Before you go on your next vacation, you should do some mental and physical preparations. The better your preparations are, the more smoothly your vacation is going to go. It’s not surprising that if you spend 90% of your time and energy getting ready, you will have an exponentially better time during the traveling phase of your vacation and at the destination itself.

Go through a couple of things that will help you out in this preproduction phase. First of all, make an accident checklist. If you get in a vehicle crash at your vacation destination, you need to know what to do. Secondly, brush up on language basics. If you’re going to a foreign country, learn the essential phrases. If you’re going somewhere that speaks the same language, at least be familiar with slang or cultural propriety. If possible, pack as little as you can to avoid clutter while traveling. And, in the weeks before you leave, put yourself on a proper diet of healthy food and exercise.

Make an Accident Checklist

You don’t want to run into a situation while you’re traveling where you get in a vehicle accident and don’t know what to do. To prepare for this, sketch out a vehicle accident checklist. Keep this in your wallet or potentially in your dashboard, so that you have access to it if you get in a traffic accident. This will prevent your emotions from getting in the way of your logic.

Brush Up On Language Basics

If you’re traveling to a foreign country, learn a little bit of the language before you go there. Even if you only know how to read signs, how to say numbers, and how to look for a few essentials at the store, it can make a big difference in the value of your journey if you can connect on a fundamental linguistic level.

Prepare To Pack Minimally

Most people tend to overpack when it comes to traveling. One of the best preparations that you can do is to figure out how to pack minimally. Take only what you need to survive! Anything beyond those bare essentials will just cost time, money, and effort to lug around with you, and you won’t end up even needing most of the extra junk you pack in your luggage.

Get Yourself Healthy

Before you go on vacation, get yourself healthy. Drink a lot of water. Cut out sugars and processed foods. If you drink a lot of soda or alcohol, start trimming back. Not only will you look better by the time you go, but you’ll also feel better. Knowing that you are healthy before you go on vacation will give you a little bit of extra wiggle room to enjoy pleasurable foods and activities at your destination as well.

To read more on topics like this, check out the traveling category.