Get rid of your unorganised suitcase with this spreadsheet. Photo / 123rf
Get rid of your unorganised suitcase with this spreadsheet. Photo / 123rf
What would happen if you combined your love for travel and data? You’d create genius travel spreadsheets.
We’ve all been there - deep in the panic of packing last-minute, making a mental list of all of the essentials we might need, only to inevitably forget things.
Viral TikToker and data scientist Luke Scarpino has shared his unique hack to pack efficiently using a simple spreadsheet.
Scarpino, who confessed to at one time being pretty urorganised, told Newsweek: “I found the packing process mentally draining. I would get into loops in my head checking off a mental checklist while adding more items at the same time. And for critical items, like passports and IDs, I would find myself triple-checking my bag.”
It went on like this until he finally decided that he was going to need a more structured approach to lessen the stress of packing.
A peek into Luke Scarpino's viral travel spreadsheet. Photo / Luke Scarpino
First, it started as simple as a list of items in a spreadsheet, kind of like how you would create travel checklists on your Notes app. But eventually, Luke wanted to maximise the spreadsheet’s use, and he has since improved it.
“I created the first version of this sheet a couple of years ago, but at that point, it was just a list of items that lived in a spreadsheet. Over time I realised it was a lot easier to pack by bag, so I added the associated bag for each item,” Luke shared with Newsweek.
Luke’s family and friends used to make fun of him and his extremely organised way of packing, so he took it upon himself to see if there were twisted people like him on social media, too.
He filmed a short video on a whim while preparing for an upcoming holiday, uploaded it to TikTok, and went on with his day.
When he came back to check the video, he was welcomed with over one million views and a comment section filled with people who are just as organised as him, as well as people who think he’s a bit excessive.
One commented: “This is so extra and over the top...where can I download it immediately?”
Another person responded: “You are a travel genius.”
Another TikTok user joked: “So this is how you use Excel to its full potential.”
Several brands including Google, TripAdvisor, Hilton, booking.com, and Sims also saw his video and commented on his post, which made the experience more surreal for Scarpino.
“As a spreadsheet nerd, having Google comment and compliment my spreadsheet is the absolute pinnacle in my line of work,” he says with People.
The spreadsheet is certainly comprehensive, with drop-downs, percentages, and sorting features but overall the spreadsheet is easy to use and easily customisable.
Because it gained traction, a lot of travellers wanted to try the spreadsheet out for themselves and Scarpino was happy to oblige.
The video currently sits at 10 million views, and Scarpino is continuously improving the template. If you want to take the stress out of your next holiday, check out the free template on Scarpino’s website, bestthingsforthislife.com/links
