Each time my husband and I get ready for a road trip, we try to make our exit strategy even more efficient than the previous trip. It’s a little game we play to make packing and creating our "to do" list more stimulating. For instance, on the most recent trip, my husband printed out two copies of the packing list spreadsheet. This way, we could both go through each line item individually. It felt more reassuring to have both of us checking everything off on separate lists, rather than to realize 200 miles down the road that we forgot something important. I was feeling rather good with our updated efficiency plan until I realized two days into this trip that I forgot several items that weren’t material items.

In all of the excitement about leaving the reliable Pacific Northwest rain for a while, I forgot to keep track of several projects that needed to be taken care of during the first few days of this trip--like, for instance, my weekly BellaOnline article. Oops! As I write this, I’m traveling down Interstate 5 in California on a hazy, windy day. Luckily, I have the opportunity to peck away at my keyboard as I gaze out the window at the rolling green hills to the west. It all comes down to planning. We have been planning this trip for months, and had I started a separate spreadsheet for my projects--especially my article deadlines--I could have done the following:

A) Set aside time weeks ago to write this article and anything else that was due during this time. This would have been the most efficient solution, but I’m still a work in progress when it comes to being well-organized.

B) Put a daily reminder on my Google calendar on the days leading up to my vacation. That way I am regularly prompted to at least get started on my article.

C) Allotted at least one hour of work time during each day’s drive to catch up on these projects without interruption--like I am doing now. The only preparation for that is making sure my laptop battery is fully charged.

D) Plan for an hour each evening to connect to the Internet and do whatever needs to be done to finish my deadlines.

If you find out that you did forget some material item, there’s always a Walmart along the way where you can get a replacement. But in the case of getting your work and other projects done while traveling, it takes a different mindset. Hopefully my tale of forgetful planning helps you plan better on your next trip.