Ever had that moment when you go to get something from your room but forgot what you went in for, but then you remember again what you needed once you’ve left and then head back again. Or when you go to the supermarket to get an item and end up buying other things and forgot the item you went in to purchase initially. Well that is cute and human-like, but can be magnanimously catastrophic if you are a frequent traveller.

No Second Bite of the cherry

Whilst travelling you will not get a chance to go back to the place you last left and expect everything to be the same. The medium will change, your control and comfort conditions have been dispelled and you are in a state of continuous movement from one phase to the next. The difference between phases can be a one-way security check which you have already passed, a 7 hour flight which you will need to pay and wait to book again to return, or immigration border control which may or may not let you back into the country.  

Travelling can be a stressful event. Whether travelling alone, in group or with family traveling long distances with luggage can be one of the most stressful scenarios a person may ever endure during his or her lifetime. From booking the seat, through to arriving at check-in two/three hours before take-off, the process of ensuring your bag has been packed correctly and the taxi is booked on time and a host of other pre-flight checks can be a standard process that is often overlooked.

Have you placed the most valuable items somewhere in the “checked-in” luggage or carried it on your “hand luggage” for peace of mind?

Do you know where you are at the airport whilst holding your most valued possession; do you know where your family and group members are and where to board the flight? These questions floating in your head during the duration of the journey whilst in an unfamiliar vicinity during both take off and again during landing.

What to Focus on?

Frequent flyers may be more comfortable upon landing but even those that travel via air once and twice a week will tell you that at the airport, safety, security regulation and timing is a very uniform and regular that self-assurance is diminished. Other factors such as hunger and needing to go to the toilet whilst moving through often large aerodrome type buildings and paying for food, reading, watching other passengers and attempting to pass the time as peacefully as possible are further reasons for amplified stress that may increase your chances of forgetting or misplacing an important item.

The shear prospect of forgetting your wallet, headphone or even passport at the last seat you were sitting at or in the hand bag you forgot at the bathroom is enough to accelerate stress levels.

Travel Light

In order to mitigate these occurrences and thoughts, which have occurred to the best of us, travel as light as you can.

The ideal solution is to have nothing on you that can be forgotten or misplaced. That means checking-in all your luggage i.e. placing it at the cargo section of the plane via baggage handlers and automatic belts. Putting 100% faith in baggage handling and collection towards the end of the journey at arrival. You can place essential items such as passport and boarding cards in your front or back pocket and mobile in another pocket.

However, this may not be a pleasant experience for most passengers as the duration and patience required at the terminal gates encourages you to carry at least a fannypack or small bag to carry essential items. You may want to carry a magazine or a change of t-shirts, or a pack of chewing gum.
Some people carry hand luggage that is sufficient for them if the checked-in luggage gets delayed or lost for any reason. A sort of contingency bag with underwear, wallet, and most valued possessions.
Hand luggage is usually placed at around 10kg weight limit, some airliners may have higher weight tolerances and it is wise to research the limits and make use of this facility as best you can.

Relieve your Brain of memorising everything

A small compartmentalised bag that has different storage for passport, wallet, clothes will do your brain the favour of pre-organisation your things so you can recall at an instant without having to stress or panic.

Panic attacks can be very real when travelling and the best of travellers can have at 2 – 3 miniature attacks before realising where everything is.  Reducing the need to rummage through the luggage every 5 minutes seeing where you last placed your passport for example is a classic example of this.

Panic attacks and heightened levels of nervousness from what are somewhat trivial incidents can be put to rest with an effective travel plan and correct luggage strategy.

Having a pre-organised bag is similar to having an organised work station. It helps take stress levels from where your belongings are and enable you to focus attention on getting to where you should be and if you have business or meeting on the other side, you are composed focused and fresh.

Pre-organisation takes some of the weight from your short term memory and lets your brain focus on the important things which you will need to see through the rest of journey. This will also represent the positive energy emitted from you as a person throughout your journey.

Most importantly pre-organisation reduces the likelihood of losing or misplacing a valued item, an unforced error that can cause trauma for you and those around you. Depending on the frequency and magnitude of the loss, it may give you a stigma or bad reputation as someone who is not trustworthy of carrying a bag, a child or any responsibility for that matter.

It can also affect your confidence and the eerily thoughts of whether your belongings were misplaced or stolen, which can result in permanent scarring affecting your personality and attitude towards others.

Don’t let that person be you.

Lighten your brain load :-

1. Book Early – increased preparation time reduces stress and clarity of thought
2. Prepare your bag in way that is organized with important items being easily accessible such as passport, boarding pass, wallet
3. Travel as light as possible and maintain luggage within weight restriction
4. Sleep well, make sure you get plenty of sleep before travels as being exhausted can cause you to become lazy and forgetful, when you should be alert and fresh
5. Arrive early – do not get burnt out running, trying to juggle yourself, luggage and time. Exhausting your body and mind before embarking on the journey is a catalyst for failure
6. Keep valuable items on you or as close to you as possible
7. Keep local time on yourself with a wrist watch. All tickets bookings and flight departures are referenced in local time- make sure you know what time it is wherever you land and however long you stay. Ensure your watch is accurate to local time – reset to local time immediately even if staying for transit of a few hours.
8. Meditate, pray and relax during any stage of your travels, ideally before departure but doing so transitionally will also help ease tensions and overthinking
9. Right down your flight plan somewhere, including transit durations, departure/arrival times and review occasionally. Particularly important for transitioning from one flight to the next, as soon as you land in transit location try to find out where your next flight will depart from. From here you can sit next to the gate, recover, recuperate and retrieve any items that you will need for the next stage of the journey

Peace of mind and better memory come hand in hand. Be polite, be courteous obey they law and you will find the same energy reflected back should you forget or misplace any of your belongings at a transition.

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