5 tips to help you NOT let your phone ruin your vacation while traveling this year.
Let’s face it, we are a society that uses our phones on a daily, if not hourly, basis.
And I am most definitely one of those people who would not be able to travel without my phone.
Pathetic? Maybe, but many of my reasons are totally legitimate, as I’m sure yours are too!
For example, I’m horrible at directions. I’ve gotten lost 5 minutes away from the new house we are building… It’s sad but true!
So when we travel, especially out of the country, having our phones for directions is a must!
Another legitimate reason that we all have is work.
Roger & I both need our phones to stay connected to work.
He needs it in case a patient has an emergency & I need mine because the majority of our travels are for my business.
I could keep listing reasons, but you get the point, quite personally. That’s why you are here reading this blog post.
You need your phone while on vacation, but you don’t want your phone to ruin your vacation.
I could probably write a 1000+ word post on this subject with tips on how to avoid your phone while traveling, but I’ve decided to condense my points down into 5 tips that are easy to remember & easy to apply to your own travel plans.
So let’s get to it as I know you have places to go & things to see!
1. Prepare Your Phone
Before you leave on your vacation, make a list of everything you will need your phone for while traveling & organize your phone accordingly.
For some people that may mean moving all unnecessary apps to the second or third page of their home screen for other people that may mean completely deleting them off of their phone for the duration of their trip.
Because data is always a struggle for us me (let’s be real, it’s always me), I also like to turn off my cellular data on each individual app to be turned on only as needed.
Not only does this keep us from running over our data plan but it also keeps me from accidentally (YES, because sometimes our fingers fly faster than our mind can think) clicking on an app & aimlessly wasting time.
2. Create Instant Responses
You can create responses for both your texts & your emails.
For quick replies, I like to create text replacement’s on my phone so that I can easily & instantly reply to someone in a matter of seconds.
For example, you could create a text replacement with the shortcut being “on vacation” & the phrase being “Hi! Thanks for your message! I’m currently on vacation with limited internet access. I’ll be returning to town on — & I’ll get back to you as soon as I can after I return. I hope you have a blissful day!”
Then when someone texts you or sends you a personal email or message on social media that you don’t want to ignore you can just type “on vacation” (& your phrase will appear) & then simply click send.
So easy!
If you can’t ignore your emails altogether, or restrain yourself from checking your emails only 1-2 times a day, another thing you can do before you leave is to set your email account(s) to vacation mode.
For most email accounts you just go to “Settings” & click the on the “Vacation Response” or “Vacation Responder” tab.
Then fill in your travel dates & create your message response.
Super simple!
3. Set a Timer
So say you do want to spend a little bit of time on your phone checking your email, the weather, social media, emails, etc. but you are worried you will get caught up & lose track of time.
Some apps, like Instagram, have already created timers within their app that you can set up that will automatically remind you when you have spent your allotted amount of time on their app.
If you plan on spending some time on your phone while on vacation on a variety of apps a simple solution is to set a timer.
When the timer ends your time is up on your phone & your time relaxing & making memories can begin.
4. Create Accountability
If you find yourself struggling with being on your phone & replying to emails, text messages, & phone calls, or if you can’t put it down when your timer goes off, find accountability with your travel partners.
An easy way to do this if you are traveling with someone you trust, like your spouse, is to simply swap phones.
Or if you are traveling with friends you could make a game out of it. The first person to use their phone (nonemergency) has to buy dinner or the last person to use their phone gets to decide what fun activity you all are doing next.
5. Daily Remind Yourself of Your Vacation’s Purpose
No two vacations or travelers are the same.
Some people travel for relaxation while others for adventure.
Some people prefer staycations while others prefer to travel the world.
Some people enjoy eating their experiences while others prefer photographing their experiences.
However, you like to travel, make sure that your phone is helping, not hindering your vacation.
Normally I say “If you use these tips to plan a dream vacation be sure to share a picture & tag @DomesticallyBlissful on Instagram so that we can all see your fun adventure!” But I feel like that may be a bit contradictory for this post…
So if you enjoyed this travel post, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter below so that you don’t miss out on another blissful tip!
What fun tips do you have to help others put down their phone while traveling?
Feel free to comment below, email me, or tweet me on Twitter!
Want to connect on a more personal level!?
You can find me & Domestically Blissful on
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bloglovin, & Pinterest!
With love, Giusti
Leave a Reply