re: T…

Personally, more than 3-4 days a week is too much especially if short turnarounds. ie: Tuesday-Friday then out again Monday-Thursday

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I spend a lot of time traveling. Last year I spent 145 nights in a hotel. It gets old. At least I am home most weekends.

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I was right there. I spent 180-200 nights annually in a hotel for nearly a decade. Gave that up 8 months ago and have never felt better.

Traveling (mine was all driving) took a physical toll on me.

I travel 208 days a year. I fricking hate it. But I can't make enough money around where I live. So I have to travel.

Mid 40s, kids in HS / MS which is where I am now... I would be comfortable traveling about a month per year.

Mid 20s, no kids, put me on the road as much as you need.

Mid 20s, kids very young, I would not want to travel at all.

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Business travel is so archaic these days unless you are in hard core sales.

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In some sense yeah. I have crews all over the south. It’s not an option to just check on them virtually. I’m at about 2 days a week of travel - some days I’ll drive 4 hours there and back and get home late just so I can help out with the kids in the morning. That’s probably my limit at this point in life.

In 2015, I attained Diamond status on Delta through segments alone. (You need 140 segments in a calendar year, I had 154 on Delta alone, and Delta wasn't my only airline.) I was the very definition of a "road warrior". Of the 52 weeks that year, I took a trip 47 of them. There were some weeks traveling I would only get 2 segments; others as many as six with connections. Doing the basic math, that's basically three segments a week.

I spent a lot of time on airplanes, and more nights in hotel room beds than my own. That kind of schedule is untenable, and mercifully, the project I was on came to an end in the fall of 2016. You can't maintain that kind of grueling schedule without giving up things in your life.

And I assure you, what I was giving up wasn't worth the sky miles. It's harder to find routine when you're on the road, and you wind up working many more hours than you normally would because what else are you going to do?

My wife was working quite a bit during that time as well, so we managed through it. We had the weekends together. We also took a lot of trips together, and we made it work. However, kids completely changed the equation, particularly in their first two years. I would never want to be away from my family that much now.

So, how much is too much? I'm in a different role with a different company, but this past year, I took about 16 trips. That seems about right for where I am in life. And, couple were in and out the same day. It makes for a long day, but nothing beats sleeping in my own bed.

When I was younger, I could easily handle the grind, so if you have a choice in the matter and are still a couple of steps ahead of Father Time, grind it out now *if* there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If not, look for something else. Try to find balance no matter where you are in the process of changing.

I used to travel about once every six weeks and that was perfect for me. Trip would consist of leaving on a Sunday and flying or driving back home on a Friday.
Might be one of the few things I miss from work since retiring.

I have an 11 hour drive for my work right now. I just traded that in for a 31 hour flight.

1998-99 were very close to 100 per cent travel for work years. Home office was in Houston and Malaysia. Traveled around the world 12 times in 99.

Effect on physical health is enormous. Down time weither in hotel or plane is dominated by food and drink.

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That's a case by case basis. There are too many variables. Distance, schedule, work-life balance, married? Kids? What age? Annual income, how much do you need of that income? Pics of wife?

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I was trying to follow what this guy was saying but knew he was an expert on the subject when this was brought up.