Fall travel: 7 survival tips for life on the road

Like many of you, I am getting ready to head out on the road and as I prepare, I wanted to share a few tips on how to get the most out of your time in car and in those hotels.  So, here are 7 survival tips as you “road warriors” get after it for yet another year:

1. Get a binder. Oh yeah, it seems really old school, but putting all of your travel-related information into a 3-ring binder is the way to go.  Snag one of those 3-ring pouches, and suddenly you’ve got a place to store all of those receipts you accumulate.  Expense reports are not nearly the same headache when you’re a little organized about things.  Clean out your binder after each week on the road, and then set it up so you’re ready for the next week.  No amount of technology will keep things together like a good, old-fashioned binder.
2. Talk is cheap. I’ve become a huge fan of listening to talk radio while I drive, and I’m also kind of a podcast junkie.  My favorites include The Dave Ramsey Show, This Week in Tech, MacBreak Weekly, and The Tech Guy.  My car plays MP3 CDs, so I just load them on a CD-RW, and the disc starts playing where it left off every time I get in the car.  It’s a pretty low-tech system compared to doing the same thing with my iPhone, but I get in and out of the car so much that this way makes a ton more sense.  When I’ve listened through the disc, I just use Disc Utility to erase it, load some more, and I’m good to go.  The best part?  Each of these shows is free.  All you have to do is scrape together $.89 to buy the CD-RW.
3. Audiobooks are just like reading. Sort of along the same lines, but I am going to be trying out audiobooks on the road this fall as well.  Sure, you can shell out a little dough to pick up books off Audible or iTunes, but you should actually check out something called Overdrive.  They’ve partnered with many local libraries to offer free, downloadable audiobooks for rent.  Once your rental is up, you can’t play it back anymore.  Mac support is okay, but not as complete as support for Windows.  The one I’m loading up for my first week on the road?  Free: The Future of A Radical Price, by Chris Anderson (and it’s gratis as well).  Great tip from one of my colleagues at Hope: Cracker Barrel has audiobooks that you can “rent” for free and then return to any Cracker Barrel location.
4. Dinner alone is not a bad thing. Okay, so it’s a little weird at first.  You’ve had a long day of visits, and the last thing you want is a bunch of people looking at you, wondering why it is you are dining alone.  Here’s your plan: bring a book, newspaper (remember that USA Today freebie they dropped in front of your room this morning?), or magazine, and then go eat at the bar.  No one will think anything of it, and it sure beats dining on Applebee’s in your hotel room.
5. Pandora + AUX = eyes on the road. You really shouldn’t be fumbling with a lot of stuff while you’re driving, so if you’re interested in music, be sure you’re using Pandora on your mobile phone.  Don’t have an auxiliary jack?  Try an FM transmitter or even [gasp] a cassette adapter.  That is, if your company car or rental even has a cassette deck.  Don’t have a phone capable of playing Pandora?  Hit shuffle on your iPod, or even better, scan on your radio.
6. Write the funny stuff down. There is always going to be something.  Maybe it’s exotic wildlife (I occasionally see wild turkeys in northern Michigan), an interesting restaurant (have you ever been to the Blue Tractor in Traverse City?), or announcements on the LED sign in front of the school (I actually saw a high school promoting a performance by Gallagher in their gym).  You need to have stories to share when you get back on Friday.  Write some stuff down, and you will be a story-telling rockstar!  Snag a photo, and you’re a king.
7. Talk to people. How often do you get to head out from your normal sphere of influence and meet a bunch of new people who you’ll probably not see again?  Engage in conversation with the person who checks you in at the hotel, let the kind worker at the McDonald’s know that you appreciate how delicious their Sausage McGriddles are, and although you are primarily there to talk to prospective students and guidance counselors, don’t forget that the administrative assistant working in the counseling office might have as much influence as anyone.  Invest in your customers, and as you represent your institution, remember: they’re all your customers.

Sure, admissions travel is not nearly as glamorous as it sounded when they offered you the job, but it’s still a lot of fun, right?  Just don’t forget the real reason you doing all of this stuff — there are students out there waiting to meet you, and you will possibly influence the path of their lives.  See you on the other side in November!

Have your own tip to share?  Leave a comment below.