Whenever I get stuck on a story or read a convoluted sentence, I think of a
curmudgeonly editor who barked, "pare it down," so often I can still hear his
voice (and irritation) decades later.
"Go for clarity. Simplify, simplify," he'd say. But we yearn for clarity and
simplicity more than we achieve it. Our work and personal lives are bursting
with clutter. Moreover, experts say, the cumulative chaos in your life, on your
desk and in your head all contribute to stress.
The "simplify, simplify" philosophy works for the traveler, too, says Odette
Pollar,
SmartWaystoWork.com founder. She's often asked for advice on how to be
happier and more productive on the road.
"When we talk about simplifying our lives, we're really talking about two
important themes: getting organized and finding balance," she says. "We work
longer hours because we're not getting everything done. We're not getting
everything done because we're stretched too thin. We spend more and more time
working to get caught up, which necessarily means less time with family and
friends--which we need to keep some sort of reasonable balance in our lives.
It's a vicious cycle, and often when we attempt to fix it, it just gets worse."
That's why Pollar has a special contempt for multitasking.
"It's another way of saying you're doing two things badly, which means you'll
probably have to do both tasks all over again--or live with the mediocrity." And
that, she points out, is something high achievers have trouble doing.
Clutter can be more overwhelming when you're away from home. "You've got the
issues in your home life you've left behind," Pollar says. "You've got work
piled up and situations at the office to handle from afar. And then you have the
task at hand, the objective you're trying to reach on your trip." Add all the
things you can't control--the crowded flight, the delays and the bad
service--and you've got a recipe for extreme anxiety.
Pollar and other simplicity experts make the following suggestions:
- Streamline your packing. Make a checklist of what you need and
stick to it. "I never check a bag," Pollar says. "I pack as light as I can
and don't end up wasting time at the baggage carousel."
- Don't expect to get as much work done on the road as you do in the
office. You can't get five hours worth of work done on a five-hour
flight where you can't spread out, phone calls are difficult and laptops
can't always be used. Her advice: "Read and relax as much as you can while
you're on the road. And if you read in bed to wind down before you go to
sleep, don't make it your work papers."
- Treat yourself. Take a bubble bath. Take a nap in the middle of
the day. Stay in your hotel room for dinner. For many travelers, especially
women, room service is a wonderful indulgence, she says. Someone else cooks,
someone else delivers, someone else does the dishes, and usually, someone
else pays.
- Combine business with pleasure, even if it's only to visit a park
or museum. My friend Jennifer always schedules a massage or facial at a day
spa when she travels. "It's great for unwinding, and I never seem to have
the time to get them at home because I work such screwy hours," she says.
- Don't mistake simplification for deprivation. "It used to be that
stories about simplifying your life featured two incredibly wealthy,
successful people who gave it all up, sold their house and left the city to
open a B&B. Or they got rid of all luxuries in their life. All very
extreme." Pollar's view of simplicity is reducing the unnecessary complexity
in your life and giving up the excess that doesn't serve you."