Hi everybody, it’s Pat Mussieux coming to you from the bathroom of a hotel. It has been a long day, so if I look tired, I am tired for a number of reasons, including I’ve been traveling all day.

This is a topic that I have been asked about quite a bit, travel tips for professional women. My arm is a little shaky. It’s because I’m tired too.

As I was checking in at this hotel and putting things away, I thought this is the perfect time to share some of my tips with you. Remember, these are my tips, not suited for everybody. I totally get it. These are good tips. I’ve been on the road for many, many years, so I wanted to share some of my best, and safety tips with you too.

You know travel these days can be a bit challenging – flight delays, big airports, long hours, long days, long times between connecting flights, all of that. Some of my tips are, first of all, to be prepared. These are in random order.

The first one is I use Uber. The reason I use Uber is because I am most often traveling alone, as a professional women, so with Uber there’s no cash transaction. It’s all done online, and so whether it’s Uber, Lyft, or any of those services, I feel much safer knowing that there is no cash happening. That’s one, and a really important tip. Safety is always my utmost concern when I’m traveling alone, especially in the evening, and here, for example, I got in, it’s dark, it’s early evening, I’m by myself, and so I take precautions. Let me put it that way.

The other thing is, because I do travel a lot, I know that flights are delayed and it’s long days, I have to keep my energy up, so I come prepared with my nutrition. I’m not sure how to turn the camera around, so I’m just going to show you this. I’m always coming prepared. What I do is I have my blender with me, I have my protein shakes with me, I have my energy shots with me, I have my supplements with me.

Always hydrate. Always, always, always hydrate. You can never drink enough water.

And that is my lavender essential oil, thanks to my friend, Wanda, which helps me to sleep at night. There are times when I’m on the road, it’s a different hotel, a different room all the time, and that can affect my sleep, and Pat’s not happy when she’s not getting her sleep. That’s one piece of it.

The other part about the protein shakes, it’s not just that it’s nutritional, good nutrition for me, but listen, it’s economical, so I bring it with me. It’s already paid for and it’s convenient for anybody who is on the road, as a professional woman. It’s convenient, so I don’t need to go downstairs for breakfast, for example, first thing in the morning. I can have my shake right in my room, get dressed, and I’m ready to go.

Some of the other tips at random. One of the things that I always have in my briefcase and my travel case is a pair of socks. When you’re going through security, and I hate socks, so when I’m asked to take off my shoes or my boots, I end up being barefoot, so I just wanted to show you and demonstrate to you, I always have these socks in my bag and I’ll take my shoes off, but I put these socks on. Look at this. This is just from today, going through two security areas. Filthy. It’s absolutely filthy on that floor, and so if you’re going through security too, barefoot, just know that this is the crap that you’re walking through. That’s one piece of it.

The other part is when I get to the hotel, I am very security conscious again. I’m walking into my room here to show you a few other things. I’m very security conscious, so I never let the front desk say my room number out loud, and I will not say it. I’ll turn the key over, so nobody gets to hear about my room because, again, I’m alone. Then, when I head to the elevators, if there is a gentleman in the elevator, I’ll just let it go. I will not get into an elevator with just one guy in the elevator. That’s me, and again, just being precautious because I’m by myself.

The other piece, often, that I do is I will leave emergency contact information at the front desk. Again, when you’re alone, you never know what can happen, and I’ve heard of stories. I’ve had experiences, so I leave the emergency contact information at the front desk, in the event that anything should happen that I don’t show up for a meeting.

Then the elevator thing, I will not get in if there’s a gentleman alone. I’ll wait for an empty elevator and I’ll get in myself. That’s one of the other safety features.

Because I am traveling, the days are long, and I don’t want to spend money on crappy airport food, I’ll always have my protein bars with me. These are the latest from Isagenix, and they are super yummy. Smores. I have my protein bars and I have my chocolate snacks, so that way I don’t have to buy the crappy chocolate at the airports either, so I’m always well prepared when it comes to this.

The other things I wanted to share with you is that I’ve heard on TV reports that when you get into the hotel room, there are three items in the room that are the absolute filthiest and germ-laden. I’m very conscious again, when I’m traveling, to constantly wash my hands, so those socks that I showed you, I don’t walk barefoot in the hotel room either because the carpet is filthy. The other items listed as the most germ-laden are the remote, the comforter on the bed, and the telephone receiver; those three things. Wipe them off or wash your hands immediately after.

So there you go. I just wanted to share some of my favorite travel tips. I’m always prepared, always organized, I have my travel checklist before I pack, and then absolutely make sure I have my chargers. I can’t live without my chargers.

My glasses. I always bring an extra pair with me because these are just cheap readers and I can go through those really fast. I always check for my phone, my passport, my credit cards, my readers, and my chargers, and those are critical to me, and then everything else – the water bottle, my protein bars, make sure I have my snacks and all of that with me.

Also, here’s another tip with my suitcase. Inside my suitcase, I always put a note with my name, traveling to – I’ll put the name of the city and my cellphone number, because you know too, luggage tags can get ripped off, they can get lost, whatever, and so I make sure I have ID on the outside of my bag and on the inside of my bag.

There you go. Those are my best tips. Share for other professional women who are traveling, and hey, take heart to some of these tips that I’ve shared with you. Make some comments. I’d love to hear what you think. Thanks for being here. I’m going to bed. Bye everyone.