I regularly get lost inside my own brain.
When I have too many things to keep track of, I forget them all.
Left brain? Right brain? No brain?
When I forget things, I worry that I forgot something important.
And then, the anxiety attacks start.
I don't know if this is a sign that I am a fundamentally broken human, or if this is really "normal" for us all.
And my thoughts feel as scattered as the text in this post.
Uncomfortable?
You bet.
And then, I remember the existence of Trello. I discovered this app at work about 6 years ago. I felt like someone magical had reached into my brain, looked around, knew exactly what I needed, and then built that app. I will let you go explore their website on your own, if you are interested, but this post is to explain how I have our Europe Trip board organized, and how I intend to use it while abroad. When I get back, I'll post about how it worked and what I'd change next time.
First, there's always a brain-dump list, called "To Do". Here's how it looks as of today.
Some cards have more details, such as the "Transportation to Arrange". I used a checklist to keep track of all the various segments of the trip that we needed to figure out how to get from A to B:
Other cards just have a collection of info - websites, posts from Facebook, ideas from friends and family. This is for me to use to research later, and do something with.
And of course, for every "To Do" list, there needs to be a "Done" list! The thing I like about Trello is that it's really annoying to delete cards. This makes lazy me just push them all off to a Done list instead, so I can always go back and find them later, should I ever need to.The "To Do" and "Done" lists will get moved to the far right of the board before departure. At least, I hope so - otherwise, we're maybe in a bit of trouble cuz that will mean not everything is done! LOL
Then, there's a General Info list. This contains important things I may need to reference quickly, like flight, hotel, reservations, and itinerary info. This list keeps changing - it started out as a bit of a planning list, with the "average temps" card, and "find transportation" cards starting there. But the lovely thing about Trello is that it makes it easy for me to keep up with my brain - and as I realize some other thing makes more sense, it's a quick drag-and-drop to change it.
When I open these cards, they have the details at the top (in the description) and other notes I may need in the comments below. Some also have links to other helpful info, like the Terminal Map at CDG airport. This list will stay "first" and foremost, so I can get info quickly, but the cards on it will move to the bottom as we don't need them anymore.
The rest of the lists are broken down by day. I started off each list with a summary of the day, mostly taken from the Trafalgar itinerary. As I book tickets and confirm "plans" (whether they are truly reservations / set plans, or just loose ideas), the card gets added. If there's a time associated with the activity, that goes at the beginning of the card name. I use the labels to mark things that need me to still do something with them. The idea is that the cards will get moved to the bottom of the day's list as we complete activities, and then the list itself will get moved off to the right at the end of each day.
I started this board in September of 2020. Granted, it sat empty for quite a long time...but I really started to fill it out in February of this year. I check it whenever I start to have a little panic about what still needs to get done. Lately, that's been daily. It brings me calm and, yes I'll admit it, even a little bit of happiness to look at what I have to look forward to!
What are your favorite organization tools? Any good apps you've found for traveling? Please share!
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