When I started travelling long-haul a lot (an approach to work that ended in 2015), I came face-to-face with the tedium of travel, a foggy head from jet lag misery, and having to put up with indeterminable waiting in long lines. Business travel has a fake reputation for being glamorous. The reality is very different – it’s gruelling. And in those moments of exhaustion and facing up to the gruel every time, I had to find a way to trick myself into seeing the experience in a different light.

I made up a phrase that I started repeating each time the unpleasantness hit again: I’m enjoying every minute.

When the seat in the plane was uncomfortable: I’m enjoying every minute.

When the border control lines at LAX were long, nonsensical and unfathomable: I’m enjoying every minute.

When the security protocols at international airports for in-transit long-haul travellers made no logical sense: I’m enjoying every minute.

When the multiple flights took an incredibly long time and it seemed like forever to get to the final destination: I’m enjoying every minute.

When the jet lag kicked in and I felt like death warmed up, my head a foggy mess from unresolved exhaustion: I’m enjoying every minute.

When I faced yet another late-night flight to visit another country for a workshop, and all I wanted to do was sleep deeply: I’m enjoying every minute.

And now, in these lockdown conditions, where life, as it was barely four weeks ago, feels like a lifetime ago, I’m having to re-ignite my travel line. I’m enjoying every minute.