Tomorrow morning I hit the road for a few weeks on a consulting assignment. I only found out about it earlier today, and they absolutely need me on the premises before noon tomorrow.

Initially I was ready to go into a panic, since I'll be gone for the week. After all, if it was just an overnight trip and I had to pull a few things together, it's not such a big deal. But packing for an entire week, especially when there are special needs to remember, can be taxing on one's psyche.

Lucky for me, I remembered that I created a checklist of things I need to always remember to pack so that I don't forget anything. It's a fairly extensive list, because the little things are the easiest to forget. How many people have gone on a trip and forgot about socks or underwear? What about forgetting a belt because you traveled in sweats, as I often do on airplanes?

So, I have a checklist that has two columns. One column is only for things I need to make sure I have in the car on those occasions I'm driving, which I will be doing this time around. This means I need to make sure I have my GPS system and charger in the car; I get lost often. It also means I need to remember to have my books on CD to listen to, and I usually take some kind of coat with me in case there's inclement weather.

For everything else, I've already mentioned a few things to make sure of. However, those special needs things include the items that are related to my diabetes, which means my glucometer, my medications, and, this time around, my insulin, as my wife and I will have to try to figure out how to keep it cold while not having it freeze, since I'll be going to the work site instead of the hotel first. This is something new for me, but I made sure it was the first thing I added to the list.

I'm one of those people who believes in having plans in place just in case something comes up that you may have to deal with. Some offices keep procedure manuals, some don't, but even in those offices that have manuals already, there should be specific answers to problems that have already been solved that can be accessed quicker than having to read through an entire manual once again. We all have been in situations that have occurred before, and our first thought is "I wonder what we did last time."

So, being prepared for the unknown, especially if it's something that occurs often, is a smart thing to do. And if you can prepare for the unknown as well, you'll be even further ahead of the game.