The pros and cons of being an occasional blogger

As your average working Jo(ann)e rather than a full-time travel blogger, I have two main obstacles to keeping my blog updated regularly. The first is finding the time to blog on top of work, family and general life admin. The second is having something to blog about – although I go on holiday every opportunity I get, this is obviously limited to when I can take time away from work, when my husband can book time off, when my children have school holidays (assuming it’s a family holiday) and (of course) when (and where) I can afford to go. And although I could rattle on about politics, celebrities, the weather or life in general, I would prefer to keep this blog at least tenuously travel-related – so if I haven’t travelled anywhere, it leaves me a bit limited as to what to blog about!

Ironically, I’ve actually not long been on holiday, yet this post isn’t about that! It was supposed to be when I started writing it. We went on a family holiday to Center Parcs in the Netherlands over Easter, and I was poised to write about our time there. But then I noticed how long it’s been since I last blogged, and then I felt the need to explain why and then my brain kinda went off-track… And this is the problem when trying to fit in a job at the same time as maintaining a blog: blogging is always going to play second fiddle to work – and, usually, any other responsibilities you may have.

Of course, I’m by no means alone in this situation. Lots of bloggers – most, probably – have full- or part-time jobs and blog on the side, either to supplement their main income or, like me, as a hobby. Some are probably better at regulating their time than I am, and make sure they keep updating their blogs more regularly, but others will struggle, just like I do. I would guess that those who have children probably struggle most and single bloggers probably find it easiest to fit in the blogging, although this is of course a gross generalisation. Personally, I find that my family takes up most of the time I’m not working – and given the choice, I would generally rather spend time with my children and husband than blog, but it does mean that the blog suffers! On an average day, I work during school hours, and occasionally fit in some exercise if I want to live long enough to enjoy lots more holidays. Then it’s the school run, talk to the kids about their day, perhaps help with homework and probably take them to an after-school activity. Then it’s make and eat dinner, put the kids to bed, collapse on the sofa and catch up with my husband and a bit of TV. Weekends are generally spent with the family – perhaps swimming, cinema or a walk, or various other activities that always fall at the weekend: school fete, birthday party, sporting event, etc. Oh yes, and on top of that, there’s shopping, washing, cleaning and all those admin-type tasks that seem to take up so much time – plus, of course, catching up with friends and family and attempting some sort of social life. I’m sure this day sounds pretty familiar to most working parents, but for those trying to blog in addition, you’ll know how difficult it is to fit it in!

However, unlike many working bloggers, I work from home on a freelance basis. This can have both advantages and disadvantages (generally, as well as relating to blogging specifically!). On the one hand, I have a certain amount of flexibility to structure my day how I see fit, and therefore potentially include blogging opportunities within that timetable. On the other hand, when you’re at home, you’re surrounded by household jobs that need doing and other distractions, so blogging time very quickly gets eaten into by other things. Work can often be like buses too – wait for ages and then three jobs come along at once. This means that I may have quiet periods when I have time to blog – or post on Twitter/Instagram – and other times when I’m so busy that I forget what a blog is. If you read this blog regularly or follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you may have noticed that this is a pattern I often follow. There’ll be two blog posts in a week and then nothing for a month. I’ll post a photograph on Instagram or a Twitter status every day for a week and then it’ll be sporadic for the next few weeks. However much I try to blog and post regularly, it soon falls by the wayside as work and life get in the way – as I’m sure many working bloggers will identify with! But not all bloggers have another job. For some, blogging is their profession…

I don’t think I was really aware of the concept of being a travel blogger for a job until I became more active on Twitter. I’m not even really sure why I started my blog several years ago – I certainly didn’t expect to make any money from it, let alone turn it into a job. But I like writing and I like holidays – I’m well known among my friends for my holiday obsession – so it seemed like a natural progression to combine the two. And although I obviously hoped to entertain anyone who read my posts (mostly my mum), it was – and is – probably more about satisfying my own writing urges. But through Twitter, Instagram and my tentative foray into the world of WordPress, I’ve become aware that some people blog about travel for their actual job. How cool is that?! They spend the majority – or at least huge chunks – of their lives travelling and the rest writing about it. Their income comes from ads, sponsorship, collaborations and probably lots of other travel-blogging-related avenues. Much (maybe all?) of their travel and accommodation is paid for or subsidised. Their actual profession is Travel Blogger. Then there are other people who perhaps don’t class blogging as their job or their main income but spend their lives travelling nonetheless, as they have a job that they can do remotely. Their laptop travels with them and blogging no doubt supplements their main/other income. As with influencers in many other areas – beauty, fashion, fitness, etc. – many of these travel bloggers have made their blogs pay. They have tens of thousands of followers, their posts and photographs garner hundreds if not thousands of likes and brands want to work with them. And because their whole lives are about travel, they obviously visit lots of new and exciting places – regularly. This means that they have lots to write about and lots of beautiful photographs to post. They blog frequently and update Twitter and Instagram several times a day. Their followers have lots to read and look at, and therefore plenty of reasons to follow, which enables the travel bloggers to keep doing what they love.

In many ways, they are in an enviable position. What’s better than to spend your life going on holiday and getting paid for it? But of course, it’s not that simple. I wrote a Twitter post a couple of days ago that seemed to resonate with quite a few people – I commented that when you work from home or on a freelance basis, you often get comments that imply you don’t earn or have a real job. Because I’m at home all day and can sometimes be flexible about my hours, there’s often a perception that I don’t really do anything or that I should be free to do other things. As a homeworker, you definitely face expectations that people who go ‘out’ to work every day don’t. If you work in an office (or a shop or a construction site or wherever) doing set hours, no one would expect you to make phone calls, do chores or meet up when you’re at work. But because you’re ‘physically’ free as a homeworker, people often forget that you’re not ‘practically’ free – work still has to be done, deadlines still have to be met, sometimes you have no choice over when it gets done and sometimes, when you do, making that phone call, doing that chore or making that meeting just means that you will be working all evening to make up for it. The reason I mention this is that most of those who blog as a career are likely to be in the same position. What they do isn’t classed as a ‘proper job’. They are seen to be living an enviable lifestyle, getting paid to travel and do little else. I suspect that the reality is somewhat different. So-called free time will be spent posting on Twitter and Instagram, engaging with followers, planning and writing blog posts, editing photos and arranging collaborations. To maintain or increase readership and followers, which is surely necessary to be able to blog as a job, posts need to be regular and interesting. Bloggers need to engage with their followers by responding to comments – and the more followers they have, the longer this will take. And as an occasional blogger with a fairly minimal presence on social media, I can only begin to imagine how much time this must take up, and how quickly and easily this could become a full-time job.

Then there’s the ‘holiday’ aspect – and the travel is unlikely to be a holiday by definition for the professional travel blogger. I don’t deny that there must be huge advantages to being able to see lots of new places and experience different things, but I’m sure that the blog must always be in the back of their minds. What do people want to read about? Which places are ‘Instagrammable’? Are they taking in enough information to be able to tell people about it? Have they taken enough photos? They may do things they wouldn’t normally choose to do, or miss out on things they would have liked to do. The trip may be paid for and thus dictated by a sponsor. It’s likely that any ‘spare’ time while away will be spent updating social media or making notes for later blog posts. And those ‘digital nomads’ who work remotely at something non-blog-related while travelling will obviously be doing that job at the same time as trying to fit in travel experiences.

And this is one of the things that puts me off the idea. When I’m on holiday, I want it to be a proper holiday. I want to be enjoying the experiences and fully ‘present’ in the moment, and not planning what I’m going to write about it. I’ve made the mistake of filming a song at a gig and then realising I was so busy making a video I’ll probably never watch again that I didn’t actually appreciate the song – and it’s the same principle! I enjoy taking photographs and I confess to thinking more recently about which ones would be worth posting on Instagram, but I don’t want it to start taking over my holidays. I want to spend my spare time relaxing with a book, not desperately updating my blog. One of the reasons I love holidays, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, is the ‘escape’ from it all. I want to be away from washing, cleaning, bills, letters from school and – yes – work. I think this is even more the case for me now I work from home. Because I am in the house every day, simply saying to myself that I’m going to take a week off work doesn’t actually make it happen – I end up thinking about all the other things I should be doing and, more than likely, agreeing to a job or two. Only when I am somewhere else can I truly switch off – I can’t do any work if I’m in a tent in France, nor can I tidy the house, wash school uniform or cancel that direct debit. And if that holiday became something I did for work, and that work came with me, when would I truly get the chance to escape for a while?

When I was little, it was my dream to be an author (okay, it still is). As I got older and realised my love for holidays, I thought that writing travel books would be my dream job. More recently, with blogging and social media becoming a ‘thing’, writing a travel blog has potentially become another way to realise the travel writing dream. I would imagine that it holds many similarities to writing travel books or articles for travel magazines (and may well involve doing that too) but is perhaps more ’24-7′, with the constant need to maintain a social media presence. And I’m genuinely not sure whether it’s a life that I would want. I actually enjoy my non-travel-related job. While not a writer, I work as a proofreader and copy-editor, so I’m still in the writing industry. I enjoy my non-working time – okay, so not the washing and cleaning part of it, but I love spending time with my husband, my kids and my friends. I also REALLY enjoy my holidays – and would I enjoy them quite so much if they were part of my job? Would my love for writing disappear if I HAD to do it, and had to do it on a schedule? Would my love for holidays be tainted if they became something I had to do for work? While turning your favourite things into a job sounds ideal in theory, I’m not sure whether the reality would live up to it, and whether it would, in fact, spoil your enjoyment of the things you used to love.

As an occasional blogger, perhaps I have the best of both worlds. I write about something I love as and when I have time and the mood takes me. I go on holiday when I get the chance, and I have a brilliant time. I post on Twitter and Instagram when I get around to it and when I have something to say/share, and I’ve discovered a great, supportive travel community. If I don’t write a blog post for a month, I need to remind myself that it doesn’t matter. Because putting pressure on myself to write to schedule will take all the enjoyment out of it – and that kind of defeats the object! So here’s to full-time bloggers, occasional bloggers and everyone in between – may you continue to blog however it suits you and continue to enjoy it!

(Please note, I’ve made some major assumptions and generalisations about the life of a travel blogger here – please feel free to put me straight if I’m talking rubbish!)

Swapsies!

A couple of years ago, I wrote about one of the real reasons behind my holiday obsession (What’s really important). Much as I love sun, exploring, doing new things and seeing new places, a major reason for my love of holidays was the quality time I got to spend with my family. Up until a couple of years ago, my husband had been a teacher (as was I, pre-kids). Anyone who has been or known a teacher will understand that the ‘long holidays’ thing is a bit of a myth. My husband spent evenings and weekends working. He spent much of the ‘holiday’ time working. And when he wasn’t working, he was thinking about work. It was only when we went away on holiday and he physically couldn’t work that he would actually start to relax. He would spend the first day or so visibly uncomfortable, clearly thinking about the things he should/could have been doing, and feeling frustrated that he couldn’t do any of them. But after that, once it was clear that he couldn’t do anything about it, he would relax and start to enjoy the holiday, and we would actually get quality time together without the spectre of work hanging over us. Since he gave up teaching, things have been so much better. We get evenings and weekends together. And much as I still love my holidays, they have become less ‘necessary’ in terms of ensuring family time.

My last blog was all about going on too many holidays (Too many holidays? Okay, I concede). At least, that’s what it looks like at first glance. Dig a bit deeper, and you’ll realise that I’m moaning about two things: too many short holidays and too much work. And it’s just started to dawn on me that in many ways I’ve swapped places with my husband.

First things first, let’s make it clear: I haven’t actually got too much work. I only work part-time, and this year was the first time in years that I’ve earned enough to pay tax, so I’m clearly not working ‘too much’. However, because I ‘only’ work part-time, I’m also responsible for the children and for the house, and this means that only a little bit of work can feel like a lot when it’s on top of everything else. You see, as well as the obvious jobs, like the washing, cooking, cleaning, school run and cooking, there are all those niggly little things that also need doing – things like paying bills; making sure that birthday cards and presents are bought, written, wrapped and sent; filling in school forms; making sure that homework is done; and a whole host of other things that don’t sound like much but actually take up a lot of time. I could spend an hour a day doing things that don’t ‘show’ and don’t feel productive but without which things would start to quietly fall apart. For example, in the last couple of days, I’ve filled in a whole bunch of forms for Cubs and Scouts; logged into online banking to pay a credit card bill; organised a costume for my son’s French day at school; remembered to feed my son’s triops (look it up!); and ordered and collected a prescription for the cat’s flea and worm medication – among other things, and on top of work and the usual chores. Ask most working parents and they’ll tell you that it’s staying on top of these ‘little’ things that often pushes them over the edge.

The other reason why work can often feel too much is due to the nature of being self-employed – I work as a freelance copy-editor and proofreader. And while there are many advantages to working from home and being in charge of your own time, there are disadvantages too. Work is like buses – you can go some time without much or any work and then all of a sudden loads comes at once. And the trouble is, because you’ve spent time without work – or you know that you might do again in the future – you don’t feel like you can turn work down when you get it, and so you agree to everything. The trouble is, if you turn down a job, you’re not necessarily losing just that job – the client will have to go elsewhere, and there’s a risk that they may return to that ‘elsewhere’ for their next job too, so you may be turning down future work as well. And because you don’t get paid sick pay or holidays, you feel extra pressure to take on work when you get it. As you can imagine, holidays can be a particular issue, as no one covers for you while you’re away – I often end up working all hours before I go away and as soon as I come back so that I don’t have to turn anything down. The end result is that although sometimes I have very little work, and can comfortably fit in a little ‘me time’ as well as housework and childcare, other times I end up taking on more that I can comfortably manage, and have to work evenings and weekends just to get it completed. And when I’m not working, I’m thinking about work and all the things that I should be doing. Yup, I sound just like my husband.

So why did my last blog post complain about having too many holidays? At the beginning of this post, I said that holidays were the only time when my husband managed to relax, so why isn’t it the same for me? The key is in the word ‘short’. At the beginning of this post, I also mentioned that my husband would spend the first day or two worrying about not being able to work, and it would take him a couple of days before he could relax. And because the majority of my ‘holidays’ this year have been short breaks, I’ve not really had the time to chill out and forget about work. I have spent the first couple of days or so worrying about the work I should be doing and then, just as I should be able to start relaxing, I have had to come home again. Add the extra work needed to accommodate the holiday in the first place, not to mention the usual holiday organisation, and the holidays have actually ended up adding to the stress rather than relieving it. We end up with a vicious circle where I’m working all hours and in desperate need of a holiday, and then said holiday results in me working all hours to make up (and pay) for it. And as my husband takes the kids out at the weekend so that I can get some work done, and as I say no to watching a film together or going out for lunch because I can’t spare the time, I realise: I have become my husband.

For once, there’s no real conclusion to this post. I still stand by everything I said at the end of my last post. I need to practise saying ‘no’ more – no to more work than I can comfortably manage, no to badly timed days/nights out or short breaks, and no to those little mundane things that shouldn’t stress you out but somehow impact so much on your time. I need to switch off from work when I’m not actually working, making use of my auto-reply, not checking my emails and making a concerted effort not to think about work during my spare time. I need to schedule in time to enjoy the simple things like reading, exercising, getting out in nature – even just watching Netflix with my husband and sharing a tub of Ben & Jerry’s. I had already realised the importance of these things, but it’s only since noticing the parallels between my behaviour and my husband’s that I have realised just how important it is to achieve that work-life balance. I don’t want to spend my life living for my two-week summer holiday or my week in October – that’s just wishing life away. I want to live the rest of it, to enjoy my evenings and weekends and my short breaks – hell, to enjoy my work (which I actually kinda do, when I’m not feeling pressured). I don’t know a magic answer, but I’m working on achieving this. It’s hard to change your habits or your mindset, but I’m well aware of the trap that I’m falling into, and I’m determined to drag myself out of it rather than fall in deeper. Things are slowly changing for the better. Despite being super-busy with work the week before, I made sure that I didn’t think about work when I was away for my sister’s wedding recently. I refused to check my email and we made time to catch up with friends, go for a walk and have fun with the kids. I can’t say that I was physically relaxed when we got home (I was shattered!) but I certainly felt better mentally. Work was very busy in the week after I got back, due to an unavoidable deadline, but I made sure that I took time off at the weekend (even though it was tempting not to) to enjoy the sun and spend time with my family. This week, work has calmed down. Instead of using the spare time to do all those other jobs I keep putting off, I have fitted in some exercise, activities with the kids and some good old time in front of the TV. Tomorrow I’m catching up with some friends for brunch, and I won’t feel guilty about it. I have spent enough of my spare time working recently that I shouldn’t feel guilty about enjoying the spare time I have this week. I confess I still really can’t wait until my two weeks in France this August, when it will be impossible to do any work and I really will be able to relax and forget about it. But until then, I am going to enjoy the other things in life: the bigger things, like the two other weddings I have coming up, the night away to celebrate my mum’s birthday and the concert in London with my husband, but also the ‘smaller’ things, like just spending time with those people who matter to me. At the risk of sounding like a cliché, life really is short and we shouldn’t waste it worrying about work. Much as I generally enjoy my job, I work to live rather than the other way around – and if that’s you too, make sure that you get out and live that life you’re working so hard to have!

Taking the time to appreciate the beauty of Corbridge on my recent trip to Northumberland