As the new productivity expert for the Hyatt Place Seamless Travel Series, I’ll be sharing my personal advice about maximizing your efficiency on the road and making your travel experience just right from start to finish.
Through the series, a lot of travelers have said they want to know what to bring to keep productivity up while traveling. With the busy holiday season approaching – a time when busy professionals are juggling it all – I’ve pulled together a few of my favorite items (that you have the chance to win!) to help you maintain productivity when you’re away from home.
My Holiday Travel Essentials:
1. Multipurpose Travel Pack
First and foremost, it’s hard to be productive if you can’t find anything you’ve packed. That’s why my choice for a work travel “bag” is one that is flat and that you can easily see and access the items it holds, such as the GRID-IT!® organizer.
As an added bonus, arranging everything brings a pleasure similar to playing Tetris.
2. Essential Productivity Apps
Smartphones have no doubt increased all travelers’ productivity, but it’s the apps you choose that turn your phone into an efficiency tool. Here are a few of my favorite app picks for travelers that you can enjoy anytime at Hyatt Place hotels with their free Wi-Fi everywhere:
- Pocket (Free)
Pocket is my most beloved app. It allows me to make the most of my downtime during travel by reading all the articles I never have time to read when I first come across them. Pocket is brilliantly simple: it saves any article or video you find on the web to read or watch later. You don’t even need an Internet connection to view your saved items once they’ve been downloaded.
- Things ($9.99)
Things is my go-to to-do list app. It’s a simple and elegant way to track action items for long-term and short-term projects, syncs across devices and archives all your to-dos for later reference, such as your holiday gift list. A great, free alternative is Remember the Milk.
- Sleep Cycle ($0.99)
Keeping your sleep cycle on the road can be tricky, but incredibly important. If you want to wake at the ideal moment in your natural sleep cycle, try this app. Sleep Cycle uses your phone’s accelerometer to track your sleep phases, then the app wakes you during your lightest sleep.
- Hyatt with Uber (Free)
Hyatt’s mobile app helps you easily book reservations, manage your reservations, save your favorite hotels and – my favorite part – newly integrates with Uber to make it easier for you to get from your current location to your Hyatt hotel during the dates of your stay. Efficiency is no-hassle travel!
3. USB Portable External Battery Charger
When you are jetting from destination to destination or meeting to meeting, a portable battery charger becomes a must – especially if, like me, you run all of the above mentioned apps while you check email, send texts, take photos, listen to music, and more. Nothing is more frustrating than a low battery warning on a busy day. Rest easy knowing you always have extra power.
4. The Perfect Pocket-Sized Notebook
As much as I love my electronic devices, I’ll never give up my favorite notebook and a smooth-writing pen. A pocket-sized version is especially great for frequent travelers who often need to jot down handwritten notes, but can’t be weighed down with a big spiral pad.
5. Noise-Reduction Headphones
As a frequent traveler, you never know when you’ll be stuck on an airplane next to a screaming baby, hacking cougher or annoying pen-clicker. Noise-reduction headphones will save your sanity so you can use your time wisely to keep working, rest or regroup.
6. Becoming the Boss: New Rules for the Next Generation of Leaders
I’m a lifelong proponent of ABAB: Always Bring A Book. Especially during the chaotic holiday travel season, a good book is an instant escape. If you’re looking for a suggestion. my new book, Becoming the Boss: New Rules for the Next Generation of Leaders, features timely tips on career success, including an entire chapter on time management. Enjoy it in one of the roomy rooms at Hyatt Place hotels, which feature cozy corners for curling up with a good read.
What are your go-to productivity tools on the road? Tweet them to me at @lindseypollak with hashtag #HyattPlace. From 11/5-11/12, 10 randomly selected tweeters will win their own holiday go pack from Hyatt Place featuring the above items for more productive travel!
And, share in the comments below what you’d like to know more about around productivity and travel from the Hyatt Place Seamless Travel Series. It just might be in my next post!
This post was sponsored by Hyatt Place as part of its Seamless Travel Series. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
