For most people, travel and vacation time requires extensive planning, saving, and budgeting. It only makes sense that you would want to maximize your hard earned time off, and make the most of each day. However, if your vacation passes like a blur, and quickly turns into a distant memory, journaling might be able to help you better remember those treasured times away from home.

Mindfulness During Travel

Have you ever created an hour by hour itinerary to make sure you see every little thing on your bucket list for a trip?

By trying to squeeze in lots of activities, you could be at risk of causing yourself or your family/travel companions to feel overstimulated.

I’ll be the first to admit that this is definitely something I have done before, but thankfully, there are several ways to slow down and either prevent this from happening, or to manage and regulate feelings of overstimulation as they come up.

• Pace yourself/plan less activities during the day and dig deep into the few you prioritize
• Ensure you are receiving enough sleep and rest each day
• Find a quiet spot when you feel yourself becoming dysregulated
• Practice mindfulness and deep breathing
• Incorporate a journaling practice into your day

The Benefits of Journaling During Travel

Journaling during your travels has several key benefits for your mental health and overall well-being. Not only can it improve your recollection of your trip, but it is also a healthy emotional regulation tool and provides several opportunities to reflect on new things learned throughout the day.

Further benefits of journaling can include:

• Anxiety and stress reduction
• Management of mental health conditions
• Improved physical health
• Enhanced cognitive functioning/processing

The Mindfulness-Based Travel Journaling Method

As a social worker and wellness coach, I’ve taught clients several ways to step into the present. One method for reaching a state of mindfulness that has been consistently successful with my clients taps into your five senses to bring you back into the present moment.

In adapting this method for journaling, I have developed a framework that will leave you with more than just a detailed trip itinerary – you will be able to remember the small things that matter, like the sweet, ice-cold taste of gelato on your tongue, or laughter shared between friends. Unlike other journaling methods, this one will also help you remember how your vacation made you feel.

Mindfulness-Based Travel Journaling Prompts

• Identify a few special sounds you heard today. Did you hear laughter, waves crashing on the beach, cars zipping past, live music, or a lyrical bird call? What about a meaningful conversation with a stranger? Talk about it here.
• What scents remind you of your location? (Ex: at a beach during the summer, you might smell sunscreen, salty sea air, and smoke from a bonfire or nearby restaurant)
• Describe the best thing you tasted today. Was it a food or a beverage? Salty or sweet? Where were you eating? Was it a spontaneous picnic or a fancy meal that you made reservations for long in advance?
• List a few sights that stood out to you. What made them unique? Were they popular “touristy” spots or were they hidden gems that your randomly happened to come across? What impressed you about them? Was it color, size/scale, or shape?
• Write about a few things that you touched that you want to remember. What was the texture like? What about the temperature? Was it wet or dry? (Ex: someone’s hand in yours, a droplet of rain, the softness of an animal’s fur, the feeling of sand grains between your toes, the texture of a towel or bedsheets at a fancy hotel)
• Describe some of the main emotions you experienced during the day. Where were you, and what were you doing when you felt that way? What other factors impacted your emotions?