"MEGO"---THE TRAVELER'S DEMON

If you haven't already seen it or been afflicted by it, you will sooner or later. You'll be enjoying a vacation, and taking some time to visit a famous museum or art gallery or shopping venue, and WHAM, you're attacked by MEGO, and you succumb. Plan in advance and keep MEGO at bay. It's easy. It's free. It's wise. You're spending a lot of money to fly somewhere, to stay in a nice hotel, to enjoy good restaurants, to soak up another culture, to have fun people-watching, to shop for things you can't find at home (even at Costco). It's every vacationer's dream, right? ou're So much to do and so little time. You wisely study the guidebooks, surf the internet, talk to friends who have already been there, and you set down a schedule that will give you time to do everything you care to do. Except stay conscious. The Warning Signs I've seen it happen to other travelers more times than I can count. And I admit that It used to happen to me until I recognized the warning signs of MEGO: Suddenly, nothing makes sense any more. You forget where you are, or why you're there. Your mind can only focus on having your body lie down and rest. MEGO: My Eyes Glaze Over. It's probably the most frequent symptom of carefree travel planning. Fortunately it's easily cured by a nap----if you're anywhere near where you can take a nap, which isn't always the case. Once you're afflicted with MEGO the rest of your day is shot. You get short-tempered with your companions and kids. You find yourself dozing when you should be gazing. You start feeling angry that you've come all this way and you just don't understand what everyone sees in the Mona Lisa or the Eiffel Tower or the Smithsonian. Your feet ache and your stomach rumbles and your head throbs and you are not a happy camper! And you've got just as busy a schedule for the next day? Oh dear. Here are some simple scheduling tips that can help you avoid MEGO, and thus let you get the most pleasure out of your travels. It's better to enjoy what you see and do than to be a miserable grouch because of a MEGO attack. First You must carefully prioritize what you want to see and do, and how long you want to spend on each activity. This is where the most careful research is essential. You must take into account the wishes of any companions or children traveling with you. Some compromising might be necessary, but that is all for the common good. Shopping and eating times must be included in this list as activities in their own right. Second This is something that is too often overlooked---you must determine how long it will take you to get from Place A to Place B to Place C and so on. That means taking into account driving and/or walking time, mass transit scheduling, and the all-too-frequent waiting in line to see what you've spent so much time getting to. Third This is the tough part, and you should work it all out on a schedule divided into days and parts of the days. How much time you allocate to each specific activity is up to you. These are only general guidelines, but they're based on a lot of experience. Let's say you want to plan your days in units of 60 or 90 minutes. Allocate how many units you want to spend at each activity. To keep things most simple, plan to spend two units each morning and two more each afternoon. Between each unit you must set aside eating time, rest time, and travel time if any. The rest time is mandatory---15 to 30 minutes depending on your energy level and what rest facilities are close at hand. Sit on a park bench and feed the pigeons or people-watch. Dawdle over a cup of mochachino frappe latte, or whatever those things are. Stretch out on any dry grass that's nearby. Above all, relax. Recharge your batteries. Then proceed to your next unit, followed by a leisurely lunch, and your afternoon program. Only four to six hours a day doing and seeing everything? Modify the time slightly if you wish, but yes, four to six hours (not counting eating or traveling) is the limit if you want to fend off attacks by MEGO. Younger travelers might increase their time units. Elders might want to keep them on the short side---remembering that you can't keep up a thirty-something schedule when you're sixty-something. By the way, one of the more interesting things you'll see if you stick to your MEGO-avoidance planning is other people who didn't read this article being attacked, right in front of your very eyes. But don't approach them to explain what's happening to them. They won't understand until a day or two later. This article supplements Chapter 3, pages 88-98 in Personal Finance. Access the textbook by clicking on the box in the right column.