I pride myself on my travel procedures and routines. I use software to help me organize all of my different trips. I have a section of my wallet dedicated to my frequent traveler cards, even limiting the number of brands I use to maximize points. I can pack in a matter of minutes, a skill I picked up during my senior year of high school during my Key Club days. I keep a pen in my car to quickly write down my parking location on the access ticket, and store it in the same place in my wallet. I fly 99% of the time in slip on shoes allowing me to get through security five times faster than the people around me. I get George Clooney in Up In The Air with the security line selection.
But yesterday I was an idiot.
I did everything like I normally do. I made sure my house was completely settled, lights turned off, outlets unplugged, AC programmed to maximize energy savings.
I drove to the airport, found a spot nearest the shuttle stop, and caught the first shuttle. I put away my keys, prepped my traveler cards to bypass lines.
I checked my bag, picked up my ticket, bypassed a lot of security, and got to the x-ray station.
A quick note about good x-ray procedure. I always put my laptop bag first, followed by my laptop (allowing me to quickly place it back), and then my shoes and pocket materials. I got ready to unload my laptop, but…
…I had left it at home.
I’ve spent more than 80 days on the road for the past five years at least, and I’ve NEVER forgot my laptop, but I did yesterday.
I was so stunned I stared at my bag for several minutes thinking it might somehow appear. It didn’t. I had to have it for my speech tonight, so I simply walked back to the ticket counter and rebooked a ticket for a later flight.
The airline was super nice. Since my flight had already been booked, they waived the additional cost of the ticket. Still, I had to hop back on the shuttle, drive back to my house, grab it off the counter, and rinse and repeat the whole process again. A simple two second moment at home cost me over two hours in travel time.
I was lucky. I had scheduled an extra day on the front side of this trip to do a quick visit with family. If this had been a speaking engagement back east, I would have really suffered. Still, how in the world did I forget my laptop?
I think it was because I started worry about some of the smaller things. I sent off a few last second emails that I could have written at the airport. I decided to do a bit more of an extensive kitchen clean. I mailed off a few things that could have waited until my trip home. All the while I kept thinking, I’ll put the laptop in my bag in a moment. Unfortunately, that moment didn’t come until AFTER I had already been to the airport.
Are you doing this as well?
Are you preventing yourself from packing the “laptops” in your life?
Are you simply doing stuff versus doing the important things necessary for your success?
I still arrived at my destination last night, but my playtime with my cousins’ kids was reduced by my travel delay. Instead of driving back to my house to pick up that laptop, I could have been playing on the swings, or watching my cousins’ 5 month old son roll around on the ground.
Yesterday, I was an idiot.
I don’t plan on making that same mistake again.
I hope you don’t either