LifeScore Chronicles #12: Lessons from the Road 🧳 🧳
Hi there guys! Welcome to the #12 edition of the LifeScore Chronicles. Did you miss the first 11 editions? Reply to this email and I’ll forward them to you right away!
What are you about to read? As always, kind of a weekly guide to personal growth, with some health and productivity tips. Today we’re having a bit of a themed edition, with all topics revolving around travel, so fasten your seat belts, we’re about to take off!
Today’s summary:
🏞️ Traveling: A home in a thousand places
📚 Books as travel mementos
💸 Splitwise, or the art of splitting costs
🌏 Explorer's essentials: Travel tips for every explorer
🏞️ Traveling: A home in a thousand places
Traveling - it gives you a home in a thousand strange places, then leaves you a stranger in your own land.
In the last few years, both my partner and I have been traveling a bit, planning our year around our journeys. I wouldn't label us as digital nomads because a) I'm already 40 and can't be bothered, and b) we do have our place in Berlin, where we always come back to. However, we spend around 6-8 months a year in different places. I wouldn't say it's constant "traveling" as the travel itself doesn't take that much time, though. It's more like living in different places, staying around one month in another country while working, and using long weekends to explore.
This, which might seem amazing from the outside (and it is, indeed), it comes also with a price. I would sum it up with just one word: disconnection. From places, but also people and routines. I wouldn't choose a different life at all; I couldn't imagine myself living any other way. Someday, when we switch gears and I'm living a more conventional life, I will look back and remember these years as the best ones of my life.
Anyway, the point is: travel is amazing, and adding something about broadening your perspective and making you a better person is so cheap and basic that it doesn't even make sense! But I would only add: Never stop exploring, either the outside world or the inside world. That's my go-to statement.
As a bonus point, I'm writing this from an airport in Davao, Philippines. I guess I just want to prove my point.
📚 Books as travel mementos
In this week’s content section, instead of recommending books or documentaries on traveling, I'd like to share something I've been doing whenever I visit a new place. Something content-related, no worries!
So here’s the thing: When you visit a new place, go to a library and grab a book related to the city or country you're in. Look for one written by a local author if possible (though it's not a must). Ask for help if needed. This way, when you read the book, it might bring back some memories of your trip.
And even if you’re not into reading, having a shelf in your living room with books from your travels is a way cooler souvenir than a random magnet, right? (I still love magnets though).
💸 Splitwise, or the art of splitting costs
Alright. Let’s picture this. You're on a trip and you're splitting costs. But keeping track can get messy. And on top of that, there are different currencies, varied contributions, and other stuff that can overcomplicate things.
That’s why this week's traveling-related recommendation can’t be other than Splitwise, a fool-proof shared expenses tracker.
You set up a group with your travel mates, log your expenses, and Splitwise does the math, keeping track of who owes what to whom.
When the journey's over (or whenever you're ready to settle the score), Splitwise breaks it down, telling you who should pay whom, making it all super simple. It even lets you tag expenses and gives you a handy travel report for a quick trip overview. Like having a digital wallet that keeps things fair and easy. Pretty cool, huh?
Of course, it’s not only travel-related, you can use it at home with your partner or roommates too.
🌏 Explorer's essentials: Travel tips for every explorer
To wrap things up, I want to share some handy travel hacks that help travel smoother, save time and money, and have easy solutions to common travel hassles. Don’t expect wild stuff, but hey, a little help is always appreciated!
Multi-Plug Adapter: Invest in a decent multi-plug adapter with several USB ports. You can plug all your devices into one station, and you can even forget about your laptop charger (if you have a USB-C Mac) as you can plug the cable directly into the adapter.
Mosquito stuff: Let’s face it, nobody likes mosquitoes (maybe spiders?). And avoiding their bites is impossible sometimes. But when shit happens, nothing beats (or bites?) this Removal Suction Tool, a handy suction device that removes insect poison, preventing itching, pain, and swelling caused by bites. Best thing ever!
Packing list: Sounds basic, but having a packing list you can tick off when packing saves a lot of headaches. There is an app for this (of course), Packpnt, but we have a physical list at home similar to this that we religiously use.
Travel cutlery set: Nothing more annoying than having food you can’t eat because you don’t have any cutlery with you. A travel cutlery set is handy and eco-friendly, avoiding the need for disposable plastic cutlery.
Solid shampoo and gel: Simplify your toiletry packing and minimize environmental impact with solid shampoo and gel bars. Win-win!
Ziplock Bags: An easy way to pack clothes, maximize space, and reduce mess when packing and unpacking are these ziplock backs you can easily throw in your luggage. An extra tip: Roll your clothes instead of folding them to save space and reduce wrinkles.
Cheaper extra luggage in your Ryanair bookings: Sneak a peek at the system! When booking Ryanair flights (I think it works with all low-costs), you can save some money by adding your luggage in the last step. The last step before moving into the extras is the bag selection page, and here, you can add an extra cabin bag with priority boarding for way less than what it costs on the very first page. Might not save a lot of money, but hey, how good does it feel to beat the system?
Scarf as Blanket or Pillow: A large scarf can double as a blanket or pillow during flights or long journeys. Seems stupid, but comfort in the air is priceless!
eSIM Card: The old times of getting a local SIM card at the destination airport, potentially ending up losing your original SIM, and being scammed with low data plans just to realize that there were 6789 better options are over. You can now get eSIM cards (virtual SIMs you can use without having to physically insert anything into your phone) for cheaper plans, more data, and easy top-ups. I use Airalo but there are other options such as Holafly, Maya, Nomad…
I'll stop here before it gets too long. If you want more tips, feel free to ask. Happy to help!
📊 Data Dive
As always, let’s close this #LSC12 with a little look at the previous week’s performance:
118 Subscribers → Last week we were 115. Steady progress...
0 Unsubscribed → Another clean sheet, yay!
65.61% Open rate → Stable numbers here.
And as a farewell gift, and since we’ve been discussing on travels, here’s a fantastic clip of Daft Punk’s Around the World with the official Michel Gondry video played backward. Somehow it matches the music incredibly, right?
And that’s a wrap for this week! Until the next one, take care and recommend LifeScore Chronicles to everyone you think could find this content interesting. I would really appreciate it.
Stay safe and healthy!