Many have heard the popular quote coined by Abraham Lincoln, which goes, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Planning is an indispensable action to take when traveling, and organization is a huge part of planning.
We all have to admit, sometimes the best and most interesting moments come at a time when we least expected them to, and we can still have those times. However, walking into anything, if there is an expectation, there more than likely is the need to plan and organize, and when it comes to organization there is a right and wrong way to do it. More specifically, there is a less stressful way and a more stressful way to do it all.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Abaraham Lincoln
If there is an easy way and a hard way to do things when it comes to planning it does not get any easier than a piece of scratch paper and lots of ink. Some tasks ahead of us may appear daunting or appear as if there is a lot of mechanisms at play, but the truth is, mapping it out makes it all so much more manageable.
Take for instance you plan to catch a taxi to the airport, a flight to Denver, a rental car to the hotel, and get from the hotel to the restaurant where you plan to meet some friends. A piece of paper breaking down each portion of the trip is going to keep you ahead of the game. By knowing what step comes next, and then what numbers, addresses, etc. you need, you will not fall behind.
To organize travel documents after everything has been drawn out is as easy as a paperclip and folder. Separate your documents according to each portion of the trip. Do not mix the hotel itinerary for Denver with your departure flight itinerary at your origin. Each document or piece of information has its own designated time and place to demonstrate it’s value, and it does a person no good when one random document belonging to a portion that comes later is floating out of place. Separation is the key.
Now, at the opposite end of the spectrum is the high organization version, utilizing technology to assist. Its 2022 and there is no longer a need to carry a hefty load of paperwork when traveling. Aside from the difficulty in organization, it will bring, hard copies often get wrinkled up, damaged, torn, and even sometimes lost. Do a search for the best applications to organize travel documents and there will be numerous options presented to the traveler.
For example, Planiversity—an itinerary management software—allows users to not only build a travel plan by customizing their itinerary and drafting a schedule, but they can also include copies of their documentation for each portion. The service has a section for ID cards and passports, hotel itineraries, flight itineraries, and additional documents, leaving the traveler no requirement to have to carry a folder full of documents around with them.
In the end, learning how to organize travel documents can make traveling a much more stress-free experience. Hopefully, we were able to give you a few ideas on the best way to stay organized.