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BUSINESS SKILLS TIPS 31 – BUSINESS TRAVEL BY CAR2
Having turned my attention to business travel, today I’m looking at travel by car and ways that one can make the journey more relaxing, so that business travel is as stress free as possible.
I do not recommend taking your hands off the wheel, making phone calls or texting or doing relaxing exercises whilst driving a car (including listening to relaxation or meditations tapes, oh, no). However, I know that when one is driving in heavy traffic, facing difficult weather situations, road hold ups and being stuck in a queue of stranded motorists whilst someone ahead rectifies bad driving, traffic accident or a breakdown or other such emergency, tempers flare.
Not only that, but if you are like me, and often try to fit in one last task before leaving which makes your timings rather tight, it is far easier under the above conditions to phone ahead and re-schedule, make it known that you will be late due to any of the above, or simply take on board some of the exercises that I recommend in this B S T today.
If you are quite sure that you are safely stationary and that you will not be moving any second soon, then some easy yoga breathing can come in handy – counting slowly in your mind as you breath in, say, to a count of 6 or 8, and then breathing out even slower to a count of 8-9 or even 10, will calm you down. Do this a few times and your body will begin to feel that the crisis is over and you will begin to feel better.
Better still, whilst stationary you can imagine the skin on your neck becoming softer, smoother. Feel your muscles relaxing in the neck and shoulders, down your arms, down your back. Take another deep breath in and out and then stretch out your arms towards the windscreen and hold for a few seconds and then relax. Only if stationary and with the hand-break on, do the same with your legs. hold up your hands and let them go limp. then shake your fingers as if they were rag dolls for a few seconds. Then you can gently take the wheel again and as and when the traffic moves you will be feeling much more relaxed.
Business travel can be make a lot more pleasant if you put a smile on your face. When you smile your muscles in your face become stronger, messages get sent to your brain to release ‘feel good’ hormones and the experience of business travel takes on a whole new feeling. Good driving, and good business too.