How to overcome packing anxiety? Do you think you have it? If so, you’re not alone as 49% of travelers, have it? If you answered YES, you might have a perceiving trait?
Are you wondering what a perceiving trait means? Click here for more on personality typing, a revolutionary approach to travel to help unveil habits and innate characteristics that cause stress, anxiety, and frustration while on holiday.
Perceivers Are More Likely to have Packing Anxiety
In this case, the 49% statistic makes sense. According to Myers-Briggs®, perceivers fall under 50% of the population while judgers are a tiny bit over 50%. Let’s look at the differences.
Perceiver Traits
These are characteristics you’ll likely recognize if you have a dominant perceiving function:
- Are easily distracted
- Always on the hunt for something new
- Don’t like to plan – they wait for things to show up
- Are last minute type of travelers
- Will be the ones saying, “does neatness count?”
- Top priorities; creativity, spontaneity, and responsiveness
Do this sound like you? If so, you may be prone to packing anxiety. Packing isn’t fun for you, and it won’t hold your interest. Remember you’re easily distracted and how easy is it to walk away from packing. VERY!
I know this to be true as I hold a perceiving trait.
Perceiver Packing Tips
- Let me help you rethink packing. Think of it as a new creative endeavor. Daydream of the place, what you’ll be doing, and what you’ll be wearing. I’m a perceiver and a travel professional, so over the years, I’ve made packing fun, and here’s how:
- Color is always my first question. Depending on where I’m traveling, the color will change; New York City, black; Caribbean; colorful; California, muted earth tones… And it’s always authentic to who I really am. Learn more about your personality type’s original style here.
- Once I decide on a color, I get creative and pack according to outfits. For example, my white blouse will go with my black pants, khaki shorts, navy skirt, etc. Then I arrange my clothes, ALWAYS rolled, alongside what pairs with what. So it becomes a complete puzzle of what I will wear on vacay. Plus, it gives me a quick snapshot of outfits to see if I need to add or subtract items.
- Shoes are always simple; flats – and I love my gold Karl Lagerfeld flats; they make a bold statement.
- Jewelry, I keep it simple; gold hoops, my cross necklace, and one fun piece.
- I always fly with a carry-on and my laptop, iPhone, and all the gadgets that go with it.
- Tip; always fly with your jewelry and meds; don’t check either, and don’t ever check my electronic devices. Some people do. I don’t!
Mindset: Have a Positive Attitude
- Make packing fun. If you think it’s frustrating, it will be
- Don’t wait until the last minute. I know we perceivers love that last-minute rush, but in this instance, it’s best to pack for an hour or until you get distracted 😏 and then come back to it over a day or two. It lets you keep your options open, which is how we ROLL!
- Understand you’ll probably forget something, I always do. The good news is you can always buy it where you land. And if not, you’ll learn to do without and love your “hairy legs 😉”
- When all else fails, invite a “judger” friend to help – they love to organize and are typically detail-oriented.
Judgers Are Fabulous Packers
A person who has a judging trait is the person to be in charge of the packing. Most judgers come out of the womb planning, and playtime for them is organizing. You can easily spot ’em on the playground. They’re saying, “That’s not the right way here; let me show you.” It’s their thing, and they do it very WELL! So LET THEM.
Even better, judgers don’t stress out when packing for a trip. They tend to live their lives in a highly structured and decisive manner: planning, organizing, and scheduling.
They’re lovin’ the new packing cubes that help with packing organization efficiency. I, on the other hand, was like, what? Why buy more things? I don’t need more things, and you have to manage them.
Ahh, the “isms” of a traveler with perceiving trait!
Traveling by Car With a Perceiving Type
Oh, this is a free-for-all. It’s luggage, bags, coolers, and backpacks. It’s a hot mess. For snackables, I TRY and avoid things in plastic or food with dyes. But my son is a hot-fries guy, and I love cheese puffs, so this rarely happens. We TRY 🤪 It’s a jumbled mess of organized chaos.
There are no lists. I know not helpful. I need you, JUDGERS!
I hope you’ve learned a thing or two. And know, I will be delving into travel personalities and helping you learn how typing influences vacation outcomes.
The GOOD, BAD, and UGLY 😇
Are YOU Ready for a Travel Revolution?
I desire to develop a community of mindful travelers who want to learn about travel personality typing. You, the spiritual personality type traveler – type trippers – will be the heart and soul of this community. I will rely on you to contribute reviews on recent vacations, staycations, attractions visits, and more. It will be a wonderful place, full of honesty, fun, and genuine insights into real-world travel.
I’m working to build an online community for us to gather and share ideas? For now, click here to join Instagram or, if you prefer, Pinterest or TikTok for ongoing insights into travel personalities. And you’ll also find me on YouTube.
My goal is to revolutionize the way we plan and travel. To make sure each vacation is filled with happy memories, sexy sojourns, or family vacations that you’ll remember for a lifetime!
Check out my radio interview on What’s Your Travel Personality?, aired on Speaking of Travel, part of the iHeart radio network with Marilyn Ball. Give it a listen here. Thanks, Marilyn, for believing in
Photo Credit: Me 🙂
