Holiday Travel

With this being the time of year some of us will be traveling to spend time with family and friends it is a good time to practice some of our planning skills and hopefully make the trip the best we can. Where do we start with the planning? If your trip is just across town or several hours away a simple concept will go a long way in making sure the trip comes off without a hitch.

Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

The holidays can be stressful enough already and travelling to celebrate with your loved ones is a big part of the stress. Of course spending time with relatives can be the biggest part of the stress; let’s deal with the part we can do something about.

Make a list, make a schedule and make plans to be flexible to changing situations. The sooner you start with the Prior Planning the easier the actual “doing” is going to be. A good suggestion is to start planning a week before you plan on leaving. Sit down with a piece of paper and write down what it is you are trying to do. At the top of the piece of paper write a cool or funny name for the plan.

“Operation Grandma’s House” or “Invasion of the In-Law’s House”

Starting with a fun name kind of sets the tone for the trip! Then go to the bottom of the page and write what time you want to arrive. Leave plenty of room between the top and the bottom; this is the area we will fill in with details. Now you have a “MISSION” and a deadline!!!

If we are driving we know how long the trip should take on a normal day. Block out those hours right above the time of arrival. We know holiday travel takes longer than travel on an average day, add an extra two hours. This is your estimated time of arrival and the extra time gives us time to deal with any issues which might come up. We need to plan in this extra time all along the planning of this trip, why? Because someone is lurking in the shadows waiting for you to give him an opening………. This evil doer is known as Mr. Murphy, of Murphy’s Law fame.

Do not think for one moment he will not show up at the worst moment and remind you of your failure to properly prepare. He gets paid to do this and Mister Murphy is really good at his job!!! We must be better than him or at least make Mr. Murphy earn his pay by not giving him anything easy to work with!!

If you are travel more than two hours or with small children plan on taking a break from driving. Two hours or less is a good point to plan on taking breaks, maybe an hour and half works for you better but try not to go too far over two hours of driving time without a break. This allows you stretch your legs, get some blood flowing and helps you stay alert while driving. With planned breaks you also have minor goals to reach which you can judge your progress with.

From the block of time designated for driving block out a section of time for getting gas, last restroom attempt and buying snacks for the drive. This will be the last stop before you hit the road, add ten minutes to how ever long you think this will take and make sure you run down your list while filling up the gas tank to make sure you have everything. Now would be the time to realize you have forgot something, you are still close enough to the house to go back and get whatever you forgot.

Above the getting gas section, block out a section for loading the car. This can take a while and is a crucial section of our planning. You really only get one good shot at this so give yourself extra time to get it right the first time. Add an extra half hour to whatever time you first wrote down, even after reading this and figuring the extra half hour in. Because you thought about it and in your mind you thought “I got this in one hour!” as you wrote the time down. That thinking is exactly what Mr. Murphy is waiting for!!!

Getting toward the top of the page the next section, block out time for organizing stuff, double checking everything, eating and getting dressed. Take the stuff you are loading into the car, set it out and package it for loading into the vehicle. Organize everything for loading based on what you will need first. These items go in last, back load the vehicle. This enables you to get to items you will need without having to dig through other stuff. Do not pack the kids snacks in the back of the van, under the suitcases and then be an hour into the trip and need them!!!! Making sure you have everything on the list is just one step, you have to intelligently load the vehicle or Mr. Murphy shows up and has a good laugh!!!

Above this block put a block for packing. This is different from when you are organizing everything to put in the vehicle. This is when you lay out the bags and load them. You should have a list before you do this (we’ll get to this block) and follow this list. If you add something not on the list write the item on this list. This way you now have a list of everything you have. Put everything inside of something to carry or move it. You do not want to just pile stuff into the back of the car!!! This just adds stress later when you are trying to find something. Having stuff in containers also helps with loading everything into the vehicle.

Almost at the top we need a block for car maintenance. If our primary mode of travel is going to be by car we need to make sure the car is going to run. Get the oil changed, pay the extra to have them check everything else and if you have a relationship with the mechanic let them know you are going on a trip. See if they recommend anything else you might need done before you go. Even if you do all the work on your own vehicles it is a good suggestion to have someone else give the vehicle a once over. Can’t hurt and really helps with keeping Mr. Murphy at bay!! The timing of this block should be several days away from the day you plan to leave. This gives you time to deal with any issue which might come up and will hopefully keep you from having to cancel the trip at the last moment!

The block at the top of the list needs to be you’re planning block and also needs to be as far away from the date you are leaving as you can put it. This is when you are going to sit down and come up with the entire list for the trip. Write the schedule out and write lists for each member of the family. Then write list for all the family items you need. Map out your trip and plan on places to stop. Make arraignments for someone to watch your apartment, stop the mail and cover all of the unique situations you have.

You should do all of your planning when you are not under any stress to get anything done. This allows you to make decisions without any stress or pressure. Once you add in either you are prone to making mistakes. Mistakes let Mr. Murphy come along for the ride!

Enjoy the holidays and as always;

Stay Safe!!!

A Safe Place.

When an event happens odds are you won't know the event was coming or in some cases you might know the event is coming. No matter if the event which affects you is a hurricane or a flat tire we all need to find a "safe" place before during or after the event.

What we do or plan for before an event is going to give us tools and abilities we can use during and after something has happen. For most of us the easiest thing we can do is pay attention to the news. Being stuck in traffic is a great time to catch up on current events and the weather. If you know something bad is coming or might come your way, you can place yourself in a better position to deal with incident. Simply taking a few minutes out of the day to watch or listen to the news is a great habit to get into. Either on the TV or radio, you tune in for the first fifteen minutes at the top of the hour and you have heard or seen all the important information. Awareness is a key trait to develop and once you do develop this trait you might be surprised by how many people are completely unaware of what is happening around them.

After awareness comes acceptance. Somewhere at sometime, somthing is going to happen to you. Yes at some point something will reach out and ruin your day. Accepting this now and realizing something is going to happen will help you not experience denial when the event does occur. To many people become stuck in denial during an emergency they never do anything to help themselves. They never find a safe place to go to and become victims of the event.

For all of us the first safe place we think of is home. A few steps can help to make home a safe place and help us during a bad day. If you own your home make sure you have the proper insurance! For us this means we have to buy earthquake insurance, for you and the area you live in this might mean buying flood insurance. Make sure you have insurance even if you rent. There are insurance policies for renters. Same thing goes for you vehicle, get the highest amount of coverage you can afford. In some cases you can get a deal by combining the two. This planning before the event gives you tools to use after the event, do not short yourself before hand.

Put some supplies away. Couple of cases of water and some candles could be the difference when the time comes. If you have a wood burning fireplace or stove get them cleaned up and put away some wood. You would be surprised how cold your home can be when the power or gas is out. Buy a couple of extra blankets and a board game or two to help stay warm and give you something to do. Having a few packets of hot coco hiding with some marsh mellows is a wonderful surprise to have while sitting around waiting for a storm to blow over. Add a tarp or two, some nails and a hammer to cover up items or cover over a leaking roof.

Figure out where your second safe place would be if you had to leave your house or apartment. How far away is mom's house? How would you get there? How soon would you have to leave? Start to save up a 'rainy day fund' incase you have to leave and find yourself looking for a motel room. Being stuck sleeping in a car is no fun, especially if you have little ones!

If you can find your safe place before something happens. Please, please do not stay somewhere until it is to late! Avoid having to put your survival skills to use if you can. Do not stay if you do not have to! I can not say this any more plainly. Do not be like the people during Katrina who found themselves trying to survive in a flooded city! Especially if you have kids. Leave early and beat the rush!

During an incident find your safe place. Tornado is coming? Find shelter! By being aware of what is going on you should know the storm is coming. By being aware you should know where the nearest shelter. Your car breaks down on the freeway? Find the safe spot. Allowing your car to stop in the middle of the freeway is not a safe spot. The odds of you being hit by others cars is way too high. Being aware while you are driving and your quick acceptance of something bad happening will hopefully allow you to make it to the side of the road. Being out of your car and up the embankment or on the other side of the railing is safer than sitting in your car while you wait for Triple A. If you do not have something like AAA you should. If you do not keep a charger for your phone in the car you should. Add an extra jacket and maybe an umbrella in to the car. These might also help you in your safe place away from the road.

After the immediate danger is over you are going to either like yourself or be really ticked off at yourself..... Why? Because everything you have done before this point or have not done will come back to haunt you. Never bought a pet carrier for your cat? Now your daughter's favorite animal has run off when you stopped for gas or arrived at grandmother's house. Maybe you thought you would save money and not include rental car coverage with your car insurance? Well then you get to pay for the rental car out of your own pocket....... I did this and hated myself for the whole two weeks it took for my truck to get out of the shop.

No matter if the situation is a natural disaster, car accident, power outage or a predator following you down a jogging trail there is always a safe place to go to. We just need to be aware of where 'safe' is, we need to accept there could be a need for the safe place and we need to give ourselves the abilities to use the safe place effectively.

As always,

Stay Safe!

Gett'in home.

When something bad happens what is the first thing everyone wants to do? Get home! Everyone wants to go to their 'safe spot' and for almost all of us this is home. We have an urge to get inside our 'cave', surround ourselves with our loved ones and our stuff. Everything will be better once we are home!

Most folks commute one to ten miles to and from work everyday. This is not a long drive in the car. Most of us travel the distance without really thinking about how far we have traveled. We figure the distance in minutes we spend in the car, not how far we have traveled if we had to hoof it. Besides work all of us have other places we regularly travel to, the mall, the beach, camping and grandma's house. How far are these places from your home? Remember think about this not in minutes spent in the car but in miles you might have to walk?

Walking home would be the extreme. What if your regular route home is not an option? How many other routes do you know home?

Most people I talk to know only one way home! Some might know two but the second route is usually a surface street which basically follows the same route as their main route home. Few know a completely different route home and even fewer have driven the alternative route. When you get a chance, leave work early, route out a second way home and drive the route to see if it works. Then find a third way home. The last route should be a longer way home which takes you around, away from and has nothing to do with your regular route home as much as possible. Look at your routes, any portion of the routes which overlap is an area you could have a problem with. What if that intersection, road or whatever is blocked? Do you know a way around?

Can you catch a train, ferry or subway to get you home? Without using your car how could you get home? Do you have some cash on you incase the power is out and you have to pay for a different way home?

For those of us who take a train or some other way home everyday, anything besides your personal vehicle, are you ready to walk? I know your suit, tie, skirt and heels are great for working in an office but have you ever walked 1 to 10 miles dressed in your work clothes? Most dress shoes are not made to be walked in that far. Especially if the weather is bad. A three mile walk through the rain is a lot different in a pair of tennis shoes then in dress shoes. I've watched all you young ladies out there take your heels off after ten minutes of dancing, no way you would want to walk ten miles in those things!!!

If you drive your own car everyday toss a pair of old shoes in the trunk. Mass transit rider, find a place at work to stash a pair shoes. Going to the beach? Take a pair of tennis shoes along to wear. If you don't have a place to keep a pair of shoes, can you find a thick pair of long socks and jam them into your bag, purse or backpack. Put on the pair of thick socks then stuff your feet back into your dress shoes. The added protection afforded by the socks just might be enough to stop blisters from forming and help you make it home.

Simple things can and will make the difference should you find yourself in a 'bad day' situation. Already having a different way home cuts down on stress. While others might be struggling to figure out how to get home you are already heading there. Having some extra cash with you might be just the fix you need to keep moving toward home. Being able to comfortably walk home, although hopefully a last resort, might be the difference in how long it takes you to get home.

As always,

Stay Safe