HELLO. I’m Atom, and you’ve received my Travel Notes:
→ On the weeks I travel, I share stories, reflections, and lessons.
→ On the weeks I stay home, I share tips, tools, and templates.
The day after I arrived home from Malaysia, I was convinced I was traveling wrong.
I had to force myself up at 9:30 to be ready for my first meeting at 10. After getting that out of the way, it was hard not to feel overwhelmed by a day full of meetings compounded by rescheduled work that I dreaded to do. All I wanted to do was go back to sleep.
But the most telling sign was that I felt no excitement for my trip to Tokyo later that month, where I had grand plans of doing a three-day walk across the historic Nakasendo Trail.
I had no energy for anything, especially not for more travel.
In the end, I chose to forego the Nakasendo Trail in favor of a lighter itinerary, which allowed me to exercise and work in the mornings (sometimes until mid-afternoon).
So, travel in Tokyo came in the form of doing pull-ups in Ueno Park, going to the gym in Mito City’s Civic Center, working by the Starbucks inside Shinjuku Gyeon National Garden, and taking late afternoon walks around Asakusa.
My intention in Tokyo was to recover.
Still, the day after I arrived home, I was plagued by the same feelings of lethargy, grogginess, and apathy.
A month later, I decided to make my trip to Korea a true vacation.
Instead of trying to work while traveling, I traveled with the expectation that I would lose touch with work (isn’t that the point of a vacation?). I ignored all chats, I took no meetings.
Then, instead of trying to travel without getting tired, I traveled with the expectation that I would get tired. Rather than jump straight into work, I took the liberty to extend my leave so it included the day after I arrived home.
When I eventually got back to work, I was feeling energized.
Quick disclaimer: I sent my resignation letter two weeks before leaving for Korea, so that was a big factor in helping me disengage from work. Is there a way to do what I did in Korea while neck-deep in the responsibilities of a full-time job?
The original form of this piece was a guide to minimize post-travel fatigue.
I’m publishing it three weeks later because I realized my fatigue rooted itself in reasons deeper than poor travel planning or an overly packed itinerary.
Having tried tactics like scheduling post-trip recovery days, batching work in the morning, and traveling slowly with little effect, it didn’t feel correct for me to write something I didn’t understand myself.
As it turns out, what was supposed to be a guide turned into an extended reflection.
What I learned is it’s not how I was traveling that was the problem (travel is tiring no matter what you do), but that I was clinging to this false ideal of a travel-life balance.
The goal was a life where I could visit all 82 provinces in 2 years while maintaining a full-time job to save for Australia, a rigorous 5-times-a-week exercise schedule, a weekly newsletter, and an active social life.
It worked for a while too but it’s proving to be unsustainable.
I let go of my health and fitness months ago. Nowadays, my sleep schedule is very inconsistent, and I only exercise 1-2 times a week. As a result, I’ve been getting more injuries: I strained a tendon in my knee, hyperextended my back, and sprained my wrist.
The hard truth is that if I want to continue traveling with the intensity and frequency I have done so far, I must rethink my sacrifices. Otherwise, I must accept that travel is not my biggest priority and so be willing to sacrifice how often I travel.
When presented in this manner, it’s no surprise that I’m tired.
I’m balancing too many things, failing to prioritize any.
Let’s not end this piece on such a sad note, though. It feels important for me to add that recognizing my lack of priority has been very liberating because, in a way. I have a new priority: to rediscover what matters most.
Until next week,
Atom
Are you interested in exploring the Philippines too? Here are some ways I can help...
Travel can be expensive. Here is my list of hacks to spend less on PH travel and a spreadsheet template to help you budget your next trip.
I make a spreadsheet for every trip. Here’s the guide to my Google Drive with all spreadsheets.