We generally get in a groove when packing for vacations or general travel, and you’d think after doing it a few times you’d have the whole thing figured out, but it can take years to really nail your approach.
However, with business trips it can feel even more complex, despite what you need seeming quite obvious. That’s because there’s always something that catches you off guard, and somehow the stakes feel higher when you’re in “professional” mode.
After all, you no doubt want to look professional and put together for all your meetings and events, but you’d also need to account for the fact that business trips will involve unexpected dinners, early morning flights, late night work sessions, and yes, sometimes impromptu socials.
Moreover, depending on where you’re going, the dress might be completely different to how it is back home. If you’re switching between hemispheres for instance, you might need to pack for winter there and not summer where you are, such as buying womens thermal gloves from HeatHolders, or a raincoat.
Let’s explore some help for packing your business trip suitcase:
Pack One Extra Day’s Worth of Everything
Sometimes you just spill coffee all over yourself right before the most important presentation of your trip, and having a backup outfit means you wouldn’t have to scramble around an unfamiliar city trying to find a replacement shirt that fits properly.
The extra toiletries would be just as useful because hotel shops are very expensive and you’d often find they don’t carry the specific brands or types of products you’re used to using, which might not seem like a big deal until you’re dealing with a new deodorant that smells weird or a toothpaste that tastes awful when you’re already stressed about your upcoming meetings. Keeping it to one day extra also helps you avoid overpacking for five days extra like many people do, and question why they did so.
Bring Shoes That Could Handle Anything
Most people would pack their nicest dress shoes and maybe some comfortable walking shoes, but you’d be better off bringing one pair of really good quality shoes that could work for both professional settings and more informal situations like walking several streets in the rain or standing around at a networking event for hours.
Leather shoes with good soles would be your best bet because they’d look professional enough for any meeting but sturdy enough to handle whatever the day throws at you, and they’d be much more versatile than trying to juggle multiple pairs of shoes in your luggage. Just break them in so you don’t get blisters.
Always Have a Backup Plan for Your Tech
Your phone, laptop, and chargers are obviously essential, but you’d be surprised how often technology fails you at the worst possible moments during business trips, especially when you have a business presentation to give (this is sods law).
If you can, bring a portable charger that could handle multiple devices, extra charging cables in case one breaks, and a physical backup of your files, such as witha USB drive or cloud storage that you could access from any computer. It would also be smart to have all your important contact information, flight details, and hotel addresses written down somewhere physical just in case.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily pack for a business trip.
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