My Travel Project Template
In an older post, I talked about making a project template for trip planning. The goal is to build a comprehensive list of everything I might want to prepare, pack, or do before, during, or after a business or vacation trip. Before I made this template, I was more anxious: Did I forget to do anything? Do I have everything I need? What am I missing? Now I can relax and concentrate on the fun times ahead.
Friends have asked me for my list to use as a starting point for their own, and this is that lightly annotated list. Regrets from past adventures inspired every item. The moment I've booked a trip, I copy this template into my to-do app, then delete everything that doesn't apply this time. For instance, if I'm going to visit family, I can use their pillow instead of packing my own. If I'm going to Chicago in winter, I don't need swimming trunks. If I'm traveling for personal reasons, I may not take my work laptop. It's much easier to remove items I don't need than to scramble to remember the things I do need.
As always, the "update the travel template" action near the bottom is the critical feedback loop that makes this all work. Every time I've wished I'd done or packed something, I made a reminder to add it to the list for the next time. If I were to start over with a new template having that as the only item, after a few trips that template would look a lot like this one.
As soon as travel is planned
- Schedule time off at work 1
- Call the vet to make pet boarding arrangements
Three weeks before travel
- Ensure airline has TSA Pre✓ info
One week before travel
- Notify the bank about travel 2
- Buy travel toothpaste
- Buy disposable razors
- Buy travel shaving cream
Two days before travel
- Get passports from safe
- Check in to flight
- Get $40 from an ATM 3
- Download reading material 4
- Stop eating spicy food 5
Day before travel
- Charge the USB battery 6
- Pack pants
- Pack shirts
- Pack undershirts
- Pack underwear
- Pack socks
- Pack shoes
- Pack jacket
- Pack sandals
- Pack shorts
- Pack belts
- Pack a wearing-around hat 7
- Pack swim trunks
- Pack a sun hat
- Pack a sun shirt
- Pack gaffers tape 8
- Pack water bottle
- Download podcasts and meditations 9
- Pack dopp kit 10
- Pack first aid kit
Night before travel
- Put passport card in bag
- Put backup credit card in bag 15
- Set wake-up alarm
- Charge laptop
- Charge iPhone
- Charge iPad
- Charge Apple Watch
- Charge AirPods
- Charge Switch
- Remove TSA-unfriendly stuff from bag 16
- Pack USB battery
- Pack passport book in suitcase 15
- Pack handkerchief
- Pack food bar
- Pack AirPods
- Pack Switch
- Pack magazine for plane 4
- Pack boarding passes
- Pack sunglasses
- Pack journal
Day of travel
- Wear my Apple Watch
- Turn on Fog of World 17
- Set the thermostat to vacation mode 18
- Pack laptop charger
- Pack iPhone charging cable
- Pack iPad charging cable
- Pack Apple Watch charging cable
- Pack USB charger's charging cable
- Pack AirPods charging cable
- Pack multi-device charger
- Pack laptop
- Pack iPhone
- Pack iPad
- Pack pillow
- Buy airport stickers 19
The day before return
- Check in to return flight
The day of return
- Buy airport stickers
- Set the thermostat to normal mode
- Put away passports
- Update the travel template 20
After return
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This seems obvious but I always forget. ↩︎
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If you don't do this, your bank may see transactions from an unusual location and freeze your debit or credit card. ↩︎
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I've never regretted having walking around money while traveling. ↩︎
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If I didn't have something to read on a flight, I'd lose my mind. ↩︎ ↩︎
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Yes, the Thai curry native-extra-hot is delicious. Do you really want to be trapped in a plane while your stomach tries to digest it? ↩︎
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I take a plug-in charging block and a portable USB battery. If my phone is running low in the middle of a long flight, I can still charge it with the battery. ↩︎
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It's vacation. I want to throw on a hat to step out for coffee or breakfast. ↩︎
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Ideal for covering obnoxiously bright power LEDs in hotel rooms, blocking light under the door, etc. ↩︎
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If it's too bumpy to read, it's nice to have something fun or relaxing to listen to. ↩︎
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See "Building the Perfect Dopp Kit". ↩︎
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Hotel curtains never seem to close all the way. Bend them to your will. ↩︎
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Ever been rained on, had to walk around a lot in wet pants, and gotten chafed from it? Yeah, me neither. ↩︎
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"Ow, these new shoes are killing my feet and I'm walking way more than usual." ↩︎
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Jet lag. Strange hotel. Travel excitement. These add up to difficulty sleeping. ↩︎
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Carry at least 2 forms of ID and 2 forms of payment in 2 separate places. If 1 set gets stolen, you still have the other to get home. ↩︎ ↩︎
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I have a tiny multi-tool in my EDC bag, and I don't want the TSA to confiscate it. ↩︎
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This is a fun little app that records everywhere you've been. ↩︎
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Save money not heating or cooling your house as much while you're away from it. ↩︎
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I collect them for my carryon suitcase. This is in here twice in case I have a different layover on the way home. ↩︎
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I take notes of things I wish I'd done or packed. When I get home I immediately update the list so that I won't forget next time. ↩︎
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Do it while you still have all the receipts in one place. ↩︎
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Once the office has reimbursed me, the trip is officially done. ↩︎