I am a week away from leaving the country for a 3-week adventure in Southeast Asia! Woohoo! There will be 5 of us who traveled to Costa Rica earlier this year going on this trip, along with 11 other curious friends we have yet to meet. The planning process is so encompassing — malaria pills, passports, which luggage, what summer clothes fit, etc.

Our tour company is terrific – Overseas Adventure Travel – and they do their best to make sure we come prepared. Today I got an email from our guide with a 21-letter name (we can call him “Matthew”) with reminders. We received our itineraries with packing lists and weather expectations. Plus I have Fodor’s and a book on temples, and walking shoes and the cutest new “Life is Good” t.

So why is it that we get SO organized around packing and planning a few weeks from home, but give little to no thought about all the rest of our lives? I know which elephant camp we’re going to, but I don’t know how I’m going to pay my real estate taxes. I have my seat on the plane but I keep putting off having my upholstered chairs cleaned in my living room. I have a “must call and reconnect” list that gets longer every day (you should see how many friends I’ve told I’ll see when I get back!) and that list will get longer and older before I make those calls!

We had a LifeSort workshop the other day and one of the participants commented on how powerful it was in getting her priorities out on the table and addressing some next steps. She later wrote that she went home and DID those steps and is making progress. Maybe because the workshop was written on her calendar, she had a start date to take some things more seriously. Maybe because I’m getting on a plane, that deadline is throwing me into action.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on what gets you “planning and packing”. What makes you look ahead and plan your life — something much more important than a trip! Comment below!

And if it’s a workshop you need, you can still sign up for LifeStyle this Sunday. Course this is the workshop that gets you UN-packing all those clothes that don’t do you justice!

If you

Tags: travel

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