Clueless Gene started with the way I travel.
I love travelling. I want to see the world. But I do not particularly like planning exactly how I am going to see it.
I plan the dates. I know when I am leaving and when I need to come home.
Everything in between, I prefer to discover as I go.
And that is where Clueless Gene came from.
I like not knowing what comes next
I do not want every restaurant booked, every attraction scheduled and every hour accounted for.
If I like somewhere, I want to stay longer. If I do not, I want to move on. If something catches my eye, I want the freedom to change direction.
Sometimes the best part of travelling is the thing you did not know was there.
The accidental discovery.
And yes, sometimes that means I genuinely have no clue what I am doing next.
Hence… Clueless Gene. 😂
Wandering is wonderfully inefficient
There is no spreadsheet for it. No return on investment. No list to complete.
You turn down a road because it looks interesting. You stop because the view is good. You stay longer because you feel like it.
From a productivity point of view, it is terrible.
From a life point of view, I think it is rather important.
Some of my favourite memories exist because something was closed, somebody was late, the weather changed or I simply became distracted.
I want to see a place with my own eyes
I can read recommendations and look at photographs, but those belong to somebody else’s experience.
I want mine.
I want to decide for myself what I find beautiful, boring, strange or worth another day. My pace matters as much to me as the destination.
This is why travelling alone can be so nice
When I am alone, I do not have to entertain anybody. I am only entertaining myself.
I can stop because something caught my eye, change direction or spend half a day doing something another person might find completely pointless.
Nobody is waiting for me to produce the day’s programme.
That is freedom to me.
Clueless does not mean careless
There is a difference between leaving room for discovery and ignoring the things that matter.
I am perfectly happy not knowing what I am doing tomorrow. I am considerably less happy not knowing what I am signing, what something really costs or whether something important is legal.
That became obvious when travel crossed into property.
The same instinct followed me there: see it for myself, ask questions, check and then make up my own mind.
An accidental travel discovery can be wonderful. An accidental legal or tax problem is not. 😂
That is Clueless Gene: open to the detour, careful with the decision.