I’ve spent a lot of time on long-haul flights over the past year courtesy of a consultancy project, and one of the questions I’m asked most often is how I manage jet lag, productivity and the inevitable exhaustion that comes with crossing multiple time zones.
The interesting thing is that the strategies that work for international travel aren’t all that different from the ones that help us perform well in business and leadership. In both cases, the goal is the same: manage your energy, reduce unnecessary decisions and create routines that allow you to perform at your best.
So, for those who have asked, here are a few of the things that work for me.
Manage yourself on the flight
I have one glass of champagne after take-off, and that’s where it ends. After that, it’s sparkling water all the way.
The same philosophy applies to food. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean you have to eat it. Your activity levels are lower than usual, and altitude already affects digestion. If you wouldn’t normally eat a three-course meal in the middle of the afternoon, there’s probably no need to do it at 35,000 feet.
Choose flight times strategically
Whenever possible, I prefer to fly in the evening and sleep for as much of the first leg as I can. Anything I manage on the second leg is a bonus.
The aim is to arrive in the morning so that I can start adjusting to the local time zone immediately.
Power through the first day
This is one of my golden rules.
If I can stay awake until evening on the first day, I have a much better chance of settling into the new time zone quickly. The only exception is when I’ve barely slept during the flight and arrive early in the morning. In those circumstances, I’ll allow myself a short sleep, but never more than a couple of hours, and always with an alarm set.
Get outside as quickly as possible
Fresh air, sunshine and movement are powerful tools. A decent walk helps me stay awake, clear my head and signal to my body that it’s time to adjust.
It’s remarkable how often the simplest interventions prove to be the most effective.
Protect your sleep
As a pharmacist, I have no hesitation in using the tools available to help my body adapt more quickly. Sleep is one of the foundations of performance, and I treat it accordingly.
My preference is usually a combination of melatonin and an over-the-counter antihistamine-based sleep aid for the first few nights after a major time-zone change, but everyone is different, and it’s always worth seeking professional advice about what works best for you.
Reduce decision fatigue wherever possible
This is the biggest lesson of all.
For work travel, I deliberately minimise the number of new things I need to think about.
I fly with the same airlines because I know which flight times suit me best. I know the seats that give me the best chance of sleeping, how to navigate the transit airports and which meal options work for me.
I often stay in the same places for exactly the same reason. I don’t want to spend precious mental energy figuring out where the light switches are, finding the nearest supermarket or working out how to get to the correct train platform.
If I’m on holiday, that’s completely different. Exploring unfamiliar places is part of the experience.
But if I’m travelling for work, my goal is to create as much certainty and consistency as possible so that I can devote my energy to the things that matter most.
Leadership is much the same.
The highest performers aren’t necessarily the people doing more things. More often, they’re the people making fewer decisions, protecting their energy and creating routines that allow them to focus on the work that only they can do.
We spend a lot of time talking about scalability in business, but perhaps personal scalability matters just as much.
After all, if the leader runs out of energy, eventually the organisation does too.
Let me know if you've got any other tips that I should add to my list!
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