This is the final video in our SNAP series about travel hacks, and this one is about ‘bookending’, which I’ll explain further.
If you’d like to look back at the previous travel hacks discussed, these were: how I get nutrition on the go, the importance of slowing down and taking the scenic route (literally and metaphorically), and we also talked about ‘movement snacks‘ – where you grab a tiny bit of movement wherever you can whilst travelling.
What do we mean by bookending?
Though the term does come from literal bookends (the big heavy things placed at either end of a row of books, to stop them from falling over), we are using bookends and bookending as a metaphor for how you start and finish your day, or in keeping with our travel theme – your journey. To bookend simply means at the beginning and end of something.
How can bookending be useful in our work life?
Recently I had the pleasure of presenting to Nestle Health Sciences, and a number of people in the audience were Territory Managers. This means they are on the road, travelling to a number of appointments every day. Similar to me and my work, they have to be on top form when they arrive. In their case, however, they have to do this multiple times a day.
Everything else they do is about gearing up to those appointments, not only making sure that they get there on time, but that they are fully focussed and at their best when they arrive. So, I suggested that they bookend their journeys.
This means when they get into the car, whether it’s at the beginning of the day or after the first appointment, they do something that puts an end to that particular part of the day. It could be a bit of breathwork, it could be relaxing, or it could be visualising something – perhaps the journey to the next client or the meeting itself. The idea is that it puts a metaphorical lid on that segment of the day.
Then, when they get to the next appointment or destination, it’s about getting focussed, pausing to think – what you are going to do to restart and get yourself going again? It could be a movement snack as we spoke about in the previous travel hack, or it could be the suggestions made earlier (visualisation or breathwork), focussed around the thought: ‘What am I here to do? Have I got everything?’
Hydration as a bookend
Hydration can be a nice bookend. I’m a big boxing fan, and I recently listened to Steve Bunce’s podcast with Shane McGuigan, who’s a young and very successful boxing trainer. He was talking about how he gets a fighter ready for a fight. Obviously, there’s a lot of complexity to how they do that. Particularly when they have to make weight (that is, ensure they don’t exceed the weight limit for a particular fight). But he was really big on hydration. For boxers, being properly hydrated is absolutely essential. It regulates body temperature, lubricates the muscles and enables them to absorb nutrients from food. It’s essential for their body to operate optimally. In fact, being dehydrated can be extremely dangerous in combat sports because it can lead to loss of fluid surrounding the brain, increasing the risk of brain injuries.
I think hydration is really important for us as well, because we’re going out and performing too. Not in the same way as a boxer or elite athlete, but with the meeting being our big event. We want it to go well, so we should be thinking about getting ourselves ready in the same way that an athlete does. Hydration is worth considering and is an easy one for us to do. Even if you’ve never imagined yourself to be an athlete in any context, you still need to be hydrated.
Electrolytes
To get myself ready for some of my recent events in London, I’ve got a prep routine (I’ll do a post on that another time). As part of that, I make sure that I’m properly hydrated by using electrolytes. This really helps to focus me so I am ready for my big event. Electrolyte water contains minerals with electrical charges such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Coconut water is also great for replenishing potassium, magnesium and sodium.
What will be your bookends?
As with all the travel hacks we’ve discussed, you decide what’s going to work for you. The idea of bookending is that as you’re getting ready for the next task or challenge. By actively doing something that closes down the part that’s already done. Also taking a moment to prepare for what’s coming up, that way you can be really focussed on the next thing.
Share your travel hacks
I hope you’ve enjoyed this series on travel hacks. Perhaps the ideas I’ve shared with you have sparked some new ways to approach your journeys. If you do travel and have any great tips, please get in touch.
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