Confessions of a Lazy Travel Blogger

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Here's a fun fact: My first blog post was published on June 26^th of 2006. That means that I've been blogging on Wayfaring Wanderer for a little over five years now. Sheez louise, that's a long time! When I started blogging, I had no clue as to what it was all about. Honestly, I don't even remember how I learned about blogs or what actually made me start one. What I do recall is that blogging was something I started doing as a means to substitute what I was no longer able to do, which was rock climb. Wayfaring Wanderer didn't even start out as a travel blog, really.

(I've talked about why I was no longer able to do rock climb many times here on WW, so I won't get into any further detail about that, but if you're interested, you can get some insight here: How I Reached A Path of Happy Healing.)

Over the years, WW has taken on many different forms and has gone through several transformations in the process of my personal growth. There's a lot that I learned during this time, I've healed in ways that I never really expected (physically, mentally, and emotionally), and have had some crazy dreams come to fruition since the inception of my lil' ol' blog. From my solo journey to Oahu, Hawaii to the all expenses paid foodie blogger event in San Diego furnished by Sony Electronics, I've had a lot of awesome things happen over the years.

Blogging has been one of my most favorite outlets, but it's also come with its fair share of struggles along the way, too. What I love most is how I can look back on where I used to be, so that I can better appreciate where I am right now. Without acknowledging where you came from, it's hard to grasp how far you have come. At least, that's how I feel about it. Blogging has made that possible for me and that's another reason why I love doing it.

BAD HABITS DON'T BEGIN OVERNIGHT

When I get all sentimental and start sifting through my archives, I cringe at some of the old photos and how I mutilated them in photoshop with unnecessary filters and adjustments. Now, I barely bother making any adjustments to my images in photoshop. And my writing, oh lawdy, it was atrocious! However, with time (and practice), I got much better. To date, I've published 537 blog posts, so I'd hope that there were some lessons I learned along the way!

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Back in the day, I used to blog 5 days a week, which seems completely absurd to me now. I'm lucky if I can manage to publish one blog post a week. I've gone through phases where I'd blog a whole lot and then taper off to nearly nothing only to come back again full force. There's been a lot of up and down when it comes to blogging for me. It's easy to get burned out. If you're a blogger, you know! One thing I do know is that I've never given up on it entirely. I couldn't. For some crazy reason, it means too much to me to keep it going that I couldn't bear to quit all together!

I'M NOT REALLY LAZY, JUST INCONSISTENT

When I go quiet, it's not for lack of things to blog about, because I have a list of potential posts that's at least a mile long. And I'm always going somewhere fun and taking pictures along the way, so material is plentiful. In all honesty, I probably have enough stuff to blog about for the next year if I planned things out properly! There are so many places I meant to blog about, but never made the time to do so. Making time is one thing that is extremely important when it comes to putting together posts, and that's exactly where I've failed lately. I just haven't made the time. It's not that I've been o-so-busy. The truth is that I just haven't set aside the time required to get the job done.

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Another thing that I let cripple my ability to blog is just the fact that more eyes are reading my posts than ever before, and it's slightly overwhelming at times. You know, it was easier to blog when you knew that people weren't reading what you had to say. However, now that I have regular traffic, things have changed. As a result, I've become slightly more judgmental of what I produce. You'd think that it'd get easier over time, but that's not always the case. The problem is that I need to stop being so critical, and just put it out there! Who cares who does and doesn't like it, right?! Just get it out there so that opinions can at least be formed one way or the other.

MY PLAN FOR BECOMING A BETTER TRAVEL BLOGGER

One of my main issues with inconsistency is that I've never really come up with a schedule for my posts. I just sort of do them on the fly whenever I feel like it, which isn't the best way to approach blogging. That is, if you want to build your following and keep people coming back for more. After all this time, I finally realize that, and I'm prepared to do something about it. One thing that I need to revisit is the direction and design of my blog. The current layout is about 2 years old, and it doesn't really feel like me anymore because I've expanded my adventures beyond my own backyard. Since I've graduated with my graphic design degree, I think it's time to redesign WW, so it suits the type of traveler I am, not the traveler that I used to be 2 years ago.

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While I'm working on the Wayfaring Wanderer redesign, I will also be working on bringing you more content consistently. My goal is to blog at least 3x's a week with regular features. People seemed to enjoy the “Choose Your Adventure” series I experimented with last month, and I'd also like to revive “Foodie Fridays" because I'm always eating good food everywhere I go, and I would really like to share with you. If you have any ideas, throw 'em my way!

So, there you go: Confessions of a Lazy Travel Blogger

I'm far from being perfect when it comes to blogging, but I genuinely want to be better than I have been. One of my favorite things to do is share my photography and stories with you in hopes that it will inspire your own adventures close to home! If there is anything, in particular, that you'd like to see on WW, I'd love to hear any suggestions you may have. Please feel free to share here in the comments or on the WW Facebook page!


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