I found out from experience:

1. If you travel by car, unless you have a very steady hand and exemplary handwriting, take notes in a small spiral notebook. You can then transfer (and translate, lol) to a fancy journal later.

2. Invest in a clamp-on reading light made for books if you are traveling in the dark at all. An iPhone helps, but apart from turning on the overhead lighting and possibly distracting the driver, you need proper task lighting.

3. Take a few pens in case you lose one (or two or three) lol. I "borrowed" extras from the motel rooms.

4. Learn shorthand, LOL!