What I have learnt from living out of a carry-on
Practical notes on travelling a lot for work, from someone who still gets it wrong more often than not.
12 May 2026 ยท 2 min read
I fly Perth to Melbourne most weeks. Sometimes Wollongong. Sometimes Adelaide or Auckland. I have been doing this for long enough that I should be good at it by now. I am not. But I have picked up a few things that make it less painful.
One bag, always. I travel carry-on only, even for a full week interstate. The constraint forces better decisions. Two pairs of trousers, three shirts, one pair of shoes that works for both a site visit and a dinner. Laundry exists in every city. The moment you check a bag, you lose thirty minutes on each end and gain the anxiety of wondering whether it made the connection.
Book the same hotel. I stay at the same place in Melbourne every trip. The staff know my name. The room layout is familiar. I do not waste ten minutes figuring out where the light switches are at midnight. It sounds small, but when you are away from home three nights a week, small friction compounds.
Protect the morning. I do not schedule anything before 9am on a travel day. The flight is early, the taxi is unpredictable, and starting a client day already behind is a terrible feeling. Build the buffer in. Use it for a walk, a coffee, or just sitting still for twenty minutes before the day starts.
Eat simply. The temptation on the road is to eat out every night because you can. This gets old fast and you start feeling ordinary by Wednesday. I eat a proper meal once a day (usually lunch with a client or colleague) and keep dinner light. Supermarket salad, soup from the hotel, something that does not require a reservation or a decision.
Call home at the same time every day. Not when you remember. Not when you have a gap. At the same time, every day. It becomes a rhythm rather than an obligation, and the people at home stop wondering whether you will call.
Do not romanticise it. Work travel is not the same as travel. You are not exploring a new city. You are commuting with a longer commute. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you stop feeling guilty about not visiting the local gallery on a Tuesday night when you have a 7am stakeholder workshop the next morning.
Keep a go-bag packed. Charger, toiletries, a spare set of gym clothes, noise-cancelling headphones. It lives in the cupboard ready to go. Packing should take five minutes, not forty-five.
The honest truth is that heavy travel is tiring no matter how well you manage it. These habits do not make it enjoyable. They make it sustainable. And when the work you are travelling for is worth doing, sustainable is enough.