May 21, 2021

Hello from Baltimore! ✈️

It feels funny to write that. I haven’t been to the grocery store seven miles from my house in 15 months, but here I am, writing to you from the inside of my Mayland hotel room.

Leaving the state--heck, leaving the house--has been wild. 

I'm here kicking off a new project. In the past few days, I’ve spoken to other masked-face adults, toured our client’s organization, consumed dinner at a restaurant (!), took in some sights, and got to know a new brand on a deeper, more personal level. It’s everything I love about this job, and this week I got to jump back into the water headfirst. 

It feels sooo good. 

It feels good to be out in the world again and even better to travel to a new place. I’m a die-hard homebody, but I’m also an excellent business traveler. It recharges my brain like bottling energy.  

But why?

Why is getting away so good for the soul? Here’s what I’ve come up with. The accidental upsides of work travel, if you will.

I’m More Focused 

I love day-to-day life at Overit. It’s busy, and I thrive on that. 

At the same time, it’s busy. There are lots of meetings and projects and people vying for my attention. I’m jumping in and out of conversations to be a resource, offer guidance, a critique. You probably are too.

Like many of us, I consider myself adept at multitasking. 

Like many of us, I’m not. 

I’m not here to hurt your feelings, but you are a terrible multitasker. And you’re in good company; 98% of us need to stop splitting our attention to get stuff done. 

[Stolen from Akvile DeFazio (Akvertise), who shared this on Twitter earlier in the week] 

According to Gloria Mark, a professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, it takes an average of twenty-three minutes and fifteen seconds to get back on task after an interruption.

It sounds bananas to say fewer distractions are waiting for you at an airport, but that’s the hill I’m about to die on. Sure, there are the crying babies and the strangers’ conversations to eavesdrop on, but none of that chatter is directed at me. No one is asking me to stop what I’m doing and get the baby to quit crying. Those distractions are the white noise to improve my focus—a real-life Coffitvity.

With chances to work well-carved into my other meetings and travel time, my on-the-road To-Do list is narrowed to a handful of critical items—only the most important Must-Dos. Writing to you, for example. Fewer things vying for my attention and more focused work time means the stuff on my list gets done. Productive Lisa is happy.

I’m More Still 

I enjoy the wait associated with travel. I don't just enjoy it; I am calmed by it. Whether I’m sitting in an airport three hours before my flight or traveling via cab from one destination to another, these are my quiet moments. Travel can be hectic; however, it also gives you a stillness you don’t have on a regular day. 

Like when I'm walking down an unfamiliar street, and the quiet gives my brain space to wander and process the things that have been marinating inside all week. When it's late in my hotel room, and I can just be. It is like finally getting that great idea when you’re in the shower or the car driving somewhere because your mind was left alone long enough to figure it out. If you let it, travel can be like that.

I don't have many of these moments, so when I do, I soak in them.

There Are No Rules 

You have travel rituals. What are they? 

The things you do on the road that you don't do in real life.  

I read sinfully trashy books. I eat M&Ms for dinner. I allow myself micro indulgences like a fancy dinner or an airport gift shop purchase.

I'm normally a major rule follower, but traveling is different. I'm free to explore new choices and step out of my default settings. I'm playing a character. I'm Fun Lisa. 

Does breaking our routine help us see things differently?

Does it help us to feel more creative and do better work?

I have no idea, nor any data to support it, but fresh choices can’t hurt, nor can eating those travel Sour Patch Watermelons for breakfast. 

I Experience New Ways Of Thinking

This week, I met new people, saw new places, tasted new food, and had conversations I wouldn't have at home.

Do you want to hear about something that rocked my socks?

I flew here via Southwest Airlines. My flight hadn't even taken off yet, and I got to see how they've adapted something as simple as how to order a soft drink during a masked flight. Rather than asking a passenger what they'd like to drink (which would require them to shout it through their mask and a buzzing airplane), they introduced using non-verbal cues. 

Lightbulb moment! 

Now, flight attendants walk by showing a menu with four numbered options, and passengers can hold up their fingers to indicate their choice. So smart!

It's perfect pandemic ordering when speech is less clear. 

Or, for someone like myself with a speech disability, it's just plain perfect. 

And that's just one travel moment. A single opportunity for learning simply by seeing how others have embraced new ways of thinking.  

🤔 But I’m Not Getting On A Plane, Lisa...

I get it. Travel is a luxury, even in non-pandemic times. If you have no plans to get out of town, how else can we mimic this “travel experience” to get the benefits while staying where we are?  

• Coworking from a new location for a day. Whether a traditional coworking space or a coffee shop that gives you some ambiance while you give them some business. 
• Changing the types of books, movies, and other stimuli you’re taking in. To see things differently, we need to see different things. Switch up your genres and dig into something you wouldn't normally. 
• Meet a friend or a colleague for lunch and talk. Talk about what you're excited about, what's causing you stress, something you're proud of. Not work. 
• Faking a trip. Putting up an away message up at the office, blocking off your calendar, and focusing on a few items. 
• Take a walk. Go for a run. Hop on public transit. Move about.

If you’re someone who gets a recharge from travel and seeing new places, what’s worked for you over the past year? 

Or, if you’re looking forward to traveling again, where are you looking to go? Let's go together. 

🎤 Get Overit: The Podcast

If you missed it, last week, we launched the all-new Get Overit Podcast. Subscribe to meet a host of brands and people with inspiring stories of how they've dealt with adversity to get over it. New episodes drop every two weeks. Check it out and subscribe!