Thinking back on my trip I know I learned a lot about Latin American culture, the food, the people, how they live and their heritage. I also think I inadvertenly learned a little bit about blogging. So today I’m going to share with you a few things I learned about my newest favourite pastime (yes, it is in fact blogging) while on my travels.
Of course, for many of the bloggers I know this stuff may be common knowledge, but it’s new to me! Hopefully it will help any relative newbies that come across this post. 🙂
#1: It really does help to write a little bit every day
Even before I started blogging, when I traveled I enjoyed taking the time to write down a few notes about each day I spent in a place that was new to me. Not only was it a nice way to unwind after spending all day on my feet, but it’s also nice to look back on what I wrote long after I’d come home to relive my experiences.
Now that I am a “blogger”, I think that making the time to write a little bit every day is even more important. I know, I know, we all see and hear this comment, probably more often than we’d like. But even if it’s just a couple sentences here and there, writing down your thoughts while they’re fresh in your mind is SO much better than leaving everything til later, because really, who knows when that will be? “Later” could be the next day (probably fine), or two weeks after you come back from your trip (oops, guilty as charged). Unless you have an incredible memory, you too will struggle to remember the names of places you visited and it will just make you feel bad when you find yourself Googling the name of that really cool church you saw in Ecuador when a friend asks you about it… but you didn’t write it down while you were there, did you? Don’t feel bad, write it down.
#2: The more photos you take, the better
More important than taking notes, IMHO, is taking photos to document your travels. Even if they are blurry or not that exciting, it’s better than nothing at all. How are you supposed to remember where you went, or what you did otherwise? Okay, pretend you forgot to take those notes too. Now how are you supposed to remember? Eh?? That’s what I thought.
Taking pictures of anything and everything while you’re somewhere new is fun and it gives you, your friends, and the fam something to look at and admire when you get home. By that logic I know I should be taking way more photos to use in my blog posts than I currently do. I want people to look at the things I do and admire them too!
The more photos you take, the more you have to choose from when it comes to decide which ones you want to edit for your posts. It’s much easier to choose three good photos out of twenty than it is if you only took the three, as not all of them are going to be that great (and especially not on your first try). Taking more photos is also a pretty good way to take better photos in the long run. Because practise makes perfect, right?
#3: It IS possible to work… without distractions
Back in the day (waaaay back), my parents would sit me down at my desk after school and tell me with stern voices that the TV, Nintendo, my Ninja Turtles and all fun things were off-limits until my homework was done. While I don’t have homework anymore (oh wait, that’s not entirely true…), I still abide by that rule today. Or try to. As it turns out my adult self is just as easily distracted by all manner of things as my childhood self was. Now I have Netflix on in the background while I do any work at home, or maybe it’s because I do it in my living room where I can just as easily take a nap on the couch, turn on the Playstation, read blogs and browse the web in general until suddenly there goes three hours of my life.
My recent travels reminded me that I do much better work when I’m focused. Namely by opening my laptop on the plane. Yeah, it may be a bit cramped and uncomfortable in the cabin, but there are NO distractions. The other passengers usually aren’t talking because they’re reading, watching a movie or sleeping, so save the occassional crying baby, planes are a mecca of peace and productivity. Why, you ask? Because in addition to the relative peace and quiet I already mentioned, there’s NO INTERNET. That is 99.817 percent of my at-home distractions gone right there. There’s no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any of those good I mean bad (!!) things that lure you away from what you’re actually supposed to be doing. Which is work. Or blog, in this case. The plane is the perfect place to write sans distractions and you can bet I will take advantage of it on my next trip. Until then I’ll be working away from the TV with my headphones in. I will have to work on the Internet thing…
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As evidenced by my lack of posts while I was away, I didn’t exactly follow my own advice, now did I? But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t have used time in the air or on a bus to brainstorm posts and write drafts, or spare time at the pool or before dinner to organize and edit photos. It’s a good thing I am already planning another trip (around another life event — hooray for having friends and family in far away countries!) so you can be sure I’ll be better off next time. And hopefully more productive too.
Have you learned anything about blogging by doing something (sorta) unrelated? Tell me!
-C
