Packing for a 4 day business trip

I usually post twice a week and it’s been about 10 days since I’ve put anything on my blog.  Sorry for being a little MIA but I’ve been under the weather and I leave for a work conference tomorrow, so I’ve been trying to rest up before getting on the plane.  This also gave me some time to think about other topics I’d like to write about.  One thing I plan on doing down the road is sharing my packing lists.  Yes, I have different ones depending on where I’m going and for how long.  So I thought it would be fun to share how I pack for a business trip.

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I currently live in Idaho and that I love to travel, but I’ve never really talked about my current job.  I’m a Research Project Coordinator and I work at a community cancer clinic.  In a nutshell, I help facilitate the opening of all of our new adult cancer studies across our 5 sites in Southern Idaho.  I did some Program Development and Project Management work while I was teaching, but I don’t have any formal training in these areas.  As such, I talked to my manager about 4 months ago about options for additional training that are specific to research.  We found the ACRP Conference-Project Management in Clinical Research, which I’m attending later this week in Alexandria, Virginia.

I know I’ve mentioned that I’m a minimalist and that I’ve learned to be a light packer.  Part of this comes from schlepping my life back and forth across the country when I went to college in New York.  From there, I think I’ve just gotten progressively worse, or better depending on your outlook.  I’ve even moved to other countries with just one checked bag and my purse.  So it should be no surprise that the above picture is how I pack for a 4 day business trip (yes, that is all I’m taking).

I think the biggest question when packing for any trip is what do you really need?  For this trip, my needs fall into two categories:  comfortable clothes and shoes for my two long travel days (I’ll be flying 6-7 hours each way) and professional clothes and shoes for the two days of the conference.  Once I have those two areas covered, everything else is pretty easy.  I don’t need many toiletries-I’m staying in a hotel so most of that will be provided.  The only items I need to pack are my toothbrush and toothpaste, contact solution and a little makeup.  Here’s everything that went in my bag:

You’ll notice I also have my computer, portfolio, notebook for writing, a couple books: one for work and one for fun and a few snacks.  I always make room for snacks.  When I’m hungry I’m like the cranky person in the Snickers commercial that turns into Joe Pesci.  I also like to carry my own re-usable water bottle as I think bottled water at the airport is way too expensive.

I’m also taking my camera.  While my conference will take up the full two days, my evenings are free.  I’m hoping to have some time to walk around and get to know Old Town Alexandria.  If so, I promise to share any new discoveries with you.

So that’s all I need for a 4 day business trip.  How about you?