Self-Care and the Traveling Storyteller: Touring Like a Beast!

Yes, I do have a broomstick

I have had a lovely, slow couple of months. I slept late, went to the gym on a regular basis, had lovely home-cooked meals, and spent time writing, playing with my pets, and reading to The Mister.


February through May is just around the corner. I'm about to put some serious mileage on the broomstick.


I'll be in multiple states doing multiple venues - sometimes two or three in a day- until the school year comes to a close.


Touring can be like this sometimes. Self-care becomes a huge problem when you are going six days a week or more. Here is my checklist for getting ready to tour like a beast.



1. I keep a travel bag at the ready - If you don't have one of these and you tour regularly, I highly recommend it. It is just one less thing to think about.

The Travel Bag

2. Sleep - This is a great article by Kevin Kulp about the importance of making sure you get enough sleep and why.

3. Maintaining Your Voice - Your voice is an important, finite resource. Make sure you are doing your best to keep it healthy!

4. Maintaining Your Car! - If you don't have the skills or confidence to do this yourself...I don't, then make sure you get your car into a local shop or to your mechanic or to a dealership and have your chariot tuned and tightened.

Happy Car

5. Maintain your Stress Level - Even if you don't feel like you are stressed, if you have been touring, telling, driving, dealing with trains, planes, and automobiles, meeting tons of people, expending tons of energy, then you need to make sure you are stopping to smell the proverbial roses. Make time!

6. Snacks - I keep some snacks in the car to prevent from getting the munchies and buying things that are going to cause me headaches. I have a snack stash of nuts - usually pistachios, chocolate - I get interesting, fair trade chocolate bars and break them into snackable chunks. (If I don't break the candy bars up and separate them, I will just eat the whole thing.) I snack on orange segments, dried fruit, some kind of jerky, and chewing gum. I tend to bake myself some kind of lovely, gluten-free cookie.

7. Water - Make sure you are staying hydrated! Dehydration will cause all sorts of problems that will make you think you are ill! Drink enough water!

Bibliophiles Do It With Books

8. Books - I am an unabashed bibliophile. A personal preference, of course, but I always travel with at
least one long series and three stand-alone books. If I ever look to be in danger of reading them all, I can always swing by an independent bookstore!

I am sure you have other things you like to do. If you have ideas or suggestions, please share them. We do better when we support each other and reinforce best practices!

Happy Touring!

Life Hack: The Travel Bag

Yeah, I'm a fool for Vera Bradley bags

I am done with touring for the year! Time to clean out and restock my travel bag!

    

When first I began to travel, I would load the bag with the toiletries from my side of the sink.  I'd take my lotion, skin conditioners, toothpaste, and whatever I thought I needed, put it in the bag, and then pack my clothes.  This process meant that I would occasionally turn up at my final destination without necessary items.

Every now and then I would forget essential cords, like the ones that go to my phone or computer.  After a few years, I decided there had to be a better way.  

I remembered that when I was pregnant, the literature suggested that I pack a bag with everything in it that I would need to take to the hospital with me when I went in to have the baby.  

If it worked for a trip to the hospital, it ought to work for longer trips, especially since I was anticipating taking such trips.  

With that in mind, I put together my storytelling travel bag with duplicates of all the supplies I need on a daily basis.  Then, I put the bag in my closet in easy reach.

What’s in it?

1.     A cord for my computer

2.     A cord for my phone

3.     Toiletries (Toothpaste, floss, toothbrush, you get the picture)

4.     Skin Care Regime (Oil of Olay to Jergens)

5.     Nail care regime (files, polish, creams, base and top coat)

6.     Cough drops and other throat needs

7.     Aleve (because sometimes life is a headache)

8.     Melatonin (a sleep aid when my travel schedule makes me jittery)

9.     Extra pens and pencils (You can't ever have enough)

10. Contact lens solutions (Including eyedrops)

11. My sleep mask (I like it really, really dark when I sleep)

12. Dread accessories (If you don't have dreads, use your imagination)

13. Shower cap  

14. Sleep net (I hate rolling over and pulling my own hair)

My travel bag

There are a few more things in there, but you get the point.  The toiletries are all kept in a 'kit' so that I can keep track of them, and it is easy to see when I have to replace things.  

When I get ready to leave for a week, overnight, two weeks, or however long, I only have to put my clothes a in the bag.  

When I get home, I just take out the clothes.  Everything else stays in there.  If I have to fly, I take out the large bag with my regular size toiletries and replace it with my flight kit.

 Packing has become a breeze.

For wherever your travels might lead!

This set up might not work for everyone, but it is a timesaver for me.

Every little bit helps.

Happy Traveling!

Storyteller Life Hack: The Travel Bag

I spent an incredible week of telling in the Currituck area.  So many of the various things I’ve written about on this blog happened last week, that I’ve been in a perpetual state of amusement.  There are times when you just have to throw up your arms and surrender to the universe without getting too upset. 

Two hour delays because of fog, a possible ice storm, rescheduling shows from one day to another, rearranging performance and workshop schedules, renegotiating contracts midstream to deal with the changed circumstances, and that doesn't even begin to cover the TV Head children, and other interesting behavior I encountered, but I am not blogging about any of that this week. No, this week we will be discussing one of the most important weapons in your traveling arsenal; your travel bag.

 

Yeah, I'm a fool for Vera Bradley bags

    

When first I began to travel, I would simply load the bag with the toiletries on my side of the sink.  I'd take my lotion, skin conditioners, toothpaste, and whatever I thought I needed, put it in the bag, and then pack my clothes.  I found that this process meant that I would occasionally turn up at my final destination without necessary items.

The other problem I had was forgetting essential cords, like the ones that go to my phone or computer.  Finally, after a few years, I decided there had to be a better way.  

I remembered that when I was pregnant, the literature suggested that I pack a bag with everything in it that I would need to take to the hospital with me when I went in to have the baby.  

It occurred to me that if it worked for a trip to the hospital, it ought to work for longer trips, especially since I was anticipating taking such trips.  

With that in mind, I put together my storytelling travel bag with duplicates of all the supplies I need on a daily basis.  Then, I put the bag in my closet in easy reach.

What’s in it?

1.     A cord for my computer

2.     A cord for my phone

3.     Toiletries (Toothpaste, floss, toothbrush, you get the picture)

4.     Skin Care Regime (Oil of Olay to Jergens)

5.     Nail care regime (files, polish, creams, base and top coat)

6.     Cough drops and other throat needs

7.     Aleve (because sometimes life is a headache)

8.     Melatonin (a sleep aid when my travel schedule makes me jittery)

9.     Extra pens and pencils (You can't ever have enough)

10. Contact lens solutions (Including eyedrops)

11. My sleep mask (I like it really, really dark when I sleep)

12. Dread accessories (If you don't have dreads, use your imagination)

13. Shower cap  

14. Sleep net (I hate rolling over and pulling my own hair)

My travel bag

There are a few more things in there, but you get the point.  The toiletries are all kept in a 'kit' so that I can keep track of them, and it is easy to see when I have to replace things.  

When I get ready to leave for a week, overnight, two weeks, or however long, I only have to put my clothes and my contact lenses in the bag.  I don’t have to scour the room to see if I’ve left anything I need. 

When I get home, I just take out the clothes and my contact lenses.  Everything else stays in there.  If I have to fly, I take out the large bag with my regular size toiletries and replace it with my flight kit.

It also means that I don’t ever take the primary computer cords and such out of my house.  It also makes it much easier for me to get out of the house when I have to travel.  Packing has become a breeze.

For wherever your travels might lead!

This set up might not work for everyone, but it is a timesaver for me.

Every little bit helps.

Happy Traveling!