So we’ve put together 5 create ways to better remember your travels. We hope they help you remember your adventures, but also enjoy them more while you’re on them. Here we go!
1. “Anchor” your trip in music
On a two-month road trip up the east coast of Australia, my friends and I started each day (and periodically throughout the day) with a playlist we made just for that trip.
Now, whenever any of those 5 songs plays, I’m immediately brought back memories of those sunny days in Oz and I begin to feel happy and grateful without another second's thought. If it can work for people with severe brain injury, it can work for you.
The key here, though, is to try to get songs you will love but that you don’t already have a pre-existing connection with. Basically, this won’t work nearly as well (if at all) with an older song you already love. You’re building new connections, not trying to change old ones.
2. Sketch it
Too often, we zip by even the most spectacular views because we’re in such a rush so see the next thing. I remember passing dozens of locals on a popular street in Old San Juan before I realized how fast I was walking. I literally had nowhere to go and nothing to do except explore, but I was still caught up in doing more.
Digital nomad for NatGeoTravel, Robert Reid, has a solution:
"The antidote to the nod-and-go approach (a la Clark Griswold at the Grand Canyon) is simple: just slow down.”
Not only slow down… but slow down and draw. Pull out your notebook, or use the drawing feature in Journo, sit there and linger on one thing. Even as a horrible artist, if I had done this on that beautiful Puerto Rican calle I’d have a much better visual to recall than just speeding past folks.
3. Scare yourself
Answer me this:
What are the first three memories you have from any travels you’ve taken throughout your life?
If you’re like most people, the memories that jump out first were occasions that took you out of your comfort zone. You will never remember laying by the pool in Mexico as much as that jungle hike from the same trip.
Exciting ourselves is a powerful way to build a strong emotional connection to a trip, which is why I recommend you do at least one thing that intimidates you on every trip you take. For an added bonus, write about it in your journal.
4. Nostalgic bookmarks
Toss a concert stub, boarding pass, bar receipt, or anything else that’ll elicit a fun memory inside your next book.
Simple as that!
5. Track the route
Here’s a cool visual you’re probably not that familiar with:
A map view of your route through a country (or, if you’re lucky, countries). You can input your locations into Google Maps and build your route or, much easier, you can let us do it for you inside Journo, our travel journal app. We’ll “automagically” track your route as you journal your next adventure (which you can then make a beautiful print of for your wall as another constant reminder of that amazing vacation).
Traveling is one of the best experiences life has to offer. And since you're a reader of Mari's blog, we know you care about making the most of your short days here on earth.
We hope these 5 tips on better remembering your next trip help you do just that!
Dane Homenick is Founder & Chief Coffee Getter at Journo Travel. They focus on helping their community of fellow travelers travel more for less, and remember it better.