If you have ADHD, there are generally three less-than-ideal ways to prepare for travel. The first is to throw everything in your suitcase a few hours before departure and pray to the travel gods that you at least brought a few useful items (10 bikinis and zero heat for a ski trip, anyone?). The second method is to carefully and anxiously overweight your baggage to prepare for any eventuality (hello, overweight baggage fees). The final point is to avoid all the travel that comes with the logistical burden of packing. I’ve used every different approach over the years.

There are several issues that make traveling particularly stressful for people with ADHD, such as executive function, time blindness, and working memory problems. To neurotypical people this may seem like common sense, but to those who are not so simple, seemingly simple tasks may require more conscious thought and strategic planning. Here are my top tips for helping other people with ADHD pack when traveling, and I’ve also roped in some ADHD experts to help them.

Get ahead on the prep

One way to ease packing anxiety is to clarify as much as possible about the actual packing situation at least two weeks before your trip. This usually involves creating my itinerary, booking any vaccinations I may need, organizing travel funds (usually added to a Revolut card in the app) and checking that my travel insurance is up to date (my insurance renews automatically, To make things easier)). Then I specialize in buying everything I need for my trip.