Jet lag is not just tiredness. It is your internal clock arguing with the local one, and it can flatten the first day of an important trip. You cannot eliminate it, but you can shrink it with a few deliberate habits.
Shift toward the destination before you leave by nudging your sleep and meals an hour in the right direction for a day or two. On the plane, set your watch to the destination and behave accordingly, resting or staying awake to match. Light is your strongest lever: seek it when you need to be alert and avoid it when you are trying to wind down.
Go easy on the levers that make it worse. Heavy meals, alcohol, and back-to-back coffees all disrupt the reset. Hydration and a short walk on arrival do more than any of them.