The Efficiency Dr Blog

I’m doing a lot of travel right now, and keep noticing simple efficiencies that could make everyone’s life easier – not from the airlines’ standpoint, but from the traveler/passenger standpoint.
Here’s a couple of things I’ve noticed:
• Folks exiting security screening stop in a tight area, like a narrow aisle, to put on their shoes. Suggestion: move 2-3 feet further along, where you’re not blocking everyone behind you, and put your togs on then. Or slide over to the wall so that we can get by you.
• Ditto for adjusting your luggage, purse, camera, briefcase, etc. on the jetway. Move along into the terminal, THEN stop to position everything just so (or move aside to do this rather than right in the middle of the aisle).
• Understand the rules – overhead is SHARED SPACE. This means your newspaper, hat (yes, I’m talkin’ to you, Tex), purse, or other small item should be stowed under the seat rather than expecting everyone else to instinctively know that your hat needs 12.8” of space so the crown doesn’t get creased, or that your purse may have a mirror in it that could get broken, or that you’ll want that newspaper once we take off, so nothing should be put on top of it…. You are also more than welcome to leave it home, stow it in the seatback in front of you, or hold it on your lap. Really, we won’t mind.
• The airline is not nursery school. Your child who doesn’t know what “inside voice” means is NOT cute as he yells his observations loud enough to wake the dead (yes, Sammy, this is you). We all don’t care that the wheels on the bus go round and round, all the livelong day, nor do we want to hear this sung over and over AND OVER. This is what they invented coloring books, connect the dots, and portable DVD’s with earphones, and children’s Benedryl for. I’m not talking about crying infants here – I’m talking about 3 and 4 year olds who need to learn that they are not the center of EVERYONE’S universe, even if they ARE the center of yours.  And 3-4 hours on a plane is a REALLY long time for us to put up with your child’s antics.

OK, reading this list over, I realize I’ve morphed from ‘efficiency tips’ to ‘pet peeves’. Maybe it IS time to get off the road for a while… 

Ever wonder how Netflix can process so many movies, correctly, so often?  See this post for one answer… pretty sweet.

In Part 1 we talked about strategies to embrace while on the road; in Part 2 we discussed travel companies, packing strategies, etc; and in this segment, we are going to be discussing international travel.

International travel has its own set of rules, that will require you to do a bit of preparation before traveling.  Some common things to check out:

1)  Immunizations, vaccines, etc.

The Center for Disease Control has a comprehensive website that is helpful to determine what immunizations you may need and what medications you should consider taking (for malaria areas, for example).  The link above leads you to ‘destinations’ and from there simply enter the country you are planning on visiting.  Their descriptions will help you determine if you need to be taking medication or not; and if unsure of exact location, contact the area you will be traveling to.  When I went to South Africa for a business trip, the conference was in KwaZulu Natal; the website informed me that “northeastern KwaZulu-Natal as far south as the Tugela River” may be in malaria area… a quick check of the map, or a call to the conference organizers, assured me that they were not in the northeastern portion of KZN and I did not have to pack malaria medicine.

2)  Passport and visas

I have unfortunately found out the hard way that Taiwan will not let you into the country if your passport is within 6 months of expiring.  After pleading with the immigration agents, they reluctantly let me in the company with a passport that was due to expire in 5 months – but they wouldn’t let me out again.  So, one day instead of meeting with my clients for 3 days, I spent the first day at the US Embassy processing a ‘rush’ passport – which takes approximately 6 hours, complete with paying additional rush fees for the photo as well as the passport.   So now, I check with each country to find out their requirements for passports as well as visas.  The easiest place to start in the US is the Travel website of the State Department; I’m sure other countries have a similar site for their citizens…  these sites will help you determine if you need a visa (China requires a visa in advance of arrival, for example) or if there are passport requirements – for example, South Africa needs 2 completely blank pages in the passport; Taiwan not only has a requirement for a passport with more than 6 months to go on it, but you will also need to show proof that you have met the next country’s visa requirements (so, if traveling to Taiwan and then China, you will need to show proof of Chinese visa before being allowed to travel from Taiwan to mainland China.)

3)  Safety and security

This is very much a personal preference for what you are comfortable with.  I know some folks who won’t travel to many countries because of threat of robbery, etc. while others are like Star Trek – boldly going where no man has gone before.  The balance that needs to be struck is often one of (not so) common sense:

• try not to look like a tourist.  Gaping at a building with your mouth open advertises “pick my pockets!”.  Ditto for a big bulky camera around your neck.

• don’t dress with flash.  I leave my good jewelry at home for most trips, and wear a simple gold wedding band on my left hand, a nice $70 watch, and one plain gold choker.  I’ve got enough jewelry that I don’t feel ‘naked’ but not so much that I’m a billboard for robbery opportunities… and it’s a good excuse to bring along some costume jewelry that’s inexpensive but still fun to wear, to dress up those business outfits.

• be smart about where you go and when you go.  There are places I’ve gone to during daylight hours that were fine; however, you couldn’t pay me enough money to go there after dark.  There are also places you won’t find me in, no matter what time of day it is or how many other folks I’m with.  I’m smart about where I go, and when I go there; and if possible, I go with someone else who knows the terrain (or the language) if I can.

• Tuck your money away.  I have a small flat pouch that I wear around my neck and inside my shirt – it’s where I keep my money / credit cards, and passport.  I hope that it’s REALLY hard to get to the pouch for a casual pickpocket – the rule of thumb is that pickpockets will go after easy prey – and that’s not me.

4)  Planning your itinerary.

One client decided that we were going to visiting all of their Asian suppliers in one, month-long trip.  We casually laid out the country names on a whiteboard in no particular order.  That random order inadvertently became our travel itinerary, and we ended up flying much more than we had to.  We went from the US to Singapore, to China, to Korea, to Taiwan.  [If you don't know how inefficient this itinerary was, pull up a map of the Pacific Rim - go ahead, I'll wait...]  What we should have done was to either fly to Korea and work our way southwest, or fly to Singapore and work our way northeast.   A bit of planning could have saved us hours of flying…

5)  Food

I’m middle of the road when it comes to food – I’ll try something new, but won’t go too far (no, I’ve never had monkey brains, and don’t intend to…)  I’ve learned how to eat a fish (A fish – complete with fins, gills, skin, etc) and tend to stick with seafood and veggies when in Asian countries; but will gamely try something my hosts recommend.  I’m not a huge ‘hot’ fan; but others I’ve traveled with love trying the spiciest food they can find, happily sweating profusely and smiling…

My secret for eating well?  When you find a food you like, copy the characters down with the translation – it’ll help you in the next restaurant when you want something similar.  And, do learn the symbols for things you are allergic to, and have someone write down in native language “NO _______ – allergic – will ___________ (get sick, stop breathing, etc.)” and show to server when ordering.

I tend to bring one bottle of water with me in my suitcase (not in carryon, as it will be confiscated) so when I land, I can grab it right away (after going through the line at customs for example) as flying is dehydrating, no matter how religious you were about drinking water onboard; I also tend to carry peanut butter and crackers [note: peanut butter may be confiscated by US TSA - apparently, if it's removed from the jar and will change shape within 10 mins, it's considered a 'liquid' - so pack this in your checked luggage], or other ‘comfort’ protein food, so i can eat when I want to on the first day (nothing is worse than waking up at 3 am local time ravenous!).  And, since most hotels have some way to heat up water, I also bring my fave drinks (teas, or hot choc packets, or even instant decaf coffee) – again, so I can get something to drink with a minimum of fuss, at any hour that my body wants it (until I adjust to the time zone).

6)  Gifts

If you are going to a company, you may want to bring gifts.  Some electronics, such as flash drives, are no longer allowed in companies, so be careful what you bring along…

I will bring my host company some food from here – in Texas, we have great pecans, so I’ll bring them cinnamon pecans (they prefer spices to chocolate as a rule in Asia) or some other tidbit that has LOTS of pieces so they can all share.  Other well-received treats have been salt water taffy, cookies, and salty snacks.

Another well-received gift is a ‘travel mug’ – the Chinese drink tea constantly, so an insulated mug is appreciated.

Most things with logos are fun to get – pens, pads, etc. that they can use – and since my Chinese hosts adore their children (the government only allows them to have one, so each child is treasured!), I will also pack along some very small gifts for them (not knowing them or how what gender they are, I usually grab a handful of barrettes, and matchbox cars).

When I first started traveling for business, a good friend of mine took me aside and gave me three valuable pieces of advice:

1)  Plan downtime into every trip.  Don’t schedule every minute of the trip with meetings, meals, and entertainment; allow yourself some alone time (to soak in a tub, read a book, call the family, explore the local area, etc.)

2)  Be healthy on the road.  Don’t use a business expense account as an excuse to eat too much, drink too much, and exercise too little.  Exercise after work and before dinner – every night.

3)  Plan for the worst, and hope for the best.  This involved losing things (rental car keys, airline tickets (back when we still had paper tickets), and hotel room keys) – so he developed, and shared with me, his system:

a)  Have a place in your briefcase or purse where these 3 things go – and put them there every time.  For him, it’s an outside flap on his briefcase while on the road, and the bedside table in the hotel room.  For me, it’s a specific location in my purse, whether in the hotel or on the road.

The benefits to this?  In case of an emergency, you can grab these things and be out of the hotel in less than 10 seconds – with a way to get home, get back in, or drive away.

In 15 years of travel, I’ve only had to evacuate 3 times – but all 3 times I was outside with my purse, keys, phone, etc. while others around me were wondering how to get back into their room, angry that they forgot their car keys, or worried that their wallet was still in the room.

b)  Always leave an itinerary, with hotel phone numbers, office numbers, etc. with someone ‘back at the ranch’ so that they can get in contact with you if you lose your cell phone or are out of service.

Stay tuned for Part 2 –

Sorry, the link should be http://blog.cristinafavreau.com/2009/12/time-management-while-you-sleep/