Lately, commuting has been almost a full-time job.

On a recent trip to Southeast Asia, I visited four countries in four days—Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines—before flying straight home. Then there was a whirlwind tour of Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands that saw my morning run in Stockholm, lunch in Lübeck and dinner in Eindhoven.

As a chief of staff with a global technology company, I'm on the road for work two or three weeks a month. While this may be extreme, now that Covid is in the rear view, business travel is back with a vengeance. Around the world, companies are on track to spend a record 1.48 trillion dollars in it this year – more than 10% by 2023.

For business leaders, travel comes with the territory. Just ask JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who think it is essential for anyone who doesn't want to fail. The typical CEO spends alone about half of their working hours at the company's headquarters, devoting the rest to duties that involve travel.

It is essential that every trip is important. Here's how a leader can get more ROI on travel time.

Related: 5 Business Travel Tips for CEOs

Manage your time and energy wisely

The basis of any successful business trip? Meticulous planning and management of your time and energy. An hour on the road is worth much more than an ordinary hour in the office. For a leader, this means keeping even closer tabs on how your time is used.

A great executive assistant can be a lifesaver here, but there are basic steps anyone can take. Rearrange your schedule, skipping any routine meetings at home, so that you can be present at your destination. Figure out what absolutely needs to be accomplished personally and prioritize. For example, meeting face-to-face with a key client would be at the top of the list. Maximizing time in transit is also important – taxis, trains and planes are ideal for completing routine office tasks and checking in with headquarters.

Arriving with energy is equally important. Imagine you haven't slept during the flight, haven't exercised and are in a bad mood. When it comes time for employee questions at a town hall, you can't fake enthusiasm.

For maximum mental acuity during work hours and to minimize jet lag, I use The time shifter application, which was tested by NASA astronauts. On the road, I also aim to live like home in Maryland. In addition to sticking to the same morning exercise regimen, I also make other non-work routines a part of my day. I try to study a little Japanese, practice the travel piano, and read, even if it's just for 10 or 15 minutes.

Business travelers are making energy and time management a priority. In one last pollalmost half said they change their daily routines before they leave to help adjust to their new time zone, while 80% said they extend work trips for leisure.

Related: 5 Ways to Stay Productive on the Road as an Entrepreneur

Intentionally connect with a cross section of team members

To gather information on a field visit, leaders must cast a wide net.

I learned that during my time at the Pentagon, I traveled with then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. In addition to being briefed by generals, Gates often held round tables where no one was above the rank of staff sergeant. To put everyone at ease, he asked open-ended questions: What's working? What doesn't work? What should we do differently?

Having served in the military and in Washington, I know that general officers and policymakers who lose touch with the realities of the battlefield and the political terrain are blind. One of the greatest dangers any leader must manage is isolation—hearing only what they want to hear from people who are afraid to tell them otherwise.

So they have to go out there on the edge, where an engineer might discover that a key piece of equipment is broken, or HR lets slip that the competition is paying 20% ​​more for talent, making it difficult to hire students best young people. You don't hear those anecdotes in the boardroom. Nor can you see how site leaders are regarded by their people – and how good they are communicating the company's strategy for everyone on the team.

Municipalities are invaluable for gaining such knowledge. Just walking around is also powerful. Since joining the company earlier this year, I've visited about 25 of our sites, talking to everyone from management to people on the factory floor.

Oscar Munoz used this approach to rebuild United Airlines. After becoming CEO of the struggling carrier in 2015, Munoz embarked on a nationwide journey listening tourinterviewing mechanics, baggage handlers and flight attendants.

Related: This single calendar management tip will change the way you spend your time

Double down on cultivating key relationships

When it comes to building relationships with colleagues, customers, suppliers and investors, a leader's physical presence matters. Almost nine out of 10 CEOs say technology will never replace meeting in person for important meetings. This is especially true with new relationships, given this more than half of communication it is non-verbal.

I recently returned from Japan where we were running into a snag with another company. Since I happened to be traveling there for a board meeting, it was convenient for me to connect with them personally so we could find common ground.

Given the chance, I'll ditch Zoom to get to know top new hires in real life—not just how they think about problems, but who they are as a person and what motivates them. This is perhaps best achieved over a meal on their home turf.

The same goes for an investor who is weighing whether to increase his stake in your company. Meeting in person can be a dramatic confidence booster. Similarly, executives should not write outside of industry events in person. Trade shows, for example, are hyper-efficient places to meet everyone in your ecosystem, from investors and analysts to customers, suppliers and talent.

Use your presence to start a fire

For a leader, travel can serve another useful purpose: lighting a fire under people.

In any large company, bureaucracy and red tape are endemic. Sometimes, things reach a point where it is essential to escalate them up the chain of command. The CEO can use a trip to force progress—or even delay it.

Let's say a business is having an ongoing problem of low productivity, wasting materials and production capacity and missing upside revenue. If the leader wants to investigate that operational challenge, a slide presentation on a Zoom call won't work. They get to see the factory with their own eyes, walk the assembly line and talk to the engineers.

Boeing's new CEO Kelly Ortberg has the right idea. Although the troubled aviation giant is headquartered in Chicago, Ortberg moved to Seattlewhere its planes were built.

After all, for any traveling business executive, making an appearance is half the battle. It shows people you care.

And that includes events that may not seem like business priorities. I travel for large company celebrations and holiday gatherings. Will I glean any insight on those journeys? Not necessarily, but I'm confident it will matter to people since of all the places I could be on an important day, it's with them. I have to run and catch a flight!