holiday stress

InsideInsurance

Doshwaster wrote: »

I print off the confirmations as soon as I get them and put them straight into my "trip folder". Maybe I could do without the dead trees but it has become something of a habit.

I used to be exactly the same, even used to have two copies in case I lost my bag or such.

When I started travelling with business though I could be sorting out 4 different trips at a time and they dont always get organised in sequence etc so ended up with a bag full of boarding cards, booking confirmations etc - rarely are any of them just a one pager too - and being bad at throwing them away after use I ended up with a mountain of papers and the one time I had to look for something I'd a hundred pages or so to go through to find the one I needed.

Back when there was a team PA it was ok as she just gave you a nice bundle of them the day before (as well as having booked the travel for you) but when she left I simply wasnt organised enough with bits of paper.

The phone is ok as PassBook on the iPhone picks up most of them and sorts out which boarding card I need by the date it is today etc. When it does come to needing actual emails because its a non-passbook hotel chain etc then its easier to sort email with unlimited folders than a briefcase with just 2 compartments.

SaveTheEuro

Check that your mobile phone will work abroad. You may need to notify your phone company before leaving the UK.

aliasojo

Take pictures of your important documents (or scan them if you have a scanner). Make sure any numbers are clear.

Email them to yourself (along with any helpline phone numbers), then if the worst comes to the worst and you lose them/they get stolen, you will be able to quickly access your email from anywhere to get what details you might need in order to get replacements.

Anything other than the important stuff can easily be done without or bought there.

Enjoy yourself!

Doshwaster

SaveTheEuro wrote: »

Check that your mobile phone will work abroad. You may need to notify your phone company before leaving the UK.

Or leave your phone at home. One way to reduce stress on holiday is to get away from all of those calls, emails, social media updates and texts.

Actually, I do take my phone with me but keep it turned off in my room. I may check it once or twice while away but otherwise it's for emergencies only. As someone who works in IT, a holiday for me means going offline for a week or two.

jay-jay

Thank you all for your fab tips. We're off to Tenerife for two weeks. Almost packed now and the kids are bouncing unfortunately I have come down with a bad stomach bug so praying it clears up before we go, never get I'll normally really appreciate all your advice and your right as long as I remember the important stuff we should be fine. Thank you too for the phone reminder. We're off to parque Santiago staying in a villa hopefully as good as the reviews

PeteDoff

needaholiday wrote: »

treasure your time away. It will fly by!

Damn......................

Pollycat

jay-jay wrote: »

Thank you all for your fab tips. We're off to Tenerife for two weeks. Almost packed now and the kids are bouncing unfortunately I have come down with a bad stomach bug so praying it clears up before we go, never get I'll normally really appreciate all your advice and your right as long as I remember the important stuff we should be fine. Thank you too for the phone reminder. We're off to parque Santiago staying in a villa hopefully as good as the reviews

Could this be related to the stress?

I used to get really bad problems when I got myself stressed up before important meetings.

I always have a supply of diarrhoea capsules (Loperamide Hydrochloride 2 mg) with me on holiday.

£1 shops usually sell boxes of 6.

Only for over 12 years and above though.

ferf1223

Doshwaster wrote: »

I can't remember the last time I had an actual airline ticket but I always like to have all of my printed confirmations for flights, hotels, parking, transfers etc printed and kept in a folder so that they are all in one place and are easy to find. As I book the components of a trip I print off the confirmations as soon as I get them and put them straight into my "trip folder". Maybe I could do without the dead trees but it has become something of a habit.

This is us, too...there is something reassuring to me about having the printed copies to hand even though in many cases I do not need them...can we access most on our phones? Yes, but we're old school and somehow printed pieces of paper are more appealing and less reliant on various technological systems working properly at any given time.

We also have non-clothes packing lists that are pretty much the same each trip and between us we cross things off as they are packed...I also tend to start the packing process early (much earlier than my husband would like and he has put in place a 2-weeks before limit on getting the cases out of the loft, no earlier ) but I like throwing things in the cases in the weeks leading up to the trip and crossing them off the list. Acknowledged that most of this stuff could be purchased/replaced/done without if necessary and we could do without some of it but we like to have what we like to have with us.

I am not a nervous flyer but I get quite worked up around the departure elements of the trip so having everything nice and organized in advance goes a long way to helping make things a bit less stressful.

arthurdick

ferf1223 wrote: »

This is us, too...there is something reassuring to me about having the printed copies to hand even though in many cases I do not need them...can we access most on our phones? Yes, but we're old school and somehow printed pieces of paper are more appealing and less reliant on various technological systems working properly at any given time.

We also have non-clothes packing lists that are pretty much the same each trip and between us we cross things off as they are packed...I also tend to start the packing process early (much earlier than my husband would like and he has put in place a 2-weeks before limit on getting the cases out of the loft, no earlier ) but I like throwing things in the cases in the weeks leading up to the trip and crossing them off the list. Acknowledged that most of this stuff could be purchased/replaced/done without if necessary and we could do without some of it but we like to have what we like to have with us.

I am not a nervous flyer but I get quite worked up around the departure elements of the trip so having everything nice and organized in advance goes a long way to helping make things a bit less stressful.

ha, that could have been me saying that...more or less the same here. as like you and dosh, old school club here..and i mean proper old school, not the modern old skool, as they put these days.


jj , have a great holiday, hope you get nice weather.

f4phixeruk

Having watched all the old Airline programmes where folk were late due to accidents on motorways etc. SWMBO and myself, ahve a policy of being in airport at least 1 hour before check in opens. That way, were there and not worrying about missing the plane.

As soon as check in opens, its get rid of bags, and go through security. Find out what gate it is, and relax :-D