Three days in the saddle, you know my body hurt..
– Me and My Uncle, The Grateful Dead
My motorcycle is cooling in the garage, windscreen marbled with a smorgasbord of bug guts. The summit conference I am returning from is fading away like Interstate 40 in my rearview mirror. The three aluminum cases I lived out of for the past week are lined up in our family room, crammed with dirty clothes, half-eaten snacks and covered with a layer of red dust collected from central Utah.
Unpacking is the worst. I’m tired. Sore. Physically and spiritually drained. The last thing I want to do is deal with dirty underwear, diner receipts and conference notes.
But the time spent unpacking after an adventure is possibly more important than packing in the first place. Unpacking is where you process your trip, consolidate your memories, make sense of everything you experienced.
Deal with Your Physical Junk First
Your rancid clothes, damp with perspiration and humidity can start to mildew in 24 hours, particularly if they are locked in waterproof cases. It’s not just your textiles that can start to rot – your memory can start going south fast. So while you can, it’s a good idea to retrieve all those “next time I would do it differently” thoughts. Use your gear to jog your memory as you unpack.
1) Unpack in laundry room. – Save yourself a trip and get your unmentionables into the old Maytag pronto.
2) Check pockets. All of them. – I don’t know about you, but when I’m on the road my pockets do a lot of heavy lifting. Oil cap wrench, ear buds, trail mix, lens cleaner, gasoline receipts all find their way into pockets. Check every single pocket so that nothing valuable goes into the wash.
3) List things you didn’t use. – If you’ve kept your clean clothes separate from your dirty, ask yourself why you wore some things and not others? Pay attention to the story here. Maybe next time don’t pack that “I’m with Stupid” t-shirt that is too cringe-worthy to wear even as a night shirt. Update your packing list accordingly.
4) Note anything that’s broke. – My left-side handlebar mirror spontaneously self-destructed just outside Las Vegas. The bulb on my high beam burned out. The pocket zipper on my pants became unstitched. Now is the time to add repairs like these to your Getting Things Done list.
5) Stow everything. – Clean everything and put it away now, so you can find it easily next time you travel. It will make packing for your next adventure that much easier.
Unpack Mentally and Spiritually
Once you’ve handled the tangible gear, it’s time to unpack your psychic valise. Presumably you traveled all this way to a conference in order to gain some tidbit of knowledge, make worthwhile connections, maybe even give a presentation.
Keeping these experiences stuffed inside your head is a good way to ensure they go swirling down the memory hole. Instead take a few minutes to unpack your thoughts in much the same way that you cleared out your luggage.
What did I learn? – Is there something new on your radar that wasn’t there before you showed for the conference, even if it is simply a decent restaurant in Tuba City, Arizona? Add this to your “things to remember” list now.
Who did I meet? – Who you know, they say, trumps what you know. Before you forget the names of the people you met, add them to your contact list with a quick note about the circumstances.
Did I meet my goals and expectations? – What did you hope to achieve at this event? Did you meet your goals? Did the conference live up to your expectations or did it fall short? Add some “wrap-up” entries to your journal along with suggestions for follow-up.
What commitments did I make? – If you made any commitments during your trip, perhaps over a handshake and a business card exchange, make sure these get into your to-do list. It’s quite possible that you made a resolution to yourself – a book you’d like to read or a practice you’d like to adopt. Make sure these self-commitments are jotted down somewhere so you can track them.
Getting squared away after a big event may not be the most interesting part of the journey. It might even feel a little tedious, particularly when you’re still feeling stinky and road-weary. But taking the time to unpack your bags – and your head – will leave you in a good place to start your next adventure.
