There’s more to getting home from a trip than walking in the front door.

In the last few weeks, we’ve covered planning and packing tips for travel when you have Attention Deficit. But there is one more, much overlooked, piece of traveling with ADHD.

If you have Adult Attention Deficit, getting home from a trip likely looks something like this…

You walk in the front door, drop your suitcase on the floor, and leave it there to step over for umm…six weeks? Six months? Until you need it again?

In my experience as an ADD coach and as an adult with ADHD, I’ve noticed that we consider arriving home “the end” of our trip.

But it isn’t “the end”. If you want to be organized with ADHD you need to realize there is more to getting home from a trip than walking in the front door.

One easy way to recognize and remember to unpack right away is simply to plan for it.

Often we put off the dreaded unpack because we no sooner get back from vacation and without missing a step, we are expected to jump right back into our busy lives right where we left off before we left before our trip.

There are some people who don’t like unpacking luggage because they are sad the trip has ended or have no idea where to put all the souvenirs that were brought home, and the thought of putting away all those different items from all parts of our home just makes us exhausted.

Here are a few tips to help get you motivated to unpack your luggage quickly and with a little less anxiety…

Schedule time to re-enter your life

• Unpack
• Do some laundry
• Go through your mail
• Have a good meal
• Get a good night’s sleep in your own bed

As an adult ADD / ADHD coach, I often tease my clients who’ve returned from vacation, reminding them that their trip isn’t finished until all physical evidence of their travels gets organized and put away, and all those little loose ends are wrapped up. Don’t undermine your hard work at being successful with attention deficit by forgetting to finish the project!

Remember this often overlooked piece of advice when traveling with ADHD: unpack as soon as you get home! This simple, final travel plan will make your last night of vacation truly relaxing. Isn’t that what vacation is all about anyway?