When I land in a new city, I don't rush off to see anything.

No landmark. No big first meal. No photos.

Most people do one of two things when they arrive. They crash at the hotel and lose the day. Or they sprint straight to the famous thing while they're still exhausted and cranky.

I do neither. I have what I call my boring first day.

And it's the reason the rest of my trip feels easy.

Here's the idea. Day one isn't for sightseeing. It's for getting rid of friction. I spend a couple of unhurried hours setting things up and getting a feel for the place. Then everything after that runs smooth.

There's no timetable on day one. So if my flight is late, or my bag takes forever, or the taxi line is a mess, it doesn't ruin anything. I built in the slack on purpose.

Let me walk you through what I actually do.

First, I pay attention to the trip from the airport to where I'm staying. How long did it take? How many transfers? Was it a pain? I make a mental note, because that's the same trip I'll be doing in reverse when I leave. Now the last morning holds no surprises.

Then I unpack and go get groceries. Snacks, water, and a few drinks. I shop off a list I made in my packing app before the trip. That one habit saves me a ton of money, because I'm not grabbing random overpriced junk at a corner store every time I get hungry all week.

Next I sort the essentials. I get cash if I'm somewhere that needs it. I grab the metro cards. Small stuff, but getting it done early means I'm never scrambling later.

And then I walk.

This part is my favorite. I walk around the area and compare the map in my head to the real thing. Before every trip I do research, so I show up with a rough picture of the city. But being there is different. Is it bigger than I imagined? Smaller? City blocks aren't the same size everywhere, so the map in your head is almost always a little off.

I notice how the traffic moves. I get a feel for how safe it is. And somewhere in that walk, I finally relax. The place stops being an idea and starts being real.

Here's why this matters.

When I went to Hong Kong, I knew going in that it was on the smaller side. But actually being there, I realized just how compact it really was. Everything was closer than I'd planned for.

So I changed my itinerary on the spot. I fit in way more than I originally scheduled. That boring first day, the one where I just got situated and walked around, basically handed me an extra day in Hong Kong.

That's the whole point.

The couple of hours you spend up front don't slow your trip down. They speed it up. You trade a little effort on day one for a week of not rushing, not scrambling, and not stressing.

So the next time you land somewhere new, try it. Don't rush off to the big thing. Don't crash in the hotel either.

Have a boring first day. Your whole trip will thank you.

Keep traveling, 

Andrew

What's the first thing you do when you land in a new city?