How to Organize Your Time as a New Travel Agent
A Training by Cindy Williams, CEO of Wanderlust Campus
Introduction
About the Trainer
- Cindy Williams - CEO and Founder of Wanderlust Campus
- Recently placed on Inc. 5000 as one of America's fastest-growing companies
- Mission: Help travel advisors grow, scale, and supersize their travel businesses
- Website: travelschool.com
Training Purpose
Learn how to manage your schedule effectively as a new travel agent, eliminate time wasters, and maximize productivity—whether you're balancing a full-time job or already working full-time in travel.
Origin of This Training
This topic emerged from Wanderlust Campus mastermind classes where:
- New agents struggled with balancing full-time jobs and starting their travel businesses
- Experienced agents working full-time wanted better ways to organize their schedules
The Foundation: Three Essential Time Blocks
Your schedule should be built around three main categories:
1. Family and Self-Care Time
2. Working ON Your Business
3. Working IN Your Business
Time Block #1: Family and Self-Care Time
Why This Comes FIRST
Protect Your Foundation
- You cannot be a productive innovator without taking care of home base first
- Self-care is essential for growth and evolution
- This is paramount when building any schedule
Creates Longevity
- Happiness in any career requires protected personal time
- Makes a world of difference in how you feel about showing up and serving
- Prevents burnout and resentment
You're the Boss Now
- This is the beauty of having your own travel business
- YOU get to decide what's important
- You're no longer on someone else's time
- No more schedules dictated by corporate careers
What to Include
- Family time
- Friends time
- Personal time for yourself
- Self-care activities
- Errands and personal tasks
Action Step: Decide first when your time for friends, family, and yourself will be. This is your FIRST time block—not an afterthought.
Time Block #2: Working IN Your Business
Definition
This is time spent doing your job as a travel advisor—the actual service delivery that completes what you're selling to clients.
Activities Include
Client Service Work
- Building itineraries
- Creating proposals
- Qualifying clients
- Customer service
- Wrap-up pieces for reservations
Administrative Tasks
- Client notes
- Updating your CRM
- Ensuring everything is in place for trips
- Pre-trip check-ins with clients
- Making sure trips go as planned
The Reality These are the tasks you HAVE to do to actually complete the service you're selling. This is the execution side of your business.
Time Block #3: Working ON Your Business
Definition
These are the activities that grow and scale your business—the strategic work that feeds your pipeline.
Activities Include
Learning and Development
- Learning your niches
- Earning certifications
- Continuing education
- Attending retreats and conferences
Business Growth
- Marketing initiatives
- Promotion of your business
- Sales funnels
- Service funnels
- Business operations
Strategic Planning
- Growth initiatives
- KPI tracking
- Project work
- Weekly planning and wrap-ups
The Critical Truth
"If you don't work ON your business, there is NO IN your business."
You MUST drive leads, generate flow, create client opportunities, and build systems in order to have any work to do as a travel agent. You can't put the cart before the horse.
The 30% Rule: You should always spend approximately 30% of your work time ON your business to ensure you have the 70% IN your business to execute.
Sample Schedule Breakdown
Visual Color Coding System
- Black = Family and Self-Care Time
- Purple = Working ON Your Business
- Green = Working IN Your Business
Weekly Schedule Example
SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS
- Completely family time (shown in black)
- No work activities
- Protected for personal life
FRIDAYS
- Noon onwards: Family time begins
- Run errands
- Spend time with spouse/family
- Prepare for the weekend
- Morning: Weekly wrap-up time (purple - working ON business)
- Close out the week
- Clear your head
- Separate work week from weekend
- Review accomplishments
MONDAYS
- Primary Focus: Working ON Your Business (purple)
- Marketing planning
- Recording year-to-date KPIs
- Project work
- Very little "green" (working IN business)
- Exception: ~1 hour for service and admin time
- Handle clients traveling on Monday
- Minimal administrative interaction
- Keep this scaled to a minimum
TUESDAYS - THURSDAYS
- Laser focused on working IN your business (green)
- This is where the heavy lifting happens
- Proposals and reservations
- Servicing all trips
- Client check-ins
- Ensuring everything goes as planned
Time Investment:
- Typically 8.5 to 9-hour days
- Sometimes include lunch breaks, sometimes not
- Work really hard these three days to protect weekends
- Concentrated effort on service delivery
Special Considerations
Continuing Education Events
- Multi-day retreats (example: 14th-17th on calendar)
- These count as working ON your business (purple)
- Essential for growth and development
- Build into your schedule proactively
Service and Admin Time
- Reality Check: Clients may travel on Mondays or Fridays
- You may need minimal administrative interaction on these days
- Keep it scaled to a minimum
- Use systems and processes to reduce weekend calls
Weekend Client Interactions
- Implement systems to minimize weekend service calls
- Set client expectations about response times
- Use processes that protect your family time
Customizing Your Schedule
Your Time, Your Rules
Family time doesn't have to be weekends:
- Maybe your family time is mid-week
- If kids aren't in school yet, you have flexibility
- If kids are in college, even more flexibility
- You can work weekends if that suits your life
- No judgment - float it around to fit YOUR life
The Ideal Work Ratio
70/30 Split (of work time only, not including family time):
- 70% of work time = Working IN your business
- 30% of work time = Working ON your business
Why This Matters:
- Without the 30% ON your business (marketing, operations, best practices), there won't be any IN your business to work on
- You must continue to grow, scale, and maintain a healthy, robust, profitable business
- The only way to do that is protecting that "work ON your business" time
Systems to Support Your Schedule
Client Communication Systems
- Set expectations about response times
- Implement processes that reduce off-hours calls
- Use automated systems where appropriate
- Create boundaries that protect personal time
Planning and Review Systems
- Weekly wrap-ups every Friday
- KPI tracking every Monday
- Project time blocked and protected
- Marketing planning scheduled regularly
Key Principles for Success
1. Protect Your Personal Time FIRST
Make this non-negotiable. It's the foundation of everything else.
2. Separate ON vs. IN Work
Don't mix these activities. Each requires different energy and focus.
3. Concentrate Your Effort
Work intensely on focused days (Tues-Thurs) rather than spreading yourself thin all week.
4. Plan for Growth
That 30% ON time is what ensures you have a business tomorrow, not just today.
5. Create Clear Boundaries
Between work and family, between ON and IN work, between client time and strategic time.
6. Be Consistent
Stick to your schedule blocks so clients and family know what to expect.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Not Protecting Family Time
Leading to burnout, resentment, and business failure
❌ Only Working IN the Business
Failing to market and grow, leading to dried-up pipelines
❌ Mixing ON and IN Activities
Reducing efficiency and effectiveness of both
❌ Not Setting Client Boundaries
Allowing work to bleed into all hours and days
❌ Copying Someone Else's Schedule
Your life is unique—customize to fit YOUR needs
Implementation Steps
Step 1: Block Out Family and Self-Care Time
- Choose your days/times
- Make them non-negotiable
- Put them on the calendar FIRST
Step 2: Identify Your Peak Performance Times
- When do you do your best client work?
- When are you most creative for marketing?
- Align tasks with your energy levels
Step 3: Create Your ON Business Blocks
- Schedule marketing time
- Plan project work
- Book learning and development time
- Ensure you hit that 30% threshold
Step 4: Fill In Your IN Business Time
- Schedule client work blocks
- Plan for proposals and itineraries
- Account for service and admin time
- Aim for concentrated days (like Tues-Thurs)
Step 5: Set Up Systems
- Client communication protocols
- Weekly review processes
- KPI tracking methods
- Tools that support your schedule
Step 6: Review and Adjust
- Evaluate what's working
- Adjust as life changes
- Stay flexible but structured
- Protect the core principles
Visual Schedule Summary
MONDAY
- Morning: Marketing planning, KPI tracking, project work (ON)
- Small block: Service/admin time (IN)
TUESDAY - THURSDAY
- Full days: Proposals, reservations, client service (IN)
- 8.5-9 hour focused workdays
FRIDAY
- Morning: Weekly wrap-up (ON)
- Afternoon: Family time begins
SATURDAY - SUNDAY
- Complete family time
- No work activities
SPECIAL EVENTS
- Multi-day retreats/education (ON)
- Built into schedule proactively
Additional Resources
Free Masterclass
"Five Shifts to Seven-Figure Sales and Beyond"
- Advocacy project teaching how the travel industry works
- Learn if you're as profitable and productive as you should be
- Available at travelschool.com
Careers on Vacation Program
Wanderlust Campus flagship program for new agents offering:
Comprehensive Training
- Everything you need to know as a new agent
- Industry best practices
- How to be most productive working IN your business
- How to load up your marketing machine (ON your business)
Live Support
- Work with live instructors
- Access to Cindy Williams in class
- Booking academy tools
Resources You Keep Forever
- Full suite of tools and resources
- Goes with you regardless of who you work for
- Keep even after program completion
Partner Portal
- Student discounts
- Links to travel suppliers you want to sell
- 300+ video case studies
Website: careersonvacation.com/readynow
Final Thoughts
The Big Picture
Success as a travel advisor isn't just about working hard—it's about working smart. Your schedule should reflect:
- Respect for yourself (protected personal time)
- Strategic thinking (30% ON business time)
- Excellent service delivery (70% IN business time)
- Clear boundaries (separated time blocks)
- Sustainability (work-life balance that lasts)
The Bottom Line
- You CAN balance full-time work and building a travel business
- You CAN have a successful business without sacrificing family time
- You CAN be productive without burning out
- You MUST protect all three time blocks
Remember: This is YOUR business, YOUR life, YOUR schedule. Design it to serve you and your goals, not the other way around.