My blog is live, I am traveling the world, this is really happening!
I have big goals. Goals that scare me. By the end of this year, Josh and I may fall flat on our faces, not in a fit of failure but as lessons learned and only to drive us to work harder. On the other hand, we may reach and surpass our goal, setting us up to set newer and bigger goals. The future is uncertain which is both exciting and terrifying. No matter what happens…we are in it together.
By the end of this year we will be able to support ourselves as Location Independent Travelers.
There, I said it. It is out on the internet and now everyone reading this can continue to judge us, support us or ignore us. But, from this point forward we are jumping in head first and giving it our all.
My mind races everyday when I wake up. Did our post go up? Is anyone reading my posts? Is blogging ever going to be easy? What can I do to get more involved in the community? How can I stand out? What makes Traveling 9 to 5 different? What keywords should I focus on? What topic should I write about? Did I spell check the last post I put up? What the heck is a Hoot Suite? Is SEO really that important? Did I upload my photos to Flickr? Did I upload too many? Not enough? Did anyone see that awesome shot of Angkor Wat I got? What is an Alexa ranking? Why isn’t mine going down quicker? How do I get more links into my site? Is the theme on our blog the best? Should I change the background color? Am I tweeting enough? Am I posting on Facebook enough? Why didn’t anyone comment on my last post? Where is everyone on the weekend?
Did I forget to eat lunch?
Yes, the cluster of questions is what it sounds like in my head. Continuous noise. It keeps me on my toes. It allows me to never get comfortable and always strive for the next improvement and action step.This is my personality so I am used to it, but for some you might be exhausted by now.
I don’t mind sitting inside working while the tourists around me eat their breakfast and head out for a day of exploring. I schedule my days off to see the sights, I take breaks to enjoy the delicious food of the region but overall my goal keeps me here at this desk on this hostel bed typing, twittering and researching in hopes of achieving my goal. Josh and I will be location independent by the end of this year.
My desk is better than it used to be so I won’t ever complain. Sitting under an umbrella on one of the best beaches in Asia beats an office with no windows any day. I work when I feel most productive, and I take walks through beautiful parks meeting new people when I feel less inspired at the keyboard. I am my own boss now and there are no meetings or status reports.
The travel blog community is a big network and I have only slightly dented the smallest corner of it. I know that there are many other bloggers out there who I haven’t met and will want to help support me and I will return the favor five-fold. I want to meet you (really, leave a comment with your email/website/twitter). Remember, I am a newbie at this, my time management is getting better but I am still working on what to focus my time on. The percentage of time I spend blogging, social networking and still getting out exploring and being inspired is a work in progress. I want to be involved in TBEX and #TTOT. I want to guest post and leave comments on all my favorite travel blogs, I just need to figure out how to do it all.
I don’t expect it to be easy. The blog has been up for 10 months, and only solely focused on for 5. The internet is overcrowded with travel blogs, directories, forums, advertisers and pure junk. I am working to stand out among all of it. I will put in the time. I will follow the suggested tips from the seasoned bloggers and I will think outside the box and train my creative muscles. We will be location independent by the end of this year. I know that Traveling 9 to 5 won’t be able to support us, but it is a start. We have big goals remember? We aren’t going to disclose all of our plans but over the year you will slowly see the projects that are now just in our heads.
I am grateful for the support I have received thus far. For everyone who reads my blog and puts up with my emotional rants. I love having the comments and banter. I want this blog to help you, inspire you and convince you that it is a big world out there and you don’t have to be irresponsible or a hippie to travel across it!
Congrats on making the decision to be location independent! I’ve only recently discovered your blog but I love what I’ve read so far, so good luck!
Thanks Edna. We’ll definitely need the support of our readers to achieve our goal. Glad you discovered us!
congratulations! i think this is wonderful and i really wish yall the best of luck and know you’ll be successful if you keep at it with a unique POV. and sooo glad you’re not going to focus on not being a travel hippie! hahah. im in thailand backpacking right now and the amount of people in their chang shirts with harem pants disgusts me. it is nice to see people who do travel more the way i do 😉
Thanks! We’ve seen the same and while there’s something to be said about wandering off without any type of agenda, we do really encourage the “strategic purpose” of long-term travel. Having a goal in mind and striving to achieve it, maybe with a few breaks along the way to just relax and “be”.
Well, good luck to you! I’ve been blogging for nearly six months now and I’m just about to earn my first little tiny bit of money – yay! – which has renewed my faith in becoming Location Independent even though I’ve still got a long way to go yet. And I can relate to all the questions circling in your head!
Congrats on six months of blogging. It’s quite a commitment. We still aren’t sure if blogging is where we are going to make money, but it’s a fun project either way.
Hi Caroline!
All I can say is, hang in there. Keep on doing what you do so long as you love it. I’m new to this whole travel blogging world too. I didn’t realise the extent of it when I first decided to start blogging. There were quite a few bloggers I followed regularly and I felt like I could be just as good, if not better, than them. Mostly I’ve found other bloggers to be positive and supportive, even the big names! Sure I’ve come across some that have ignored my repeated attempts to engage with them for whatever reason. Who cares, more on! Focus on the positive and keep making connections and engaging your audience.
Super happy to support your dream!
Bethaney
I love the advice to stay positive and keep making connections – I feel that is great advice for bloggers at all stages! Thanks for the support – you have one more follower and friend on your travels too!
Well this the first post I’ve read on your site and I’m already hooked. I love your ambition and drive, and I really hope you’re able to make your dream come true. I’m a much punier (that’s a word, right?) travel blogger than you, but if there’s something I can do to help, I’ll do it! Bon courage, good luck, and safe travels! 🙂
Thanks for the support Nikki! We feel we’re about as small as you can get in the travel blog scene. 🙂 We’re hoping our ambition will get us to where we want to go.
After blogging for 3 years, your cluster of questions are the same ones that still keep me up at night 😉
Best wishes and I look forward to reading on your way to location independence!
I am glad that we are both up at night wondering if we ate lunch the day prior. 🙂 You’ve been blogging for longer, so all advice is welcome, thanks for following along and supporting us!
From one newbie travel blogger to another I hear ya. While we are not on the road (yet!) we certainly share many of the same goals/concerns and surprise surprise it’s not easy! I recently wrote a post (http://acoupletravelers.com/best-hostel-websites/), which probably took me around 4 hrs to do and how many people are going to read that given our current traffic levels – 20 lol? Sometimes you wonder, would that 4 hrs have been better spent doing – IDK – Anything else?
I think we both recognize that it takes a lot of dedication and, frankly, time. Have patience, keep going – you guys are doing a really solid job right now (from where I’m sitting, in a cube…in an office).
We’ve wondered the same things at times when working on posts. We thought it would get easier once we got on the road, but then you have actual…travel taking up your time. 🙂 Even if the blog doesn’t end up being huge, it’s well worth the self-reflection and community you get from sharing your thoughts out on the web.
Hi Caroline, I don’t know if I’d call this an ’emotional rant’ as much as an emotional rollercoaster. It sounds like you have some great plans for the future and hopefully getting the balance between work and just enjoying the experiences as they unfold. I’m by no means an expert, but my only advice would be not to lose sight of the story you want to tell your readers. Good content is more important than SEO strategy, in my contrarian opinion. 😉
I’ve linked to my site above, but my husband and I are also writing a travel blog about our travels in New Zealand and Australia: http://theomnimail.blogspot.com. Feel free to drop by or on Twitter (@thenorthernist). I always enjoy meeting fellow travellers who have interesting things to say.
Rachel, we’re with you on good content over SEO. We’ve learned about it some in order to understand what we need to do, but it feels pretty slimy in general. We’d prefer to just write, and while we may think a little more about key words and titles now, our goal is still to produce articles that are engaging and informative. Thanks for connecting!
I feel your pain! I so desperately want to be location independent, and to have my voice heard in the blogging world, but it’s so hard to know where to start!
Congratulations to you both that you’re in a position where location independence is part of the foreseeable future! I love the posts you guys write, and I can’t wait to hear more about your projects as they develop!
It’s a goal that seemed impossible before, and now, even though we really aren’t any closer, our mindset has changed and it seems within our reach. Just putting it out there on the web helps make it possible. Good luck in your pursuit of independence also!
love your blog. I visit it every working day. Your blog is what I call a wrap speed five minute afternoon vacation.
Thanks JL. Sounds like we need to write some posts that take you longer than 5 minutes to read…. 🙂
I stumbled across your blog (and this particular article) through a friend’s twitter account and got lost for a good hour reading about all you two have done. While I am not really a travel blogger, I too made the big decision to quit my job, sell everything I own and buy a one way ticket to Australia to travel for as long as I could. Two and a half years later I am married to my French husband (who I meet three days into my trip) and we are about to start our next chapter in Paris! Everything has a way of working out and it sounds like you both have the right attitude and the necessary ambition to see your dreams come true. You have my full support and I will definitely share your blog with the world! Goodluck and enjoy every second of it 🙂
Thanks Courtney! Australia is one of the countries we still have on our list to explore. It sounds like Paris will be an adventure, it is true everything has a way of working itself out. Thanks for the support and shares – we will be following your next chapter in Paris!
I hear you! We had a big day out yesterday in London and now I’ll be glued to my computer solidly for the next few days trying to make up that time and share our adventures with the world. It’s the most time consuming job I’ve ever had, and the worst paid, but I LOVE it! You couldn’t do it if you didn’t.
Reading this blogpost at 6:05 AM CET after successfully pulling an all nighter. This is some real kick-ass motivation and I feel re-charged again :). I have just recently started my travel blog and am going through exactly the same phase you went through. Would love to know how did it go for you guys in terms of achieving your goals?