Pack Like a Pro on Your Next Business Trip

The holiday season can be stressful. When it comes to holiday-season business travel, not many has survived it without a hitch.

The thing is, packing and preparing for a business trip during the holidays is intensely nerve-wracking. You have to make sure you don’t forget anything. Over the many business travels that you’ve done, you may have gathered a few tips and tricks to get you by. However, as experience would tell you, something almost always happens to get you off-track. 

So how do you do it right on your next trip so that you can get things done and bring home the bacon, so to speak? Here’s some things that travel pros always have with them whenever they’re out abroad or on the road for work.

Good, reliable headphones

If you’re struggling to keep your earbuds in your ears during a red-eye flight or if you don’t want to hear those loud conversations on the plane, you need to have noise-cancelling headphones. These are great for when you need that all-important nap before your big presentation or you simply want to shut out the world and relax.

Make sure you try out some headphones for comfort and fit, as well as choose something that has superior sound quality. This is an investment that definitely pays off when you’re a jetsetter.

Heavy-duty battery pack

There’s nothing like having your mobile phone run out of battery while you’re in an important call and don’t have a power outlet nearby because you’re on the road.

If you’re reliant on your mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, a reliable and heavy duty battery pack is a must while travelling. Find those that can charge your phone at least 4 times, or at least enough to get you through a week. These usually have over 20,000mAh. You may also want to invest on something that can also charge a USB-C enabled laptop.

Data plan

Make sure you stay connected wherever you’re going. Instead of using your own telecom provider abroad, you can save more if you buy a prepaid data SIM in the country you’re going and use their mobile connection. You can check out the Prepaid Data SIM Card Wiki to see all the SIM and telco offerings of different countries and even find some useful recommendations.

A Backup Service

What if your device gets stolen while you’re abroad? Your phone or laptop may have sensitive information and essential work files. Having this gone for good is something that you just can’t afford.

However, regularly backing up files can be a hassle, but you can actually download an app to do all this work for you. Apps like Backblaze automatically backs up your hard drive to the cloud so that you can have peace of mind knowing your files are securely stored.

A Tracking Service

And if your devices ever get lost or stolen while you’re on a business trip, having a tracking service can greatly help you. Make sure you activate the Find My Device or Find My iPhone feature in your device. You may also use Prey, a suite of tools that can help track your laptop and other mobile devices. You can activate this tool when your devices get lost and you can hand over this information to the police to help you get back your valuables.

Translation Services

Going abroad, especially in a country where people speak a language you know nothing about, it helps to have Google Translate handy. Best of all, with its new feature, Word Lens, you can just point your camera on any foreign text and Google automatically overlays the translated text in real time.

Duolingo

If you want to try your hand–or tongue, to be exact–on learning another language if you’re going to stay in a country for longer, you may want to consider Duolingo. It’s a helpful app that can teach you basic words in any of the dozens of languages it supports. Best of all, this app is for free.

Uber

Don’t know your way around but in need of a reliable mode of transportation? Transportation apps such as Uber and Grab can help you find reliable cars to drive you to your destination safely.

Extra Clothes

This is actually a no-brainer. Have extra clothes tucked in your carry-on bag in case your check-in luggage gets lost. Having an extra set of clothes handy while you’re on the road helps make sure you always look your best.

Expense Tracking Software

For a hassle-free business trip that helps make sure everything is covered and taken care of, you can also use apps such as Gorilla Expense.