Free Time || Two Hours in Dallas

Traveling for work can be as exhausting as it is exciting; bold cities and new sights can oftentimes wear down to endless airports, sub-standard hotels, and hours spent touring the inside of conference rooms.

I have been traveling consistently for work since 2006, and it has only increased to the point where I can be gone Monday - Thursday for several consecutive weeks in a row. No joke, I am such a regular at the airport that several TSA officers recognize me to the point of small talk about our weekends.

A long time ago I realized this could lead to a significant burn out if I didn’t change my energy on this; complaining about cramped airline seats and becoming nauseous at the thought of another cheese plate in my near future was becoming regular talk for me.

I decided something in that week of dread, when I was in between back to back flights with back to back meetings.

I needed to add in Free Time.

Burn out is real, and we need to address it. For me, there were slight changes I did to my travel to change how I thought about it:

1) I stick with one airline carrier. I am a Delta lover, and accrue all my miles/status on one airline; this allows me to book award travel with my family as well as securing upgrades and additional perks.

2) I stick with one hotel company. I started with SPG and now merged to Marriott - again accruing points and status to use either in business travel or with my family (we spent a week at The Lido House in Newport Beach in January for free with points…just saying).

3) I make time for free time. This is a big one - with efficient itineraries and meetings booked on the hour, free time is very rare on a work trip if you DON’T plan it ahead of time. I make sure I have at least two hours to myself (even on a day trip) to explore and have some selfish time for myself - whether I’m getting my nails done, exploring a museum, or checking out one of the best new restaurants, I am doing something by choice that I couldn’t be doing if I wasn’t traveling.

So for my day trip to Dallas, I spent two hours wandering at the iconic Forty Five Ten, making my way up to Mirador on the fourth floor where I caught up on some Business of Fashion articles, people watched the fashionable and beautiful Dallas lunch groups, and had arguably the best scallop dish I have ever tasted.

Cheers.