Save Your Packing List
By Tana M. Mann Easton, Lead Efficiency Engineer
If you’re anything like me, checklists provide a sense of calm. There are a number of checklists that I have developed and maintain in my life in order to systemize repeated actions that I need to take that have multiple steps or items to consider. One of the checklists that I use over and over again is my packing list.
When I was younger and just starting to travel on my own without the aid of parents or other adults, I didn’t necessarily have a firm grasp on everything I should pack. And I would worry as soon as I zipped my bag if I didn’t think of something or forgot something I would need. My brain doesn’t like uncertainty (as most brains don’t) and after a few trips of grappling with uncertainty about forgetting things, I decided to make a list. The packing list I started was handwritten in a notebook that I use for important notes. I could have also started a digital list in Excel or some notes application on my phone, but this packing list has been around so long that it predates widespread smart phone usage.
When I decided to start my packing list, I just wrote down everything that I was packing for that trip. If I realized there was something I forgot on that trip, I wrote it on the list so it wouldn’t be forgotten on the next trip. It was that easy.
As time goes on, the list changes. My first overseas trip added a bevy of new items to the list. Technology changes impact the list. I used to pack a camera, extra camera battery, and extra camera memory card that my smart phone and the dematerialization that it provides have made a thing of the past. When I had a baby, many new items went onto the packing list. Actually, my son got his own packing list. But as he grows up, his list changes too (no more diapers and pacifiers to remember).
My packing list is dynamic. It changes as I and my environment changes. But it’s always there for me to consult whenever I leave home. Having the list and being able to check things off of it makes it so I no longer worry about forgotten things. I can prepare for my trips secure in the knowledge that I left nothing important behind.
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Sincerely Yours,
Focus to Evolve Team