A Routine Abroad: Steps to Health While Traveling
A Routine Abroad
Though people on vacation tend to throw routines out the window, having a routine abroad is an important aspect of maintaining a travel lifestyle. In a world which constantly offers new experiences, having a routine can allow for more deliberate thought, better health and consistent planning.
Getting burned out while traveling is easy. Overstimulation and constant efforts to see more and do more eventually result in imbalance. Having a routine abroad, aside from improving a person’s general health, also makes travel a safer and healthier aspect of life.
Affiliate Disclosure: Leftfade Trails contains affiliate links, so using services or products through these links supports the website, at no extra cost to the user. All links are to tested services and products designed to aid travelers on their journeys. Some links specifically connect to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate this website earns from qualifying purchases.
Sticking to a Routine
Routines are a set list of activities done each day. They are enormously helpful in helping a person complete daily tasks, especially while traveling.
The secret to managing a routine is twofold. First, a person must adhere to it consistently. A routine becomes a habit after several months, sometimes taking six months to do autonomously, without having to think.
Second, a routine also must be internal for travelers. Make sure your daily routine isn’t dependent on a location. For example, a person who’s routine involves swimming every day might be hard-pressed to maintain their routine in a desert. But a person who simply exercises broadly (either by jogging, swimming or climbing) as part of their routine is likely to stick to it regardless of environment.
A routine abroad keeps a person steady when everything else in their life is constantly changing. The less structured a person’s daily life is, the more habit and discipline help.
Morning and Night Routines
The two easiest times to establish routines are right after waking up and right before going to bed. Since these points in a day are consistent (waking up and sleeping) creating a routine within them is easier.
It takes roughly six months to get into a full routine. Prior to that, it is helpful to have a checklist to read each morning and evening. It is best to make your routine as simple as possible, and make the tasks within easy to complete. This trains the brain to perform tasks without taking energy or undue effort.
Additionally, a routine should be in the same order every time. This helps the brain launch from one task to the next without pausing, doubting or mentally haggling over things that aren’t inherently appealing.
Morning Routine
A morning routine ensures a day starts smoothly. A good morning routine is built upon a solid night’s rest and consistent wake-up time, even when switching time zones. The most effective morning routine I’ve developed while traveling looks like this:
- Wake up with the 5 second rule
- Drink a full glass of water
- Get dressed in clothes laid out the night before
- Go for a morning walk with music or a podcast
- Complete my morning workout – Jump rope, dynamic stretching, calisthenics, yoga)
- Vocally state personal mantras, intentions and desires for the day.
- Head home to eat breakfast and rehydrate
- Brush teeth, shower, shave, etc.
- Meditate briefly
- Reaffirm Day – Review checklist written from the night before
Waking Up Within 5 Seconds
The bane of all motivation comes in the form of a comfortable and warm bed. No matter how many alarms go off or how much sunlight spears a person’s eyes, there is always the temptation to sleep in.
Consciously deciding to stand up within five seconds of becoming conscious prevents sleeping in, giving into weeks of jet lag and forces a person back on schedule quickly.
Though it might take a small amount of practice, the technique works well. Tell yourself you will get out of bed within five seconds of waking up tomorrow and perform an internal countdown right after you regain consciousness.
This technique is particularly polite if you’re sleeping in hostels, where multiple, staggered alarms can disturb other sleeping guests.
Drink a Full Glass of Water
Your body goes into deep resting mode while sleeping, which slows down many functions over eight hours. The body also loses a fair amount of water while sleeping.
Drinking water right after waking up helps your body begin moving swiftly. This action doesn’t require any sort of mental agility and can be done automatically even when feeling groggy.
Get Dressed in Clothes Laid Out
Rather than attempting to decide the best outfit in the darkness of early mornings, its usually much easier to have an outfit selected.
Go Out for a Morning Walk
Personally, I have difficulty thinking for the first half hour after waking up. Walking and moving around helps activate my brain so I can start thinking. It also gets my blood moving well enough to work out. I generally walk to a park or playground to perform my daily workouts, accompanied by podcasts and music.
Complete my Morning Workout
My daily workout is designed to be done anywhere, regardless of the environment. Ideally, I make my way towards a public playground for pull ups, chin ups and other exercises, but a low tree branch works just as well.
- Walk to park
- Jump rope
- Dynamic Stretching
- Strength Training Calisthenics
- Yoga
Personal Mantras
The human brain is easy to trick into better focus and productivity. While there are many methods for this, the easiest is by simply staying mantras or goals out loud.
Spoken language clarifies intentions and helps a person follow through with actions throughout the day. Simply saying “I’m going to climb a mountain today” or “I’m going to learn twenty new words in Spanish today” helps a person follow through. I usually list a few of these on the walk back home, which were prewritten the night before.
Result of a Routine
Traveling brings unexpected circumstances and an ever-novel series of new events on the horizon. While this is a wonderful and engaging aspect of life, it should never unbalance a traveler. Adhere to a routine abroad to better interact with the world. Your health and discipline will make the journey much more profound.
Best regards and excellent trails.
Old Sean
There are a lot of strange places where a person still has to stick with their morning and night routine. Read a firsthand account about an outlandish world at Leftfade Trails Blog Posts
While traveling, the vast majority of my fitness routine requires no equipment. Hiking, healthy diet, plenty of sleep and a bodyweight routine are the centerpieces of a vagabond’s wellness. I do carry two piece of light workout equipment, the first being the Jade Travel Yoga Mat. It’s thinner, lighter, tougher and rolls smaller than a regular yoga mat, making it profoundly handy for traveling. Yoga is a gratifying form of exercise, especially after long flights or bus rides. While there are folding yoga mats for travel, I find them a bit too thin. The Jade Travel Yoga Mat strikes a nice balance for me. The mat also doubles as my de facto sleeping mat for airports and impromptu camping.
The second piece of workout equipment I travel with is a lightweight Sportbit Adjustable Jump Rope. This is an extremely light piece of workout equipment, good for remaining in-shape when visiting areas where walking or jogging isn’t possible. While my jump rope isn’t a necessary piece of travel equipment and many travelers can manage without it, I appreciate the easy workout access it offers me. It’s lightweight, affordable, adjustable, useful for speed exercises and handy for certain types of posture stretches.
