Earlier this week I was in Las Vegas for a business trip and that gave me a chance to practice a few of my tips to stay in touch while away from your family.

But what about when you get home?

I don’t travel for business too often but when I do, I always try to schedule it so I can take the day after I return home as a day off. With this trip I unfortunately had a meeting scheduled for the morning on the day after I returned.

To try and make up for the fact that I would have to go into work, I decided to get on an earlier flight so I would make it home before the kids went to bed for the night. Unfortunately, there was a mechanical issue with the airplane and bad weather that resulted in me getting home later than anticipated.

If I were to head into the office for my scheduled meeting, that would mean another full day before I had a chance to see my kids awake. Rather than do that, I contacted the participants of the meeting and asked them if they would prefer to reschedule the meeting or have me call in as I would not be in the office.

While the perception was that I had to physically be there for this meeting, the true reality is that calling in for the meeting was more than sufficient. I’ll admit that I am very lucky to have this flexibility at my job as I know this is not an option that everyone can enjoy.

But by working from home today, the day after my business trip, I was able to share breakfast with my kids and take them out to the bus before school. When the bus arrived home, I was there waiting for them. I had the time to sit down and help them with their homework and have a conversation about their day at school. Although I think the part they enjoyed the most was receiving the little gift that I brought them home.

So what is the lesson here?

When your work keeps you away from your family on a business trip, you should do whatever you can to schedule some time to be there and reconnect with your family once you return.

In many cases, you will spend the day after returning from a business trip simply catching up on emails and work that has been waiting for your attention. That is a perfect opportunity to have a quiet day working from home so you can share a few moments with your spouse and children.

Do you do anything special after a business trip?

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