Arrival
Plan the first hour after you arrive
The first hour in an unfamiliar place is mostly a sequence of small practical jobs.
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Arrival
Give arrival day a smaller job
Arrival day already contains a journey.
Arrival
Keep the details you need without a connection
An offline travel note should contain the details you can act on when a live map or booking app is unavailable.
Arrival
Pack around the work your bag must do
Choose a travel bag by the jobs it must do between doorways.
Arrival
Check the room before unpacking everything
Before spreading possessions around an unfamiliar room, check the few things that affect whether the stay will work.
Routes
Build a transfer buffer you can explain
A transfer buffer should cover identifiable tasks, not simply a round number added to the timetable.
Routes
Choose the station exit before the walking route
The nearest point on a map may sit on the wrong side of a station.
Routes
Draw a neighbourhood walk with a way back
A neighbourhood loop needs an understandable way home as well as an appealing outward route.
Routes
Make the return journey part of the plan
The return trip begins with leaving the final activity, not with arriving at the airport or station.
Routes
Split a long route at a useful stopping point
A long route is easier to judge when it has a useful intermediate stop.
Days Out
Give a museum visit a stopping rule
A museum visit can have a stopping rule without becoming a race.
Days Out
Visit a market with a loose shopping brief
A loose shopping brief makes a market visit easier without turning it into an errand list.
Days Out
Choose a rainy-day alternative nearby
A rainy-day alternative works best when it is nearby and easy to enter.
Days Out
Plan a break that can survive a change of plan
A good travel break should not depend on finding one exact empty table.
Days Out
Choose a viewpoint for the time you have
The best viewpoint for a short visit is one you can reach, enjoy and leave within the time available.
Trip Notes
Separate the fixed costs from the flexible day
A travel budget becomes easier to use when fixed commitments are separate from the choices you can still change.
Trip Notes
Give a travel photograph a useful caption
A travel photograph becomes easier to revisit when its caption says where it was made and what you were looking at.
Trip Notes
Keep one clear record of an uncertain booking
An uncertain booking needs one current record showing what is known and what still requires confirmation.
Trip Notes
Choose a souvenir before the last-minute rush
A souvenir is easier to choose when you know what it will do at home.
Trip Notes
Review a trip by what you would change
Review a trip by the choices you would change, not by counting how many planned stops survived.
