I recently picked up a new job (which I love) and through them I'm traveling more than I ever have before. The problem I've run into is that all this travel (about 2 weeks a month, and most of this month so far, i took vacation) and time zone changes (i fly PST<->EST for most of my jobs) are taking its toll on me. I've only been doing this about 3 months now and I cant afford to burn out this quick.

Thoughts? Tips? Suggestions?

It's also worth it to mention I end up in small towns in the middle of no where, with a rental car. So a bit of traveling around is an option, but heck I miss my home.

Thanks for listening and letting me vent a bit.

Well, here is a "grass is always greener" bit of story for you. I burned out after about 2 years of WEEKLY travel across the US 75%, 25% international (europe and asia ). I was ALWAYS on the move..in an airport, hotel, a few hours in the local field office. I became disoriented. There were a few times when i would be standing in a hotel room washroom (they all kind of look the same) and with terror forget where I was, having to grab the phone book to find out. But there were good times too, especially when I got to finish up early and see the sights. Met a few ladies, saw something unusual, had nice balmy weather in Indonesia a week after staying at Days Inn in Des Moines in winter..adventures.

However, when vacation time came around, I stayed home. It was my relaxation to not go anywhere.

I decided I was burnt out and got a job at a standard office...Mon-Friday, 830 to 5. Everyday. Same route to work. Same faces. Let me tell you something, I regretted it deeply. It was absolute cubicle death (even though I had my own office). The office politics, the stupid team building outings, the monthly cake parties, the gossips, the lunchroom...I realized that when I was out on the road and only in the home office a few days a month, I worked better. I was essentially my own boss (even though technically I had a boss). I built my schedule. I ate on the company dime. Turned the mileage perks into cheap-as-dirt/free 5 star resort stays, spent time walking around duty free or the Vegas strip while others in the company fired up their cubible lights. I missed everything about being on the road and realized that
The road warrior life is so much more free than than the office life. It's not everyone's piece of cake..but if you make sure you take time off at the right time and balance properly, it is heaven compared to the life of the office.

So, after 2 years I managed to get another job that put me back on the road and I feel noting but relief.

Burn out happens, but it only requires a bit of rest. But don't forget the hidden perks of the road warrior life.

Don't lost touch of the things that "anchor" you, even when you're constantly moving. When things seem about to reach breaking point, step back and reach for your anchor.

Every one of us who has been on the road for a long time has been to the absolute depths at times. The smart ones are able to recognise the depth and kick for the surface. The ones with bravado try to push through and wind up sinking.

Here are some practical tips:

Eat well..avoid restraunts, get food at supermarkets..this makes it easier on the body.

Sleep well. Avoid alcohol and make sure your hotels have comfy beds..the quality of the room, at least for me, was the biggest factor impacting the quality of the work.

If you can, avoid peak times. It's easier to get where you need to go and get things done if you are not wading through the thanksgiving week crowds at the WN terminal at MCO.

Get a routine...you are still new, but soon you will learn the cities you visit well and can make better decisions. You will get a routine for each place and the confusion/disorientation will subside when you know the highways and biways.

Small town travel can bring despair even faster..most definately get in that car and go see/do something. Even the local flea market. Movies. Worlds biggest ball of twine!

About the only cure for missing a home is to either get back to it or set up a new one where you are. Bring things to make it feel like home, fly back, even if it's just for a weekend, things like that.

Also consider that if you're going to be commuting to the same place for an extended time to rent an apartment or similar instead of staying in a hotel. Not only might this save money, you'll get more space, avoid the weekly pack / unpack, can cook your own food plus get a bit more space too.

If you go back to the same towns, you can establish a bit of a routine there; get to know waitresses at your favorite restaurants, shop at your favorite stores and get to know people there. Find favorite hotels and get to know people there. Soon it begins to feel like an extension of your home town.

I love having a slingbox so I can follow the GiantsNiners and watch games wherever I am - makes it feel a bit more like home, too, when I need it.

Having a GPS device along makes driving much less stressful, too. Much less worry about missing an exit, etc.

Jet lag can be a biatch - try to bank up some sleep when you can.

If you're going to be gone for a while, bring photos. I carry 20-30 photos of friends, family, favorite places every week. If I'm going somewhere long term, I have a photo book that I can sit in my hotel room.

Eventually, you'll need an exit plan.

I found it helpful to read up on a small town that you're visiting and then go sightseeing, even if it means visiting one little monument of historical interest for 2 minutes.

Novelty of work travel will wear off, and you will get burned out.

Initially, you'll be content with the little freebies you get and awards you earn, but then you realize that you're essentially 'at the office' sleeping in some random hotel 24 hours/day - but only getting paid for 8 hours with a few reimbursements on top.

If I'm going to be away from home for 24 hours on company time, I would want to get paid for 24 hours.

Travel for work is nothing like travelling for fun.

To each their own, I suppose. I've been travelling fairly heavily for work for over a decade now, and I wouldn't trade it for an office job, even if given a significant raise. Sure, it's really not glamorous, but, then again, neither is commuting to the same place day after day after day.

I've never suffered from homesickness, but I'm also not rooted to anywhere in particular, having moved on a nearly annual basis for the past 20 years. I do miss my wife when I'm gone, but I've been travelling since we've been together, so it's always been part of the routine.

I'm nomadic by nature, having zero affinity for any given place, as once I've been somewhere, it's old and stale to me. I crave new places and constant movement, even if it is in Y. Were I not married, I wouldn't even bother with a home, as I just don't see the point. Then again, you may be one of those folks for whom a home is important and for whom a life of biz travel is not the answer. As with everything else, YMMV.

nothing's going to fix it. to me your complaints are of very minor problems. a significant percentage of the decent income people suffer(?) through this. go find a job back home, or someplace fixed where you can take the family.

dupedupe

I love my job too and have been travelling regularly since 1999 with a few breaks. This is my opinion/outlook on this whole topic as seen from my point of view. What I mean to say with this is this is the way it is for me, but can be different for others.

There are two kinds of travel. Project and Salesman style.

Project is a regular commute to a particular destination with possibly odd trips to another destination(s).

Salesman style is a different place each trip or even each day.

Within each style there is also the budget level. Low budget is economy, nested tickets, public transport and long-term hotel contracts. High budget is travel in C, taxis everywhere, dinner expensedd and any hotel under $400/night.

I travel to the same place each week, for months or years at a time. 3 years is the current duration winner. My budget class is somewhere in the middle towards the lower end.

The first thing I do when going to a new place is establish a routine. This is my safety net. I arrive on the same flight each week, stay at the same hotel each week and leave on the same flight each week. Check-in at the same time and leave for the airport at the same time. If there is a need for variation, I try and make that as standard as possible.

While on the road, I have had a number of girlfriends (always at home) and even have gotten married and had kids.

I fly for vacations too but since I sleep on any plane I am not piloting, what do I care. Wife and kids all understand and we Skype daily as well as SMS throughout the day.

This life is not for everybody of course. I am usually the first to volunteer to stay behind on an oversold flight and the last to complain about weather delays. Flight goes mechanical, I am already talking to reservations as I leave the gate area. Work is stressful enough, don't make your movements stressful too. Find your zone. Whatever works for you.

There will be ways of making sure you don't burn out, here are my top tips.

1 - Sleep. Getting your 8 hours of sleep a night either on a plane or in a hotel is going to be essential to your wellbeing.

2 - Reduce stressors. Carry ear plugs and eye shades in case your hotel is noisy for example.

3 - avoid stimulants. Keep coffee, alcohol and nicotine to a minimum or cut it out totally.

4 - exercise. Great for the endorphins and a sense of general wellbeing.

5 - Treatments - massage, jaccuzi spa, anything that will help purge stress. Nothing elicit as that might add stress.

But above all, sleep. Lack of sleep will impair your judgement and leave you ill prepared to deal with being in a unfamiliar place or a work day. Take sleeping aids if you have to.