Road Day happen to us.

We’re not intentional then we wonder why our road day gets hijacked and we’re ALWAYS up until midnight working.

We want to be elite as a road warrior, it takes these type of moments and first thing in the morning to lock in how you want your day to go.

REHEARSE TODAY

Question Six – What Are My Big 3 Today?

This is a concept from Michael Hyatt in his Full Focus Planner.

The Daily Big 3 are designed to come from the Weekly Big 3 which comes from your Quarterly Big 3.

I set quarterly goals in business but also in life so my weekly Big 3 and should influence your daily big 3.

If I have a heavy travel day, these are key.

What do I want to get done on my 4-hour flight?

If I have a heavy meeting or event day, maybe my Big 3 needs to happen 1st thing in the morning.

Pro Tip: almost every single business travel day one of my Big 3 is energy habit six: CONNECT – I want to make my family a high priority within my day which means I need to schedule it.

The first of the three target elements of the Protect Connect Formula in energy habit #6 is Connect Intentionally and by scheduling it as one of my big 3 it will get done.

When I schedule my Big 3 in my Elite Road Warrior Journal, I then enter it into my Full Focus Planner.

Question Seven – What is Today’s Highlight?

I learned this one from the book, Make Time.

The authors have three ways to determine your today’s highlight:

Something URGENT that must get done today and will be a huge relief if and when it is done
Something SATISFYING that will make you feel pleased and proud it’s completed
Something that brings you JOY – what you look forward to = mine is usually my downtime activity

The point here is you have a focus point or a “highlight” on this specific day that is important to you and you look forward to, relieved, or proud when it happens or completed.

Question Eight – What Would Make Today Great?

I credit this question to Jonathan Milligan, my mentor and friend, who challenged me to answer this question each day.

And it was a challenge but now I depend on this last question.

Alan Stein, Jr. in his book, Raise Your Game, states there are only two things in life you have control over:

Your attitude
Your effort

And oftentimes my response is one of those and often deals with the six energy habits.

I want and I need to make each day on the road GREAT.

I want to be at my best and no longer just get by but leverage each day on the road to get better.

Another Option…

To be honest, some days I just don’t feel like answering all the questions or what I’m going through or feeling doesn’t fit one of the eight questions or just needs to be worked through on paper. What do I do?

Headline Option.

Hate Being Gone Today
This Just Keeps Happening
Didn’t See THAT Coming
Wow, I Regret THIS

This style allows me to still express what I’m thinking/feeling and have the freedom to go “off-road” on some or all the questions depending on what’s going on in my life. I find I use this approach the most on the weekends or when I’m just working through or struggling with something.

Let’s Land This Plane

Two Practical Actions:

One – Just start – write one line for each question.

Maybe you have your own questions and some ERWs have contacted me with the questions they’ve developed. But they often start with mine. Either way is fine.

And mine started with Jonathan Milligan’s questions. Start with my questions or a form of them to kickstart you in this Develop energy habit.

Two – Order the Elite Road Warrior Branded Journal – enjoy what you journal in. For me, I love the leather – the look and the feel. I love the paper in the journal. I love the pens I write with and the leather case they’re kept in. This makes a HUGE difference when it comes time to write. I’m also proud to carry it around and it promotes Elite Road Warrior. Order HERE.

If you’re interested in the audio version of this article in these locations:

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.