I used to travel regularly and extensively, until I realised that I just got older and although it was fun, so too was sleeping in my own bed.
One of the techniques I used during that time as a “road worrier” was to keep a list to check off items so as not to forget important things. Well it so happens that I’ve another trip in my future and decided to dust off the old list to assemble my things. What a surprise! Seems like digital archeology isn’t dead and the insight it gave me to previous behaviour (and technology) was insightful. Take a look:
| Shoes | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| casual | Jeans | a | a | ||
| Casual shirt | a | a | |||
| Hat | Opt | ||||
| Shoes | 1 | 1 | |||
| Jacket | a | a | a | ||
| Entertainment | Painting | Pad | a | a | |
| Watercolour kit | a | a | |||
| Swimming | trunks | a | a | a | |
| goggles | a | a | a | ||
| Workshop | Marker pens | a | a | a | |
| Camera | a | a | a | ||
| Whiteboard | Opt | Opt | Opt | ||
| Flip chart paper | Opt | Opt | Opt | ||
| Laptop | Laptop | a | a | a | |
| Product CDs | Opt | ||||
| Blank CDs | Opt | Opt | |||
| Lock | a | a | a | ||
| Charger | a | a | a | ||
| Battery | a | a | a | ||
| Ethernet cord | a | a | |||
| Telephone cord | Opt | Opt | a |
The 3 last columns are for short, medium and long-stay trips (2-3 weeks and so on) and the increasing levels of gear meant that I could quickly take the essentials such as passport without bagging up the baggage. Traveling light is the best way of travelling and extra stuff is the bane of comfort. Don’t have it? Just buy it when you’re there if really needed.
A couple of things stand out – I used to paint for relaxation sitting in some hotel rooms alone. It was better than watching the TV or reading a book (- too heavy to take enough at the rate I read). Nowdays, of course, I take an e-reader (not convinced about tablets yet, too heavy and batteries don’t last) but alongside the bulky camera for taking pictures of workshops and process diagrams, there were CDs and telephone cords. Telephone cords! Who uses those now? Everyone uses WiFi in hotels and I haven’t seen a need for ethernet for ages. Sounds crazy but my kit has just got whole lot lighter and between my smartphone and the Apple MacBook Air I think I can reduce my carry load of 10 years ago by 40%.
Do you have any similar stories?
RandomAI 