Combining work, blogging and travelling

Yes, it really is a process, to make life work the way you want. Our solution for more freedom (and time to travel) has, among other things, been that we today (a process in itself) run a joint company where we have been able to work more in periods, got together for a buffer then worked less and travelled.
But now that I have also "added" the blog plus a "rather" extensive travel planning (around the world), and selling a house, I fight daily to get enough time... Dreaming of the so beautiful balance in life...!

I don't understand how I was able to work before.
Not only did the work take up more than full time, it did a lot on the side as well.
Today, it's all about taking care of yourself.
The more time you have, the longer it takes.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.
I've always worked in the private sector in my previous life and ended up in the public sector by chance three years ago. And the opportunities here are so much greater for holidays! I would never have been able to travel like I do now in any of my previous jobs. And I think that right now this is really what I want. I am not prepared to exchange this for, for example, a higher salary, right now anyway. But different phases in life you prioritise different things, so we will see what the future brings.

Yes, it is tricky. When the job is fun and challenging, you give it your all. And the blog takes time if you constantly want to innovate and make everything even better. If you set the bar too high, there is a risk that your body will scream no! In other words, it's hard to get to the right level. You eventually learn from experience where the limit is...maybe 😉.

I wish I could write some wise advice but this area is not my forte, ha ha!
It's not something I've written much about in my blog, but one of the many reasons we moved abroad was that I failed miserably to find a good balance between work, leisure and other things that should fit in a life. To say the least, it happened and I had to break EVERYTHING in order not to fall back. A move abroad requires its woman as well and it could have gone to the forest, but just breaking EVERYTHING was probably the rescue and now, after 2.5 years, I will soon start working again at 25% 🙂 It is at an Outdoor Preschool and it is ticklish but oh so exciting! 🙂
/Linnea

Well... this is definitely one of the problems in life. Finding the perfect equation of how to make enough money to support yourself at the price of as much freedom in time as possible. When I started my university education as a preschool teacher, I didn't realise that it's a profession that is very rigid in terms of flexibility. Now I almost get a bit anxious when I think about it, and if you think about it, it's almost a bit crazy that someone else should decide about me and when I can be free, when I can have my summer holiday, etc....
No, luckily I have plans for the future! 😉

I think you are brave and wonderful to quit your job and travel around Europe for a whole year. I think many people dream about it! I really know that you should take advantage of the time and enjoy the present! I managed to get my dream job, to both travel and blog during working hours. Maybe something you can suggest to a company in the industry? But of course there is a difference between blogging privately and doing it "your way"!

A cool mix of old and modern, Aulan vs Tiondeladan, in the picture from your job.
When it comes to work, I have reached the dessert of life and no longer have to think about work so I now have a very comfortable life. When I worked, it was usually two hundred per cent!? and in some strange way I still managed to make ends meet.
You have many strings to your bow, but in time you will find the perfect combination that will be your model for the future. Good luck in your search for a more secure future!

The different events of life probably appeal to your needs in different ways. I have resigned several times to go out into the world and taken half-yearly leaves from paid work for other pleasures on the other side of the world. Today I'm back in Sweden working for the government and it's generous with leave if you want to stretch it. The blog has given me a lot of joy during my 8 years as a blogger. I don't know if I should invest more in blogging or have more fun with large renovation projects and silversmithing. Time will tell because there is so much fun to learn and develop with. I will probably always continue travelling. You seem to have found your thing now and you are investing hard and you will certainly succeed. Have a great time or the best!

Oh, I recognise that. The battle between the heart and the brain. I myself have been freelancing for almost six years and think that maybe I should "take a job" soon, while someone still wants to employ me. I have been offered an extra job at Marstrand School for the rest of the spring term, which I have accepted. Will work out two days a week : ) / Lindan

I'm afraid I don't have any concrete advice to give, as I'm a member of the leave committee after more than 40 years in education.
But I think you should do what feels good. Income is certainly needed, but it is probably on the expenses at home that you can save to spend on travelling.
I think most things will work out and jobs are always available. Maybe not the one you had in mind, but then it will be something else.
If you see the possibilities and take it as it comes and feel good about yourself, money is not what makes you happy. But travelling does. Or can do it, I think.
Our almost four years in Beijing gave us a lot and also chances to see large parts of Asia as the flights were quite short 4-5 hours compared to the time it takes from Sweden.
You invest a lot in blogging and it gives you a lot, so there is every reason to continue with this.
Wishing you all the best and I'm following along...

I became a volunteer freelancer again a few years ago, and one thing is certain. There is no such thing as a secure job anymore. The most important thing is to have a job you enjoy. I think 🙂

During my working life, blogging was not even in my mind, all my time was spent working and travelling for work. My big hobby was golf, which took up a lot of my free time. During the golf season I competed a lot and played annually in the national championship together with our daughter and also participated in other competitions. This meant that we went to new places every year.
We use blogging as a kind of logbook to help us remember places and other things that happen. It is also fun to share things, things and experiences. Today our little Cavalier takes a lot of time, we go on walks on average seven km per day, it is about five miles a week. These walks are good for our health and provide an opportunity for personal reflection. In addition, I almost always meet someone to talk to for a while. This means that the time for blogging is limited.

Right now it is not the job that "prevents" us from living our big travel dreams, but a bunch of children 🙂 They are so big now that we prefer not to ask for time off from school as there are a lot of tests, homework and grades to think about, at the same time they are too small to be at home all by themselves (at least the youngest). So for now, we have to stick to all the holidays and spread out our six-week holiday. Now it is wonderful to travel the whole family so we are not exactly complaining. But in a few years' time, THEN we'll be travelling on the Trans-Siberian Railway, hiking the Inca Trail, staying at an ecolodge in the Amazon, doing yoga in Bali, hiking the El Camino and travelling around the world... When we're used to paying for trips for a family of five, we'll feel very rich when it's just me and the husband to pay for.

Wonderful picture of the beautiful Aula Medica:-)

Yes, it's a chore, to make "everyday life" work, just as if you had small children. I am 100 per cent sure that you prefer the life you are living right now, despite the uncertainty.

Everything is a question of priorities, so to speak. You invest in what you like best, but at the same time you have to have food and drink on the table.

Then it's a question of ambition too. If you want to follow in Blondinbella's or Kissy's (is that her name?) footsteps, but thankfully with a focus on travel, and have the ambition to live on the blog, I think it will probably be difficult. A travel blog may give a small penny in sponsorship, but not millions like Blondinbella's. The girl is very smart!!!

I think your blog is incredibly professional as it is, and you really feel how much work you put into it.

For me the blog is just a hobby, as I like to write and take photos. I have about the same attitude as Matts here.

You become good at doing what you are interested in if you get involved. If you want to do something else, you could work as a freelance travel journalist or organise guided tours, for example.

I work full time today and run the blog on the side, so I usually say that I have two jobs. I also have the great advantage of being able to control quite well over the time I want to be free and the flexibility is cruel when one is going out and travelling. Thoughts of leave of absence one day a week or a few hours a week have struck me because I want to work with the blog as well. Sitting at night is hardly sustainable in the long run ...