In the tradition of publish, don’t send, I am currently talking to a friend who is off on a two day trip tomorrow and I have been sharing some tips. I will carry on here in case they are useful to others. I will mostly be referring to air travel in this piece. I will follow up with a post about packing and likely another about miscellaneous tips.

What have I missed, what would you add? Please comment.

The night before

• If you find it difficult to sleep before getting up early to go somewhere, at least try to rest. [1] You know all of the stuff about pre-sleep routine and not using phones etc before bed. Also think about the temperature of the room and the lighting.

• If you worry about not waking up make sure that you have more than one alarm, one which you are familiar with, another which is noisy and perhaps put it out of reach so you have to get up to turn it off.

On the morning of travel

• When you wake up, get up. You will probably feel groggy from lack of sleep but that will not get better if you either lie awake or drop back off to sleep again (unless it is ridiculously early).

• Get dressed in comfortable clothes for travelling, best pants and socks plus your most appropriate shoes . Also consider security arrangements if you are flying and how easy things are to remove and put back on again at security [2].

• You have ideally packed already – I will come back to packing in a future post – go through your packing list one more time and make sure that the irreplaceable things are there and the things you will have been using [3].

• Have a nice hot drink and ideally some food. Take any medication you need to have before leaving and mentally prepare yourself.

Make sure that you can put your hands on:

• Passport or other necessary identification
• travel tickets & any other documents
• details of your destination, address, best satnav postcode etc
• details of your travel arrangements at the other end. Public transport app, taxi number
• Mobile phone
• laptop or other devices
• Charger(s)
• Glasses
• contact lens care equipment
• essential medication
• water bottle
• toiletries for en route
• an effective travel pillow
• tissues, pain relief, sanitary products, indigestion & other acute medication,
• packing list [4]
• something you can use if it gets chilly on a flight or in a waiting area
• entertainment [5]
• I have seen posts about gate attendants being very responsive to sunflower lanyards and so that is worth considering [6]. Some airports provide the lanyards.[*]

• One last check of everything, go to the loo and off.

• Make sure you leave plenty of time to get where you need to.

Departure location

• When you arrive at your travel departure location make yourself comfortable. Perhaps set an alarm for a time to check the departure boards [6].

• Make your way to the gate, platform or other departure point as soon as possible allowing for comfort [7].

Departure

• Make your way onto the plane stowing your hand luggage ideally under the seat in front as this is usually easier than using the overhead lockers

• Enjoy your flight [8]

[*] Leeds Bradford Airport: Hidden Disability Lanyard Scheme. We offer passengers a lanyard to act as an optional opportunity to provide you with a discreet sign which demonstrates to airport staff that you may need additional support or help as you travel through the airport. This could simply mean: Giving you more time to prepare at check-in and security, Allowing you to remain with your family through the journey i.e. security, passport control, boarding/disembarking your aircraft, Giving you a more comprehensive briefing on what to expect as you travel through the airport, Helping you navigate your way around i.e. reading a departure board or sign. This is an optional assistance method for passengers with hidden disabilities – it will not give you any level of priority or fast track opportunities during your journey through the airport, however teams operating in busy environments such as security and immigration will be aware of what they can do to assist you. You can collect the lanyard from a member of staff by the main entrance. LBA also have a guide for Autistic people.

(Mostly) Unnecessary commentary

[1] They have a cat who I imagine is very happy if they lie flat on the bed and keep them company.

[2] On one leg

[3] For me these would be spare glasses, medication and my essential chargers. If you are going to be presenting on a laptop make sure you have an HDMI dongle if necessary hard learned lesson.

[4] Take it from one who has done this multiple times, check each thing off as you put it in. Your brain will tell you that it has got this, it hasn’t.

[5] Most importantly for me HEADPHONES!!! So many emergency purchases, so much ADHD tax.

[6] I try not to take too much luggage and if flying will just have hand luggage if at all possible. Yes I did take a huge suitcase to Seattle but I was working in Brum for three days and away for two weeks in all. (NB I have not flown since 2019 and so you may all be used to being chipped on the way in and a message transmitted directly to your brains so apologies if I am out of date).

[7] i.e. don’t go to the end of the platform at Leeds Traino an hour before your train arrives.

[8] As much as possible