Life Update | My 7 Goals for 2018’s Summer of Travel

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“Have a great summer. Hope you find yourself!”

This was one of the comments inside of my leaving card on the day I left my full-time job. I know it was written sarcastically, poking fun at those who travel in search of self-discovery, but in a funny way, it’s kind of what I intend to do. There’s a lot for me to learn this summer, and a lot for me to figure out about myself and my future plans. So I’ve decided to break it down into 7 goals I intend to achieve over the coming months.

 

1. Relax a little

Most Londoners will understand that life in one of the busiest cities on Earth can get a little overwhelming at times, even for a die-hard London fan like myself. There’s so much to do all of the time, and not enough hours in the day to do it all in. Especially with the amount of time spent sitting on public transportation.

Over the last 3 years I have been working a full-time job, growing my blog, travelling as much as possible, attempting to do some sort of exercise on a regular basis, and trying to maintain a very active social life. Which is great, but exhausting.

Over the coming months, I am looking forward to taking a little bit of time for myself, such as sitting by a pool with a book for a couple of hours, taking a leisurely stroll on the beach or going out for dinner with a friend without my camera in tow.

 

 

2. Take joy in writing again

Leading on from my last point, I hate to say it but there have been days where writing a blog post has felt like a chore or burden.

I get home from work, tired and grumpy, and all I want to do is sleep. But I know I need to finish a post for the next day. So I begrudgingly stay up late to finish the post, making myself even more grumpy and sleep deprived the next day. It’s a vicious circle!

But what’s the point in that!? I started this blog as a platform for my love of writing and my love of the things I write about. So why bother if I no longer love it, right?

The thing is, I know I still love it, and most of the time when I’m sitting writing a blog post I’m in my happy place. Therefore, my goal is to make sure I’m in this place everytime I write. Which once again should be much more manageable now that I have more time on my hands to focus on blogging.

 

3. Learn

Brief, I know. But this is a biggie. This summer is an opportunity for me to learn.

Not only will I be travelling alongside my digital nomad and blogging pro friend Jodie (she’ll be sick of my constant questions soon!), but I’ll also be attending Traverse conference in Rotterdam. I’ll be using both of these opportunities to soak in as much knowledge surrounding the blogosphere as possible.

I’m planning to brush up on my SEO and technical knowledge, as well as improving my photography and editing skills.

Plus on top of the blog learnings, I also plan to learn more about travel too. This will be my longest period of extended travel so far so I’m sure I’ll have plenty to learn, such as how to pack efficiently, how to find the best travel deals and, of course, the best things to do and places to go in each destination.

 

4. Give YouTube a go

This is probably the scariest one for me, and is certainly something I thought I would never do!

This summer I will be creating some videos of my travels and attempting to start a YouTube channel to accompany my blog. I don’t really have a clue what I’m doing, but I’ve really been enjoying filming and editing the videos already, so hopefully it’s something which will stick.

Check out the intro to my channel below, and please subscribe! There’s plenty of videos in the making already.

 

5. Achieve a life goal

For many years now I have wanted to learn another language.

Like most British kids I took a few years of French and German in school, but I just wasn’t really that interested so nothing quite stuck. It wasn’t until I left school and went to university where I made friends with people from all over the world that I decided I desperately wanted to learn to speak another language properly.

Over the next few years, I tried a couple of methods to learn to speak Italian, the language I was most interested in due to a love of the country and having friends who speak it. This including buying books and taking a short beginners course. However, neither fit with my busy lifestyle enough to learn properly or encourage me to carry on.

So throughout this summer, I am learning Italian once again. After just a few weeks this method already works for me – the language app Rosetta Stone. Rosetta Stone comes in the form of a nifty little phone app with short 5-10 minute lessons, making it super easy for me to use it on the go and no matter where I am, whether it’s sitting by a pool, in my hotel room or traveling to my next location.

And as a reward for myself, if I stick to my learnings, I will be returning to Italy once again later this summer to practice my new skill.

If anyone else is interested in doing the same thing, follow this link for a free demo and use my promo code ‘Emily50’ to get 50% off at Rosetta Stone.‘

 

6. Figure out what’s next

Ah, back to this again. The question I have been asked most since leaving my job. What’s next? Well, the simple answer right now is – I have no idea!

Will I enjoy blogging full-time? Or will I miss the 9-5 office life? Will I love travelling so much? Or will I pine for my beloved London? Do I want to go freelance? Will blogging full-time even be a viable possibility? Or if not, what job do I want to do when I’m back home?

These are all questions that I will be thinking about over the coming months. So stay tuned!

 

7. Have fun

Last but certainly not least, I’m going to have fun!

Even if I come out of this summer having achieved none of my other goals (fingers crossed that won’t happen), if I’ve enjoyed myself then it wasn’t a complete waste of time.