People/Place/Time - PLAN 1 of 4

Lauren
Feb 25, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Jul 28, 2024

Remember: The more time you spend on your PLAN, the more time you'll have enjoying your trip!

PLAN Phase 1

Consider your limiting factors then identify:

Who is going?
Where are you going?
When are you going?

A&O x 3

When a nurse evaluates a patient's level of consciousness, we assess that they are "Alert and oriented to person, place, and time". I kind of apply the same technique when planning a new trip. I start with identifying the person or people that will be going, the place or destination, and the timeframe when we will travel.

Constraining factors

There are a lot of factors here. Cost, job/school/sports schedules, desire, level of adventure, physical challenges, and distance are just a few. Focus on what matters most to you and do whatever you can to make it happen. If Australia is your ultimate dream, but you can't afford it in the near future, then set that as #1 on your travel wishlist and start to make a plan for getting there in 5 years. Planning and dreaming about travel does not cost anything and may help you take action steps to make them a reality. The challenge is to find that perfect fit of a trip that is worth it in the end. If sacrificing other things in your life to save up to see a kangaroo doesn't feel worth it to you, then don't do it. Find something that brings you joy and meets your needs but still fits in the limitations most of us have.

Example

Spring Break is one month away and the three of us would like to go somewhere. This answers the who and the when. We have a big trip already planned for summer. This means we don't have the budget to do a big vacation for Spring Break. This further narrows our options to a drivable destination in the midwest for a few nights. Now we can brainstorm options and decide on exactly where we are going based on all of the previously mentioned constraints. If we start to look into it and hotels are crazy expensive or we just can't find something that we all agree on looks like is worth the effort then we adjust accordingly. We may end up doing a day at a local botanical garden and a nice dinner and spend the rest of the time at home on a stay-cation. That's okay too!