17 January, 2017
1. Plan an itinerary for your trip. In a dream world you would've done this before you left, but between tying things up at work, calling your mother, watering house plants and engaging in any last-minute hair removal (if that's your thing) sometimes it's just not possible. And no one wants to spend breakfast each morning frantically Googling and trying to work out how you're going to squeeze everything in.
2. Organise your inbox so as soon as that plane takes off you're truly out of office and don't have that sick panicky feeling about work when you touch back down again. Pay particular attention to those emails you have been avoiding.
3. Clean out the clutter lurking at the bottom of your handbag. You know, like old receipts (particularly those you've used to dispose of chewing gum), dried-out lip balms, the business card from that weirdo you met in a bar nine months ago… Hold onto those random hair grips though - it's always good to know you have spare.
4. This also applies to your phone, laptop and anything else with the propensity to store crap. Create memory space by deleting drunk selfies, accidental pocket pictures and generally terrible photos. There'll be plenty of opportunities to fill it up again on this trip.
5. Make a holiday playlist. No one wants to listen to Sean Paul on repeat. No one.
6. Cleanse, tone, moisturise. Because that plane is going to dry your skin out. Paint your nails, too, because if you had time to do them before you left, chances are you smudged them in a packing frenzy. If you're feeling flush, head to the nearest airport salon and get somebody else to do it for you.
7. Find your next perfume in Duty Free. Pick up some samples so you can wear it for a few days to make sure it's "you". A whiff will also always trigger memories of your holiday.
8. Go old school and buy a crossword book / sudoku / other puzzle book. If you're off to the beach, after an hour of sunbathing you'll probably have listened to all your tunes, finished reading your copy of SUITCASE, refreshed social media a thousand times and now find yourself at a loss for entertainment. It'll keep your brain active and can be done while slurping sangria/mojitos/whatever.
9. Learn some key phrases for the place you are travelling to. Hola/bonjour/ciao don't count.
10. Check out the airport lounges. No longer just for VIPs, for as little as £15 you can get access to a pretty nice room with unlimited snacks and drinks, as well as clean(er) loos. Let's face it, if you're stuck for a while, you'll probably end up spending the same amount of money on junk food and holiday tat anyway.
11. Alternatively, head to the nearest bar and order a bottle of prosecco. Because #YOLO.
