Travel Journaling: Enhance The Quality of Vacations

Going on vacation?  People have asked me if I use my vacation time to take a break from my normal journaling routine.  My answer: Absolutely not!  In fact, the very act of taking time off for travel, recreation, and rejuvenation is the BEST time for some of my most profound and memorable journaling.  If I can’t make the time for self-reflection and appreciation of life while I’m on vacation, then when will I ever?

Whether it is a weekend getaway, a short business trip, a visit to a foreign country, or a full-scale family vacation, journaling can help make the time even more valuable.  People may not realize what a great impact can be made by writing just a brief summary of each day while on any trip.  Here are just a few of the benefits.  For more in-depth tips, see below to get a free e-brochure with a list of eleven practical and simple things you can do to include your journal in your time away from home.

1.  Make richer and longer-lasting memories.  Putting your thoughts and experiences into words will certainly help you categorize and retain the memories.  Perhaps it’s because we reinforce our learning when we engage another of our senses.  But more importantly, summarizing each day’s events in your journal, affords you opportunity to accompany the events of your journey with additional layers of feelings and reflection, which make the memories ever more meaningful.

2.  Appreciate the finer details of the vacation.  Journaling is mostly about noticing.  Once you are in the mindset of taking notice of the simple things during your travels, you will become more aware of the sweet, often overlooked, details that add color and interest to any adventure.

3.  Relive the vacation again and again.  Coming back to re-read your travel journals will revive delightful memories and insights.  While photos capture scenery and serve as great reminders, journaling adds context and texture to those images.  Over the years, my best writings have come from revisiting and rewriting some of the private observations I’ve made while travelling.

You might also be interested in hearing other journaling experts discuss the finer points of traveling with a journal: Lavinia Spalding, and coming soon, Leon Logothetis.

For a free e-brochure, “Tips for Travel Journaling”, simply post a comment below with “Send me your Travel Journaling Tips” or something similar, and I will send it to you.