Day in the life of
Travel Blogger – Mitch Glass
I travel around the world—spending between a week to a few months in each destination. In the morning, I work on my blog and Youtube channel which focuses on digital nomad life and how to earn money while traveling. After lunch, I explore whatever destination I’m in—writing notes, grabbing videos, and taking photos to use in my content. Sometimes I’ll have weeks that are more focused on exploring, other weeks I’ll settle in to focus on work.
There is really no “typical” day for me. Since we are constantly moving around and doing different activities, it’s hard to keep a set work routine. Unlike a “typical” lifestyle, instead of fitting in leisure around work, we fit our work around leisure. Well, at least that’s the goal.
Since there is no set routine, we operate with a certain level of organized chaos. Each week, I set goals on what I need to achieve. Then I puzzle-piece the tasks needed to reach those goals around our travel schedule.
Typically weekly tasks include:
- Performing keyword research for new article and video ideas
- Communicating with freelance writers who help me produce content faster
- Writing my own blog posts
- Formatting and creating graphics for blog posts
- Outlining, recording, editing, and promoting videos
- Fixing any tech problems that pop up on our website
- Writing email newsletters for my subscribers
- Creating funnels and freebies to entice people to sign up for my newsletter
- Networking and collaborating with other bloggers
- Bookkeeping and administrative tasks
- Staying up-to-date with the latest blogging and Youtube news
Unlike many travel bloggers, I do not spend time on social media (other than to promote new videos). In fact, I deleted social media from my phone. Some travel bloggers build their entire businesses off their huge Instagram following, for example, but that’s not my business model. It just goes to show that there are many paths to success.
Many people have the misconception that travel bloggers just go to cool places, snap some pictures, write up a quick article, post them online, and rake in the money. But in reality, there is a ton of behind-the-scenes work that’s required to succeed as a travel blogger.
Pros
As a travel blogger, it’s pretty hard to get bored. You are constantly exposed to new experiences, and if get sick of one place, you can just switch it up and move to the next. It also feels awesome to get to work on a project you’re passionate about. Best of all, it’s your project. You are in charge and get to call all the shots. When you want to disconnect, island hopping off-the-grid for a week, there’s nobody stopping you. Then, when you’re tired of constant travel and want to settle down to focus and hustle for a few weeks, you can do that too. Once you get a taste of this kind of freedom, it’s hard to go back to working for someone else.
Lastly, blogging is addicting. As you try different strategies and watch your numbers grow, it feels like you’re playing a video game. It’s hard work, but it’s fun.
Cons
As you can imagine, when you don’t have a set routine, it’s hard to stay productive. To make matters worse, when you’re constantly in new places, you waste a lot of time figuring out how to do basic tasks (e.g., where to eat, where to shop, where to wash clothes, where to work out, etc.).
All of this makes it difficult to balance work and travel. When you do both simultaneously, it’s hard to give your 100% to anything. When you’re working, you feel pressure to explore all a country has to offer before you have to leave. And when you’re exploring, you feel guilty for neglecting your business and slowing down your progress.
The main downside is blogging can be competitive and slow to start. This, however, depends on how you look at it. If you expect to start earning a full-time income in the first year, you’ll be disappointed. But if you compare it to starting, say, a brick-and-mortar business, which can take years before turning a profit, then blogging is actually quite fast.
Plus, when you run a travel blog, travel becomes work, which makes it a bit less enjoyable. Instead of simply strapping up your boots to go on a nice, relaxing hike through nature, you have to haul out all your camera gear and constantly think about the next shot you’re going to take. If you try to set work aside and leave the camera gear behind, you still won’t be able to stop thinking about the cool shots you could have taken.
Honestly, these cons were one of the reasons I decided to focus more on how to make money traveling. Now that I don’t have to create detailed destination guides, it’s easier to enjoy travel.
In the end, travel blogging gives you the flexibility to shape your life however you want it.
Yes, it’s competitive.
Yes, it’s a ton of work.
Yes, you could definitely make more money doing something else.
But when you find a way to support yourself doing something you love, it makes it all worth it.
