When Less Is More

When you take that dream vacation, you need to plan to do everything, right?

Well, in reality, independent travel…actually, all travel…is a situation when less is often more. More enjoyment. More spontaneity. More adventure. More memories.

Priorities

Part of being practical and realistic when planning a trip is prioritizing. As much as you may really, really want to do everything, trying to do it all can ruin a trip. FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is a real thing. None of us wants to feel that we are missing out, but I guarantee you that no matter where you go, someone will tell you that you have to see this or that or do this or that or your trip will be ruined. And when you return from your trip, there will always be someone who will tell you that you missed their favorite ___________ (fill in the blank with restaurant, museum, beach, store, street, mountain, pub, food, experience, etc). Just as in every other area of our lives, at some point we have to accept that we cannot do everything and be everywhere. The solution is to figure out what is important to you (not what is important to everyone else giving you their opinions), and then to focus on your personal priorities.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.

“Ferris Bueller” from the Movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

I believe the ideal trip has some planned activities as well as some open space in the schedule for spontaneity — you never know when you’d like to go back to that cute little Paris cafe a second time — or even a chance to rest a bit when you’ve been on your feet for hours in a museum. A glance at my journal from my first trip to Europe shows that my friend and I had several days in which we managed ten or more activities and locations in one day. This was only possible because we were in our early 20’s at the time and had age-appropriate energy levels and enthusiasm, but I also realize that my memories of that trip blur together in a way that later, better planned, and slower paced trips do not. With less ambitious itineraries, I have more vivid memories of the limited planned activities each day along with the spontaneous moments spent walking in a park or sitting in a Greek taverna drinking retsina.

These days I have the wisdom born of experience to plan only one or two activities per day and leave the rest up to fate.

How to Avoid FOMO

Back to FOMO. How do you avoid planning too much without being consumed with the fear that you’re missing the best stuff? First of all, remember that the best is always what’s best for you, regardless of what others may think.

Another way to combat FOMO is to avoid approaching your independent travel adventure as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” This is a phrase that is often used, in part, to stress the importance and adventure of the trip. It can, however, add to the pressured feeling of needing to see and do everything. If you instead have the mindset that you can return to places you enjoy, you are more likely to pay attention to your experience and slow down and savor the moment. The reality is, if you truly enjoy a location, you likely can return if you choose to do so. On the other hand, if you don’t enjoy a place enough to want to return, then trying to do more while you are there is unlikely to improve your enjoyment of the experience.

Have you ever tried to cram too much into too little time? If so, how would choosing fewer things to do and see have improved your experience?