When stamina and focus come together...

What's the best way to cope with (and survive!) a busier than normal work week? When I was out delivering pamphlets this afternoon—for Party-by-the-Lake, a Halloween alternative which is enjoyed by 3000 people in our local community—I found myself thinking about this very question, based on my own busy week ahead:

• On Monday, I get to relax—with my wife—because it's Labour Day
• On Tuesday, I fly to Dunedin for a board meeting, and home again afterwards
  
• On Wednesday, I fly to Sydney Australia to collect data for my PhD research, after which I fly to Auckland New Zealand
• On Thursday, I will collect more data, before flying home at the end of the day
• On Friday, I have two CEO interviews scheduled, followed by a trip to visit my PhD supervisor to finalise details the trip to speak at ECMLG in Austria
• On Saturday, I have a strategic planning workshop to attend (as a participant, not a facilitator)

This schedule will see me in four cities, in two countries, in four days. Does reading it make you feel a little tired? In all, the week will involve ten hours in the air; at least seven hours waiting in airport lounges; and, several early starts and late nights. It will be mentally and physically draining, I'm sure. Hopefully, I will still be compos mentis by the end of the week! While I'm somewhat out of practice with such busy international schedules, I expect to call on several habits that have served me well when dealing with similar schedules in the past:

• Focus: Block out everything not related to the work directly ahead. Prepare well in advance of meetings, and review notes the evening before. Plan to arrive at airports and meeting venues early, to allow a little time to relax and refocus. Check email and social media websites daily (only), lest they divert your focus.
• Physical care: Avoid alcohol and big meals if possible. Get outside and walk, every day. Drink plenty of water, and get as much sleep as possible (flights are great for this).
• Stamina: Think about the week as a whole, not just the day or the few hours directly ahead, and pace yourself. A tough week is akin to running a 10,000 metre race, not a 100m metre sprint. A short focus will put you at risk of not making it through the week. Good levels of physical fitness is a real blessing here—which is why I try to get out on my bike two or three times every week—although this requires a pre-emptry commitment because, unfortunately, physical fitness can't simply be "turned on".

So there you have it, some of my techniques for dealing with a busier than normal schedule. How do you cope with such weeks?