Build a Travel Plan in 6 Steps

The quickest way to get going more is to plan to go more. Once you have a plan in place you’ll begin to feel the tug of commitment and that’s a huge step toward actually going.  A pretty good formula for being rested and travel happy is to rest weekly; escape monthly; retreat quarterly; disengage annually. So that’s where you can start your travel plans.

Here's our step by step method for going more.

Step 1: Make a list of travel activities you enjoy or want to try. Make this list long. Don't hold back. Anything you want to try is fair game. This is not exactly a bucket list, but think of things that you are always saying you want to do and add them to the list.

Step 2: Go online and look for places where you can enjoy those things. Be sure to look at some places close by and some far away. Write down the locations next to the activities. 

Step 3: Decide if each activity is suited for a monthly escape, a quarterly retreat, or an annual vacation.

Here's a sample wish list with notes about where & when to do them. Notice the overlaps that develop as the list takes shape:

Activity	Where	Rest, Retreat, or Vacation?
Learn to Scuba dive	Start course online or at local shop, get certified nearby, then dive on a cruise	Escape, then Vacation
Visit Mother	Take her on a trip to see a Broadway play	Retreat
Relax with a book	Local B&B	Escape
See a Broadway play	Manhattan	Escape
Take the kids to Seaworld	San Antonio, San Diego, or Orlando Combine with cruise maybe	Vacation
Take Dad fishing	Local lake or port	Escape
Get together with cousins	Camping? Nearby cabin resort?	Retreat
Take a photography workshop	Almost any city in the country	Retreat
Take a cruise	Orlando? San Diego?	Vacation
Go to a really good zoo	Washington DC maybe?	Retreat
Go to Washington DC		Retreat
Hike	Start with a park nearby	Escape
See a professional baseball game	Nearest city with a team	Escape

Step 4: Get your calendar and start blocking the time. Do this before you do any budgeting or actual planning. If you block the time you are making a commitment.

Step 5: Now research the cost of each outing. Figure out what you can realistically afford for each trip. You may have trips that you'll have to save up for, maybe even for a year or two. If that's the case, don't take them off the list, just find a substitute trip for this year and start saving. If money is tight think of what you want to give up to make the trip happen. Salon visits? Daily coffee on your commute? I can guarantee you that any one of the trips on your list will be more rewarding than the little things you give up to get there. 

Step 6: This is the hardest step... go on your first monthly escape. Go two days if you can, but go for at least one night away from your house. Sleep in the car if you have to, but go! It will energize you and bring you back to your list, your calendar, and your budget to figure out how to make the rest of the year happen.