Seven ADHD Friendly Travel Hacks For An Awesome Vacation
ADHD loves novelty and what could be more novel for an ADHD brain than going to a new place? While you might love the destination, getting there can be really hard for those of us with ADHD. The process of traveling some place new takes a lot of work and a lot of attention to detail that can even escape neurotypicals. Recently my wife was booking our tickets to go visit family during Thanksgiving - except after she booked the tickets she realized she booked them for the wrong weekend. Fortunately she caught it early and it wasn't too hard to fix.
But travel is a lot more than just booking tickets and getting to the airport on time. The entire process of getting out the door with all your bags to sitting wait for your plane to leave takes a lot of executive function and we can really find ourselves wiped out just thinking of everything we're going to need to do. With a little bit of planning ahead though we can make traveling a lot easier on our ADHD brains. So I've come up with my top seven tips for smoothing out your travel plans.
Most of my tips are going to be focused on traveling by plane, but can easily be applied to cars and trains as well. But if you're one of those rare travelers that likes to go by hot air balloon, well I'm sorry I don't have anything for you but hopefully this list will help with any other form of travel.
#1 - Making a list and checking it twice
It's time to call forth your inner Santa Clause here. Having a packing list is essential when you have ADHD - sometimes I like to pretend that I'll be able to get by without a packing list but then I end up realizing that I forgot to pack something fairly essential like socks or my laptop charging cord. But making a good packing list is hard and it's even harder if you are trying to do it right when you start packing. My solution for this has been to create a template of my packing list that I can update for each trip. If you want to create your own packing list template I've created one you can find right here.
But you know what - we're probably still going to forget things when we're traveling. It's just bound to happen, but we can use those times as learning lessons and just add whatever we forgot to our packing list template so that next time we'll know to bring it with us. This technique can also be great if you find yourself constantly over packing and not using a bunch of the stuff. Just make a note in your packing template that you realized that you didn't use something on your trip. I wouldn't straight delete it from the list but at least put an asterisk next to it so that I'll know that I should think twice before packing it next time.
I also have a list of other things I need to make sure happen before I leave the house as well. This includes things like making sure that my devices are charged, that I don't have any food in the fridge that is going to rot by the time I get home and to set up an online grocery order for when I get back (or at least write what my grocery list will be). And I also like making additional lists like a list of all the bags that need to go into the car so we aren't leaving something at home on accident. And I also have a list of things that need to be packed day of, like my wallet, phone and book that I was reading the night before.
Along with your packing list, also make sure that you are packing up early. Packing takes time and if you are trying to pack the morning of your big trip you're going to forget things even with a packing list. And you'll sleep better when you're not worrying about what you have to pack the next day. So make a list and check it twice.
#2 - Drink More Water
Keeping your brain hydrated is important, and even more so while we're traveling. There are a lot of factors that are going to dehydrate us while were traveling, but the number one culprit is simply that we aren't going to remember that we need to be drinking water throughout the day. This is because when we're traveling we are getting a lot more sensory input and we're not getting all the cues that we are used to. It seems crazy that we might forget something as important as drinking water, but it happens to me regularly enough when I'm at home to know that I need to take extra care while I'm traveling.
While I'd like to just rely on my thirst mechanism to make sure I'm drinking enough water, I still find myself forgetting until I'm really thirsty. To help combat this I pack extra water with me when I go to work and try and leave a bottle on my desk in sight. Just seeing the water often cues me to take a sip and hydrate myself throughout the day. But when I'm traveling I often don't have the luxury of leaving a water bottle in front of my all day - not to mention I can't bring liquids through security. To help with my water cues I now use an app called WaterMinder. The app allows me to set what my water goals are for the day and will periodically give me a notification to remind me to drink some water and input how much I've already had. I also really like the app because it integrates well with my Apple Watch so I don't always have to be getting out my phone to update my water stats. This is one of the few apps I allow to give me notifications because I've become increasingly aware of how important hydration is for keeping your brain running smoothly. And when you are traveling it is doubly important because there are also a lot of factors that are going to be dehydrating you.
#3 - Bring a fidget toy for down time
Fidgets are great for when you need to pay attention but your mind wants to wander to something else. And when you are traveling there tends to be a lot of times that are between things that are pretty boring but it is also important to be paying at least a little attention. For example if your plane is getting ready to board you may be sitting there waiting for an announcement - you are tempted to just do something on your phone and while you are scrolling through social media you hear an announcement start but by the time you break your concentration the announcement is over and you're left knowing they said something but not what they actually said. Fidgets are great for keeping your mind just a little occupied and you can generally play with one while listening to something else. I actually really like using fidgets for things like watching YouTube videos where I might be enjoying the content but have trouble just sitting still and watching. With the fidget in my hands it's a lot harder for me to click over to a new window and be sucked into something else.
Right now my favorite fidget is an infinity cube, which is just a set of 8 hinged blocks that are connected and you can fold over and over again. I love that I can do it with one hand or two and it takes almost no concentration for me to do. Where as fidget spinners have been awful for me because they draw too much of attention away from what I'm doing. I've also liked things like fidget cubes, tangles and those little mesh tubey things with marbles inside. There are a ton of fidget toys out there and they are also great for calming yourself down - you just need to find the right toys for you.
#4 - Avoid overbooking yourself and schedule breaks
One of the easiest things to forget when we're traveling is that we only have so much time in a day. We get to a new place and we want to do all of the things, but the thing is that we need down time as well. If we're trying to run full steam all day every day of our trip we're going to burn ourselves out and feel like we're going to need a vacation from our vacation when we get home - and just a note here, it isn't a bad idea to try and schedule yourself an off day to transition back from a trip.
The first thing to keep in mind is to actually plan out your days when you are traveling - what are the things you want to do the most? Make sure those get on your schedule first and then plan out when you are going to be taking breaks throughout the day. Don't assume that you'll just get your down time in at the end of the day, have planned down time through out the day and after all your big activities. Make sure you are also including when you are going to be eating in your plan as well. I have enough trouble remembering to eat when I'm at home, when I'm traveling it is easy to forget that my body runs off of food and so I'll find myself starving at the airport trying to sustain my body off of a jumbo bag of M&M's. And while it's okay to eat a little junk food you also want to be making sure that you are fueling your body with good foods because you're already putting enough stress on your body by traveling, you don't need to add three days of only fast food on top of it.
It's also important to make sure that you are giving yourself more time to get through things. When you are traveling you can throw out all your assumptions about how long things are going to take you and just assume that everything is going to take longer to do. And one of the biggest reasons for this is that ADHD can make transitions really hard, and guess what travel is all about transitions. So the entire thing is going to take a lot out of you and even things like showering and getting dressed are probably going to take you a little longer to do.
#5 - Get comfortable
I'm 6'1" so generally traveling is a fairly uncomfortable experience for me. I'm just a little to big to fit into a lot of places comfortably, let alone sit in them for hours on end. But I try and make up for this by making sure the rest of my travel experience is comfortable. This starts off with making sure what I'm wearing is going to be comfortable for the trip. Make sure you are laying as well - it always feels like I'm going from an extremely hot environment to a cold one and then back to a hot one. Being able to just take on or off a jacket on a plane goes a long way to make it way more comfortable.
I would also recommend a good pair of noise canceling headphones. Planes are loud and being able to tune some of that out will make your trip a lot more pleasant. Along with your headphones having an eye mask can make it a lot easier to get a little bit of rest on an airplane. I haven't been able to actually fall asleep on an airplane in years, but just being able to close my eyes and shut out all the noise has helped me get a lot more relaxed on longer flights.
But getting comfortable is going to be more than just while you are on you're in the car or on the plane. Sleep is one of the most important factors for managing your ADHD - if you want to have a great trip you're going to want to be getting good sleep, but you're not always put in the most ideal environments for getting good sleep. What I need for good sleep is a room that is dark and quiet. Some hotels have great blackout curtains but you might not be staying at a place that has really dark rooms. I remember one time where my wife and I were staying in a cabin and it had a skylight directly over the bed. It was in the summer and our room was completely lit up by 6 AM - we were able to find a sleep mask for my wife but the ones we found didn't quite fit my head comfortably. From that experience my wife and I have learned to bring eye masks with us, but also to bring travel blackout curtains that can attach to a window with suction cups. These have been great for keeping the room dark for our kids. Along with the blackout curtains I also bring a small role of black electric tape to put over any blinking lights that are in the room. I appreciate that smoke detectors are keeping my safe but I don't need an LED blinking every 30 seconds to let me know it is still working.
For the quiet side of things - that can be a little harder to get around sometimes but I can usually get by with a sound machine. There are a ton of apps that you can get for your phone that have various sound machine effects or you can get a small travel machine - I have a machine for both of my kids and they are great at keeping them from waking up from sudden noises like me falling over a chair cause I don't know the layout of the hotel room.
#6 - Be mindful of traveling with your Medication
I haven't talked a lot about medication on this show but it is definitely something that is really important for a lot of people, including me, for managing their ADHD. While I'm hesitant to talk too much about medication because I'm not a doctor, I will say that if you are on medication and you are traveling, you're trip will go more smoothly if you stay on your medication. When we're traveling we are going to be using a lot more executive function than normal and medication generally helps us hold onto that.
But traveling with your medication can be tricky. Many ADHD medications are controlled substances which means that if you are stopped for any reason while you are traveling (including at airport security) you could receive much heavier scrutiny about why you have those medications with you. But if you stick to a few general guidelines you should be fine traveling with the medications - a quick note I'm focusing on travel within The United States, if you're in another country or traveling in another country please be sure you know what those laws are before traveling with your medication.
So here are some quick tips for traveling with you medications:
First, be sure that you have enough medication for your entire trip well before your trip happens. You aren't going to want to run out while you are out of town and you don't want to be trying to refill your prescription the day before your trip.
Next make sure you are the one carrying your medication and that it is in it's original prescription bottle - In some states, you can be charged with possession of a controlled substance if the medication is not in its original prescription bottle with your name or your child’s name on it. If you are worried about it, it would also be a good idea to have a copy of your most recent prescription with you.
If you are flying you'll want to make sure that your medication is in your carry-on bag to reduce chances of it being lost or stolen.
And make sure you are using common sense when you are storing your medication wherever you are staying. ADHD medication is a popular recreational drug, you don't need sketchy cousin trying to borrow just a couple of pills when you're not looking. Keep you meds put away and out of sight when you're not using them.
#7 - Take Advantage of Your Apps
Our smart phones have become one of the best ways we can help manage our ADHD when we are traveling. For all the negatives that you may read about tech overuse, there are a lot of great things that come with them as well. Most airlines offer text reminders about your flight - either through their app or just regular text messages that you can sign up for when you buy your tickets. Not only will you get a reminder about your flight, but if there are delays or changes to your flight you'll be notified.
We can also use our smart phones to hold a lot of the documents we might need while we are traveling. I've talked a lot about Evernote on the show, which is the app I use for all my note taking, but I've also got a folder on Evernote labeled travel that I drop all of my travel documents into. So I'll have hotel and car reservations in there as well as my itinerary and travel confirmation. You can also keep your boarding passes on your phone with Wallet on iOS and Passes on Android. Having all these documents in one place makes it so much easier when I need to check them as I'm traveling, and having them on my phone means I not leaving them behind - unless I lose my phone, but that's another issue in it's self.
One note I'll make about being reliant on your smart phone - make sure that you have it charged up! I have a power bank that allows me to plug in and charge my phone on the go - these have really come down in price the last few years (mostly because they are super popular with pokemon Go players) and have been one of the best things I have started traveling with. I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten to charge my phone for one reason or another and had one of these power banks save me.
