So I'm sure some of you have seen graphics like this...
Anyway, I always find these graphics entertaining, because it's true - people have such a different perspective when they don't really understand how other people spend their days. So I decided to make something similar for my job. When I travel, I often get feedback that implies people have no idea what it's really like for me to travel for work. (ie: my husband's jealous comments about how lucky I am to be "wined & dined at expensive restaurants")
Now as a preface... I'm definitely NOT complaining or seeking sympathy. I enjoy getting out of the office and switching up my normal 8-5 office routine. However, being "paid to travel" (for work) is NOT as glamorous as it may seem! It still is in fact WORK!
haha, I laugh when I look at this last photo because it's so accurate. I just got back from a tradeshow in Washington DC. So to clarify for all the people out there who "think they know what I do"...here's a normal (recent) day-in-the-life-of me while traveling for work:
6:00am: Wake up (ok, hit the snooze til 6:15am and then get ready on turbo speed)
6:45am: Catch up on a few quick emails, make sure nothing is urgent.
7:00am: Team meeting / breakfast
7:45am: Head to the convention center (walk 1.2 miles in heels, carrying a 10 pound box, navigate my way through a million-square foot building)
8:15am: Wipe down walls, doors, counters, etc. & setup the booth including all the samples, literature & give-away items, load media onto TV screens, get everything organized & ready
9:00am - 5:00pm: Tradeshow time
Stand for 8 hours in high-heels, insert big smile, friendly attitude & the keep track of 9 men, reel them in for meetings, take messages when they're unavailable, answer (maybe sometimes BS thru) 82349827341 questions ranging from people who have no idea to people who know everything (but you never know which they are), check email to respond to customer service problems=stress, tactfully respond to compliments/men hitting on me, politely listen to hour-long pitches from media advertising departments, trinket salesman, etc., monitor the booth for competitors and/or thieves, secretly cry inside because my feet and legs are aching, call & talk to a nagging customer, tell man in suit for the 4th time that the person he's looking for is still unavailable and in a meeting, bathroom break to massage my feet, check email again to make sure I'm not getting behind, find someone to watch the booth while I find some free WiFi to check on a PO for a customer, dream about getting a pedicure, answer to the FBI three times about who has been visiting our booth and what questions they've been asking, take beverage orders, throw away trash (in a $27 cardboard trashcan), carry a 25 pound box to a co-worker upstairs (still in heels, rubbing blisters), smile and small talk with random chatterboxes, etc.
5:01pm: Clean up the booth again, put everything away, lock everything up.
5:20pm: Walk 1.2 miles back to the hotel
5:50pm: Log-in to computer. Attempt to catch up on the 8 hours of work that I would normally be accomplishing in my office during a regular week.
5:55pm: Unintentionally fall asleep while typing.
6:37pm: Wake up from nap, frantically realize that I just took a nap and didn't get any work done, but it's almost time for dinner w/ customers.
7:00pm: Sit in a restaurant with very nice (very important!) people - most about 20-30 years older than me. (+ I'm usually the only female).
7:16pm: Enjoy some very nice food, while feeling extremely exhausted and nervously trying to think of relevant things to add to the conversation that make me seem intelligent, likable & mature to an extremely important General in the Army or CEO of a customer we're trying to partner with... all while trying to seem less like my 23-year-old, female self, who loves Taylor Swift, Pinterest crafts, TJMaxx, and watching the Bachelorette.
10:00pm: Return to hotel - feet, legs and calves burning.
10:01pm: Go back downstairs to get package that was overnighted to the hotel (since the shirt company forgot all the necessary sizes). Iron shirt and deliver back down the desk for co-worker to pick-up.
10:30pm: Attempt #2 to catch up on office work. Head hurts. Eyelids close uncontrollably.
10:35pm: Husband calls to hear all about my day... I squeeze out a few boring stories for him. WiFi is slow and Facetime freezes. Irritation wins and I snap at him. We fight. Awhile later, he says he misses me. I say I'm tired but I miss him too. I last a total of 21 minutes before begging to let me go so I can finish up some work and then go to sleep.
10:56pm: Scan through emails, enter a few orders and quotes into CRM. Send a few responses.
12:03pm: Set alarm for 6:00am.
REPEAT. x 4 (+ more walking, more lifting, more smiling & more physical labor to clean up the booth.)
Again, this is not for sympathy purposes, I actually enjoy tradeshows and my job. But I just want people to understand that traveling is stressful, exhausting and WORK. Not just sipping margaritas on the beach or being wined and dined in first class (because, let's be honest: I fly coach... often times next to the guy that needs a seat belt extender).
Overall, I think there are three really hard things about work travel people need to understand.
1 - It's both mentally and physically exhausting.
2 - The days are LONG. Like 17 hours with hardly any breaks or "me" time.
3 - No matter how hard you try - work still piles up at home. So while you're working all day, your to-do list just keeps getting longer, and longer, and longer...
So now I hope this helps provide an accurate perception of work travel! While yes, it's a nice perk of the job... please stop thinking my work days look like this:
haha... ok. Maybe sometimes I get a day off in a fun city :)
Now as a preface... I'm definitely NOT complaining or seeking sympathy. I enjoy getting out of the office and switching up my normal 8-5 office routine. However, being "paid to travel" (for work) is NOT as glamorous as it may seem! It still is in fact WORK!
What society thinks I do...
What my friends think I do...
What my co-workers (who don't travel) think I do...
What my husband thinks I do...
What my mom thinks I do...
What I think I do...
What I actually do...
haha, I laugh when I look at this last photo because it's so accurate. I just got back from a tradeshow in Washington DC. So to clarify for all the people out there who "think they know what I do"...here's a normal (recent) day-in-the-life-of me while traveling for work:
6:00am: Wake up (ok, hit the snooze til 6:15am and then get ready on turbo speed)
6:45am: Catch up on a few quick emails, make sure nothing is urgent.
7:00am: Team meeting / breakfast
7:45am: Head to the convention center (walk 1.2 miles in heels, carrying a 10 pound box, navigate my way through a million-square foot building)
8:15am: Wipe down walls, doors, counters, etc. & setup the booth including all the samples, literature & give-away items, load media onto TV screens, get everything organized & ready
9:00am - 5:00pm: Tradeshow time
Stand for 8 hours in high-heels, insert big smile, friendly attitude & the keep track of 9 men, reel them in for meetings, take messages when they're unavailable, answer (maybe sometimes BS thru) 82349827341 questions ranging from people who have no idea to people who know everything (but you never know which they are), check email to respond to customer service problems=stress, tactfully respond to compliments/men hitting on me, politely listen to hour-long pitches from media advertising departments, trinket salesman, etc., monitor the booth for competitors and/or thieves, secretly cry inside because my feet and legs are aching, call & talk to a nagging customer, tell man in suit for the 4th time that the person he's looking for is still unavailable and in a meeting, bathroom break to massage my feet, check email again to make sure I'm not getting behind, find someone to watch the booth while I find some free WiFi to check on a PO for a customer, dream about getting a pedicure, answer to the FBI three times about who has been visiting our booth and what questions they've been asking, take beverage orders, throw away trash (in a $27 cardboard trashcan), carry a 25 pound box to a co-worker upstairs (still in heels, rubbing blisters), smile and small talk with random chatterboxes, etc.
5:01pm: Clean up the booth again, put everything away, lock everything up.
5:20pm: Walk 1.2 miles back to the hotel
5:50pm: Log-in to computer. Attempt to catch up on the 8 hours of work that I would normally be accomplishing in my office during a regular week.
5:55pm: Unintentionally fall asleep while typing.
6:37pm: Wake up from nap, frantically realize that I just took a nap and didn't get any work done, but it's almost time for dinner w/ customers.
7:00pm: Sit in a restaurant with very nice (very important!) people - most about 20-30 years older than me. (+ I'm usually the only female).
7:16pm: Enjoy some very nice food, while feeling extremely exhausted and nervously trying to think of relevant things to add to the conversation that make me seem intelligent, likable & mature to an extremely important General in the Army or CEO of a customer we're trying to partner with... all while trying to seem less like my 23-year-old, female self, who loves Taylor Swift, Pinterest crafts, TJMaxx, and watching the Bachelorette.
10:00pm: Return to hotel - feet, legs and calves burning.
10:01pm: Go back downstairs to get package that was overnighted to the hotel (since the shirt company forgot all the necessary sizes). Iron shirt and deliver back down the desk for co-worker to pick-up.
10:30pm: Attempt #2 to catch up on office work. Head hurts. Eyelids close uncontrollably.
10:35pm: Husband calls to hear all about my day... I squeeze out a few boring stories for him. WiFi is slow and Facetime freezes. Irritation wins and I snap at him. We fight. Awhile later, he says he misses me. I say I'm tired but I miss him too. I last a total of 21 minutes before begging to let me go so I can finish up some work and then go to sleep.
10:56pm: Scan through emails, enter a few orders and quotes into CRM. Send a few responses.
12:03pm: Set alarm for 6:00am.
REPEAT. x 4 (+ more walking, more lifting, more smiling & more physical labor to clean up the booth.)
Again, this is not for sympathy purposes, I actually enjoy tradeshows and my job. But I just want people to understand that traveling is stressful, exhausting and WORK. Not just sipping margaritas on the beach or being wined and dined in first class (because, let's be honest: I fly coach... often times next to the guy that needs a seat belt extender).
Overall, I think there are three really hard things about work travel people need to understand.
1 - It's both mentally and physically exhausting.
2 - The days are LONG. Like 17 hours with hardly any breaks or "me" time.
3 - No matter how hard you try - work still piles up at home. So while you're working all day, your to-do list just keeps getting longer, and longer, and longer...
So now I hope this helps provide an accurate perception of work travel! While yes, it's a nice perk of the job... please stop thinking my work days look like this:
haha... ok. Maybe sometimes I get a day off in a fun city :)
Haha. I love this post. My feet hurt just reading it. I think it is important that people understand that NO ONES life is really the way others might perceive it from the outside. I will no longer be jealous each time I see a picture of you in a cool place for work, instead my feet will just start hurting :)
ReplyDelete