Why You Should Always Have a Trip Planned

Perhaps a more appropriate title for this post should be "Why Kelly has been a terrible blogger in 2010." You may have noticed that I've been in a bit of a blogging slump. I could give you a list of excuses, that I've been busy working on another project, The Wondermap or that I've been spending what's left of my time afterwards offline. Sure, that's part of it, but I came to realize a few days ago that my problem might be one that others share. I didn't have any trips planned. It's hard to inspire other people to travel when you yourself lack such inspiration.

So, in order to avoid a travel slump, I offer you this advice. If you don't have a trip mulling around in the back of your head, go find one. And before you stop and say, but wait, I don't have [time, money, courage] to go there anytime soon. That doesn't matter. Don't let your inner travel addict go dormant while you get distracted by other pressing needs in your life. Just like a beautiful garden, you've got to nurture it and just like a good exercise regimen you've got to wake up every day and tackle it head first. Regardless of commitments, finances (or lack thereof) or even positive distractions, don't let anything in your life stop you from planning, dreaming or putting forth plans to take that next great adventure. It might not mean you're heading there next week, but when you can find the time, funds, or inspiration to go, you'll be that much more prepared to do so.

Dedicate time to brainstorming where you want to go.

You can be calculated or just let it be the first idea that comes to mind. Get on blogs, grab your favorite magazine or spend countless hours on Flickr for inspiration. Better yet, think about a passion in your life that you want to know more about. Maybe that great new Indian restaurant that you can't get enough will inspire you to head to India. Or that novel you can't put down, it might just be the stepping stone for a trip to Spain. A trip planned around learning more about food, art, culture, music, or whatever your latest obsession is, that's never a bad thing.

Don't get in a rut.

It's tempting to go back to a place you already love. Believe me, I've done it. And yes, there's something deeply rewarding about visiting a foreign place again and again (and again.) You gain a deeper understanding of the culture, food and language. But, the one thing I realized after spending cumulatively two months of 2009 in Italy is that I need to discover some uncharted territory.

Get organized.

Turn that brainstorming into a list and start a way to organize those bits of information you will find in your day to day life. That's no easy task, we know. Soon, we hope to be a part of that solution with our project, the Wondermap. A one stop shop for saving, sharing and planning for all of your trips. But until then, tried and true techniques in our house include notecards, notebooks or a Google doc or two (or five.)

Just Go.

It's easy to put things off for another day. But while life is passing you by, you don't want wake up one morning lamenting why you never made it there. Sometimes, even when it seems impossible, you've just got to start taking steps in the direction of your dream. I'm not advising racking up $10,000 worth of flights on your credit card, but stop putting up roadblocks and start making excuses for why you're traveling.

So, I stopped putting off some ideas and starting setting things in stone for my travels later in the year. I bought my plane tickets to New York, to attend the Travel Blog Exchange Conference in June and visit one of my favorite cities on the planet. In typical fashion, I added a week onto the trip to spend the 4th of July with my family, some Maryland crabs and a snowball or two. And we're pinning down dates in the Fall to do our BBQ roadtrip across the Southern United States. As for those trips I don't have the time or funds for at the moment, well I'll be daydreaming of returning to Berlin and planning my itinerary for seeing all the ruins I can in Greece and Turkey. What about you?