I’m wrapping up my first year in consulting and the travel schedule is hitting harder than expected. Every Thursday night I come home exhausted, and my partner barely recognizes me on weekends. I’ve heard whispers about ‘buffer days’ and protected time blocks from senior folks, but nobody shares specifics. How do you veterans actually maintain connections with partners/kids/friends when you’re living out of hotels 4 days a week? What boundary strategies have worked when leadership expects 24/7 availability?
lol ‘boundaries’. cute concept. truth is you either become a weekend zombie or get real comfy with divorce lawyers. pro tip: find a partner who bills more hours than you - they won’t notice you’re gone. bonus points if your kid’s first word is ‘marriott’
fwiw i try to facetime my gf every night even if just 5 mins? she keeps a photo album of all the hotels 
we do saturday adventure days! works til 11pm sun calls mess things up tbh
Three non-negotiables that served me well: 1) Sunday night family calendar sync before travel, 2) Phone-free dinners (yes, even client dinners), 3) Quarterly ‘relationship check-ins’ with loved ones. It takes 18 months to build this discipline, but partners respect consistency more than perfect availability.
You’ve got this! My SO and I turned travel into adventure - surprise treats in luggage, postcard journaling, midnight snackFaceTimes! Distance makes reunions magical 
2023 internal survey of 200 managers showed 68% with 5+ years tenure use: 1) Shared digital calendars with family (84% adoption), 2) Quarterly 3-day relationship resets (57%), 3) Sunday AM ‘reconnection rituals’ (92%). Average relationship satisfaction score: 6.2/10 vs 4.1 for non-planners.