My mitigations are to eliminate systems I don’t actually need. Baggage being the big one. I pack one small bag (19L) that can fit under the seat. I don’t have t

My mitigations are to eliminate systems I don’t actually need. Baggage being the big one. I pack one small bag (19L) that can fit under the seat. I don’t have to worry about lost luggage or the overhead bins being full, leading to unexpected checked luggage at the gate. It also saves a lot of money. Some people find this difficult or impossible, but two realizations helped me immensely. First, I am nearly always going to places that are populated by people who live their life in this place. If there is something I didn’t pack that I desperately need, I can probably buy it locally. I nearly always buy toiletries locally to avoid dealing with liquid restriction and spill risks. The need to do this has been rare, and even with as little as I pack, things still go unused, or things I pack break, and it wasn’t a big deal (this happened with a travel umbrella I bought, now I don’t bother with one). Second, if you stay anywhere for long enough, you’ll need to do laundry at some point. If you accept this as a reality, it’s just a question of how often you’re willing to do laundry. I usually travel with 4 days worth of clothes (what I’m wearing, and 3 days worth packed). With this I can stay somewhere for weeks or months, just washing stuff in the sink or shower every few days. Ironically, I tend to pack more for a week long local trip than a multi-week trip overseas for this reason. I do agree with getting to the airport early. Just hearing people talk about getting to the airport at the last minute stresses me out. I often end up going 4 hours early just so I have 0 stress. I’ll even do it for domestic flights. I can either sit at home waiting to leave, or just leave and sit at the airport. Waiting is waiting. I usually take the time to have a meal and read a book. Once I’m through security I can relax. Maybe I watched Home Alone too many times as a kid, and never wanted to be the person frantically running through the airport or trying to cut the line.