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&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;by Kristine Schoonmaker, MyConsultingLife.Com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Learning how to pack for a week away may be the one of the biggest adjustments for those new to the travel scene.&amp;nbsp; One thing you&amp;rsquo;ll learn very quickly is that checking bags is never high on the list.&amp;nbsp; You lose way too much time dropping off and picking up.&amp;nbsp; Besides, who can afford the risk of lost luggage and having nothing to wear to your client?&amp;nbsp; This means you must carry on and learn how to get four days&#39; worth of stuff into one suitcase that fits easily in the overhead bin.&amp;nbsp; You&amp;rsquo;ll also probably want to work out and do some things in the evenings, which means you&amp;rsquo;ll want more than just work clothes.&amp;nbsp; So, how in the world do you find room to pack it all?&amp;nbsp; After a few weeks you&amp;rsquo;ll have it down to a science and can get more creative.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; In the meantime, here&amp;rsquo;s my personal rule for your basic needs:&amp;nbsp; Remember 4-3-2-1.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;margin: 4px 9px; float: left;&quot; title=&quot;Plane&quot; src=&quot;http://www.vault.com/VCM/slideshow/air_travel_sized.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Plane&quot; width=&quot;267&quot; height=&quot;180&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; &lt;strong&gt;4&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;ndash; Two things that are critical to maintain are good hygiene and your professional image.&amp;nbsp; That means you are going to need to have a different outfit for each day.&amp;nbsp; For a typical Mon-Thurs schedule, you&amp;rsquo;ll need &lt;strong&gt;(4) shirts or tops&lt;/strong&gt; as well as &lt;strong&gt;(4) sets of undergarments and socks&lt;/strong&gt; (that includes undershirts for the guys).&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; &lt;strong&gt;3&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;ndash; Sorry ladies, I love my shoes just as much as the next girl, but when you are traveling each week, you simply can&amp;rsquo;t drag your entire closet with you.&amp;nbsp; That&amp;rsquo;s why &lt;strong&gt;(3)&lt;/strong&gt; is the &lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;maximum&lt;/span&gt; number of &lt;strong&gt;pairs of shoes&lt;/strong&gt; to bring: (1) Dress, (1) Workout and (1) Casual.&amp;nbsp; For dress shoes try to stick to black or brown when traveling.&amp;nbsp; It simply makes life easier.&amp;nbsp; You can wear black with nearly any color pant but it&amp;rsquo;s much harder to pair your favorite yellow pumps, for example, with multiple pants.&amp;nbsp; If you want to stick to your workout schedule, you&amp;rsquo;ll need sneakers.&amp;nbsp; These are the only pair of bulky shoes that go inside the bag.&amp;nbsp; Finally, when you want to run to the store after work or are headed home Thursday night, more comfortable shoes are really what you want.&amp;nbsp; That&amp;rsquo;s why you might also pack a pair of flats or flip flops that can slide easily into the front pocket of the suitcase.&amp;nbsp; If you opt for flats they can also double as an additional pair for work if you want a second color or something a bit more fun (bonus).&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; &lt;strong&gt;2 &lt;/strong&gt;-While we want to keep you looking sharp and fresh, you should always look for places to stretch where you can.&amp;nbsp; Doing so means more space in your bag.&amp;nbsp; You can typically get away with &lt;strong&gt;(2)&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;bottom pieces&lt;/strong&gt; per week.&amp;nbsp; For example, you might pack a black and tan pair of pants for the week and wear your black pants Monday/Wednesday and tan pants on Tuesday/Thursday.&amp;nbsp; That leaves additional space in your bag for &lt;strong&gt;(2) workout shirts and socks&lt;/strong&gt; so you make sure to get in some gym time.&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; &lt;strong&gt;1 &lt;/strong&gt;&amp;ndash; Temperature is always dicey, so you&amp;rsquo;ll want at least &lt;strong&gt;(1) over garment&lt;/strong&gt; like a sweater or jacket that you&amp;rsquo;ll wear or carry.&amp;nbsp; Select something neutral in color and goes with anything.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; If you are going to hit the gym you&amp;rsquo;ll also need &lt;strong&gt;(1) set of workout bottoms&lt;/strong&gt; as you can probably get a couple uses out of those.&amp;nbsp; For the final item, you&amp;rsquo;ll need to include &lt;strong&gt;(1) toiletry bag&lt;/strong&gt; with your travel size personal items.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Following this easy formula will make sure you can pack everything you need into one bag and give you a great checklist so you don&amp;rsquo;t forget anything, like I&amp;rsquo;m often prone to do!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Kristine Schoonmaker&lt;/strong&gt; is The Career &amp;amp; Lifestyle Coach for Consultants and founder of MyConsultingLife.com&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;em&gt;Her  bi-weekly ezine Accelerate offers practical insider advice and quick  tips from a former consulting exec to help YOU take greater control of  your career and stay engaged in your personal life from the road&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;em&gt;If  you&amp;rsquo;re ready to have it all &amp;ndash; an amazing career in consulting without  giving up the lifestyle, relationships and experiences you want, get  your FREE subscription now at www.myconsultinglife.com.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float: left;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.vault.com/VCM/articles/LogoTagline_72res.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;252&quot; height=&quot;55&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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