15 things I do the week before a trip

Cape Town, South Africa, January 2016

The best time to talk about how you wore yourself out preparing for a trip is when you're on the trip. I don't wear myself out exactly, but you know what I mean - the week before vacation, everything at work becomes extremely urgent and errands become fraught with peril in a race against the clock.

Some things I do the week before a trip:

1. Print out my big ass list of instructions for my dogsitter(s). My brother Sean is holding down the fort this week and he came over last Monday to get the low down and see my crazy lady list and supplement/medication labeling.

2. Yell at MFD about various things. I've been asking for that light to be fixed forever! When are you packing? Why is this here? Are you ready? It's sort of amazing that he's not killed me and gone on trips alone. Leaving For Vacation Day is fraught with peril in our house.

3. Clean myself up. Last week that meant getting my hair done, a gel manicure, and a brow wax. Not a huge fan of the gel nails, I get annoyed and my nails feel weird, but you can't beat them when you want your manicure to last for many days. I didn't need a pedicure or I'd get one of those too.

4. Pack, unpack, and pack again. I packed for this trip in a carry on size suitcase so I actually did this a number of times in the weeks leading up to this trip. I am shocked as shit that it all fit. I might need help getting souvenirs home, but for now, we're going with it.

5. Pick up and change the sheets on all beds. Since we always have someone stay with the dogs in our house, we cannot leave vacation preparation hurricane debris behind when we run out the door. Thank God our cleaning captain Linda was scheduled to come the Friday before we left.

6. Call the cards. I inform my bank and credit card company where I'll be. I also take photos of my cards (front and back) and our passports and store them in my dropbox. If we're traveling abroad, I usually get $100-300 in foreign currency so I don't have to dick around at the airport when I get there and can just be on my way and into a cab or onto a transportation system.

7. Swear I will clean out my travel stuff when I get back. I have too much of it and it needs to be culled. Since this is an item on this list, you can tell it doesn't happen.

8. Buy new shoes. Despite my personal knowledge that new shoes should not ever be taken on a trip, I buy them anyway. Then I get my head out of my ass, stow the bag in the closet, and return them when I get back.

9. Pay bills. Least fun thing on the list.

10. Confirm reservations. In order to be somewhere, you have to confirm that you really are set to be there. I also print everything out and carry it with me in a binder because there's no cell access in some areas so i can't rely on electronic copies of everything.

11. Stock the books. If traveling by air, I have at least one paperback that I am okay leaving behind somewhere and a lot of books on my kindle. If I'm traveling by car, library books are taken along for the ride.

12. Clean out my purse. Anything that is not essential for travel gets the boot.

13.Order from Amazon. There is absolutely always something I need at the last minute. This time it was plug adapters.

14. Stare at my dogs a lot and try not to think about how much I'll miss them. No need to elaborate. I also may or may not take 498 photos of them in the six hours before I leave.

15. Prepare for my return. I schedule a massage for one to two days after vacation and a grocery delivery for the day we get back.

We are here in Ireland for my Dad's 60th, and today is his actual 60th. Happy birthday Dad!

What do you do to prepare for vacation?

I am travelling and will reply to comments when I return. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Things you can do today to increase productivity tomorrow

You're thinking wait, it's Friday, screw this post because tomorrow is Saturday I don't need productivity in my life on Saturday. Right? Maybe?  I know, not a great post for a Friday.

Anyway. I'm a very productive person. I get shit done. I'm definitely down with downtime, but I have to earn that time - I like to feel like I deserve that relaxation. I can give you a list of things I do in the mornings, but for me the true secret of increased productivity is doing things the night before to line me up for a great tomorrow. Things like...

1. Formulate tomorrow's to do list today. I do this every afternoon before I leave work. It has my work stuff on it with the top three priorities at the top, what type of exercise I'm going to do, any errands that need to be run, what's for dinner, and chores I have to take care of. This does two things: it stops my mind from racing to track down those things when I'm trying to go to sleep, and it gives me a road map for a successful day the next day. I don't waste time figuring out what to do when. It's already figured out.

2. Clear the surfaces. I don't operate well in chaos. I like to put my house to sleep when I go to sleep so I know I'll wake up to a clean slate in the morning. No dishes in the sink, no clutter crapping things up. I won't feel it weighing on me when I get up. Likewise, I clean off my desk or at the least put stuff into piles I'll tackle the next day when I leave my office.

3. Get out of your own head. Do a little exercise. Read a book. Watch a little TV. Weed your flower bed. Relax your mind and stop thinking about all the things you have to do. Just put yourself on auto pilot and loosen the reins a little.

4. Practice gratitude. What does gratitude have to do with productivity, you ask? Gratitude has everything to do with everything. If you want to attract more good, you'd better appreciate the good you have first. Every day before I go to sleep I do a down and dirty five things I'm thankful for list. Sometimes the things are big, but they're often small. If you don't tie yourself to the things you should be grateful for, you become an arrogant dick and everyone hates you. It's hard to get things done when everyone hates you. Does that reasoning work well enough?

5. Refresh. Get a good sleep so you start tomorrow in top condition. Remove distractions, wear a sleep mask, stop with the technology an hour before bed. Sleep is important.

What about you? What do you do today to prepare yourself for a successful tomorrow?

10 things I do to make daily life easier

Via

1.  Say no to things without feeling guilty or like I need an excuse. I can't please everyone and I can't do everything. Over-scheduling turns me into The Exorcist. No one is safe and everyone must pay.

2. Do things the night before on weeknights: I check my planner to see what's on tap for the next day, lay out my clothes and jewelry, fill up my water bottle and make sure my breakfast and lunch are all together in the fridge or on the counter. I can be up, showered, and out of the house in 20 minutes in the morning since I'm not dicking around with that stuff. I like my sleep.

3. Drink 80 ounces of water by noon. This helps me with sinus issues, headaches, and overall health.

4. Plot out errands efficiently. Doubling back and inefficient use of time pisses me off so I group errands together, make sure my lists are ready, and keep my reusable bags in the trunk.

5. Request books in advance at the library. I know I'm always going to have something I want to read ready for me. I use Goodreads to keep track of books. I'm never without a to-read list and I love it.

6. Use cuticle gel and take care of my cuticles every week when I do my nails. And I do do them every week. I do not need to be walking around with janky ass chipped nails.

7. Plan to arrive early. I am without the stress of running late 99.5% of the time in life.

8. Not expect perfection from myself or others.

9. My Holy Grail - My Daily Dos: make the bed, wipe down the kitchen, deal with dishes, wipe down baths, spend 10 minutes picking up around the house and setting things to rights. This ensures that things never get too bad even if I skip a day here and there.

10. Value the opinion of my dogs over most people...and accept the fact that I'm never going to be able to eradicate dog hair from my home or life.

And of course, the kitchen version of this has its own post: did you see 10 things I do to make life easier in the kitchen?

What do you do to make daily life easier?

Linking up with Kathy for Humpday Confessions.

 Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday