Why does Cameron recommend keeping them on vacation?
Cameron argues that the practice is continuity or not. Skipping an entire week resets the cumulative effect that took you months to build. And vacations, paradoxically, are one of the most fertile times: the change of environment disrupts mental patterns and new material emerges.
There is an extra benefit: pages made while traveling are usually more visual, more sensory, more connected to the body. The new environment forces the brain to register in a different way.
What notebook and pen to take on a trip?
Logistics matter more than it seems. A poorly chosen notebook is the perfect excuse not to do them.
Recommended travel setup:
- A6 or A5 pocket notebook with hard cover — holds backpack
- elastic band to close it (Moleskine, Leuchtturm)
- two pens identical in case one is lost or dried
- waterproof bag if you go to the beach or do water activities
- Notebook separate from the travel diary —they are different things
Where and when to do them in hotels, backpackers or hostels?
In hotel: terrace, balcony or desk before breakfast. In hostel: hostel cafeteria, common bathroom if you need privacy. When camping/van: any outside table before everyone else wakes up.
Key rule: the time changes but the order does not. Before the first cell phone, before the first coffee with company, before the first plan of the day.
How to manage the pages if you travel with children or a partner?
Here is the real challenge. With a baby: impossible to maintain 30 minutes straight. Cameron's solution: reduced version two pages until returning to the routine. With older children: get up 30 minutes before them. With a partner: negotiate a shift — one gets up first on even days, the other on odd days.
On trips as a couple, pages can generate friction if the person who doesn't make them feels that you are "isolating yourself." Honest conversation before the trip. The couple understands better when they see the results when they return.