Maintaining a travel blog is the best way to chronicle journeys, stay in touch with loved ones, and make some money on the side. But these days, the only travel many of us do are the steps we take from our beds to our refrigerators.
While the day that we can enjoy the sights, smells, and souvenirs of faraway places will come again, there are moments where it's difficult to stay motivated. Anyone else feel me on this one?
So what’s the best way to stay motivated to write and create content efficiently while at home, without seeing the world? I’ve compiled some quick tips on maintaining a travel blog during Covid-19 below!
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1. Stick to a Schedule
When traveling, you need to make the most of every moment, right? So why not apply the same work ethics you practice while on the road to the ones you practice at your kitchen table?
If you want to write the most inspiring, accurate, and informative content, you need to first find a place you can concentrate that is both relaxing and fuels your creative fires. For me, this spot is outside on my private terrace with a glass of wine, listening to the chirp of birds and wind-rustled trees.

Create a schedule that is comfortable and easy to maintain. For example, if you’re not a morning person, don’t set your alarm for a 5am brainstorming session! Set attainable daily goals that are ideal (i.e. “write outline of blog post draft” rather than “complete blog post in one day”). These are fragile times, so be easy on yourself.
If lack of Wi-Fi is a deterrent to your ability to publish content or work online, there are a number of options you can choose from that are affordable for long-term subscriptions. Have a look at some options:
1. Cricket Turbo Hotspot. You can buy the standalone hotspot for $99, or choose an option of three monthly plans for either $25, $35, or $70.
2. Skyroam. This is an international hotspot you can buy or rent. $119 to buy online at Best Buy.
3. Tep Wireless. The “Teppy” is an international hotspot that offers unlimited Internet. You can rent a device for $6.95 a day, or buy the device with 1GB included for $149.
Pro tip: A great time to write is while you are sitting down to enjoy lunch or dinner, especially if you are alone. Try to work in a room that doesn’t have access to a television for less distractions.
2. Give Yourself Time to Process Your Thoughts
There is a lot of uncertainty in the world at the moment. People are confused, scared, and anxious (I am one of them). Allow yourself to process your thoughts and emotions first before you set or tackle long-term goals for your blog.
Ask yourself:
“What kind of content do I want to share?”
“What do I want to accomplish most during this time?”
“How can I utilise this downtime to increase my monetisation or improve my skills?”
The best blogs are often the ones that provide thoughtful, accurate information that has been compiled over the course of a few days (sometimes even weeks). This method doesn’t have the same rawness that other short-form posts have, but can offer a greater sense of perspective and insight.
3. Get Creative
Maintaining a travel blog in general is time consuming, and sometimes it’s challenging to put pen-to-paper. If you’re experiencing writer’s block, this is where alternative forms of content creation come in handy.
Photography is a natural ally for bloggers of any niche, and can help serve as an additional form of income (check out my “5 Simple Ways to Make Money While Traveling” post).
If you invest in the right equipment and put the time in to learn new skills and improve existing ones, the possibilities to earn extra cash are endless. You can create your own online print shop or sell your photos to an independent company such as ShotKit or PhotoShelter.
This could be a great source for creativity and additional income.

Video is another effective way to share the behind-the-scenes of different locations.
To do this, you need to invest in quality equipment (an iPhone or GoPro), and hone in on those editing skills. There are a couple of iPhone and desktop apps that make to do are iMovie, and Quik App. These *free* apps are also mobile and desktop friendly, so you can create content while you’re on the road (or at your kitchen table).
Ultimately, it’s important to remember that mixed media works best when combined with written content as Google still needs to pick up key words (these help readers find your content on the Internet!) Find out why they are so important here.
4. Take a Walk Down Memory Lane
The days of un-utilized content are over.
That photo you thought you looked too pale in? Use it.
The product flat lay you thought was too over-exposed? Share it and help out a small business or your favorite brand in the process.

In addition to promoting small or privately-owed businesses such as tour groups, restaurants, or hotels during a difficult financial period, travel nostalgia can help turn doom-and-gloom into joy and excitement. Memories of challenging travel moments can also help remind us how strong we are in the face of adversity.
Of course, too much reminiscing can have the opposite effect, so make sure you’re kind to yourself and know how much “travel nostalgia” your heart and mind can take.
Conclusion
This is perhaps one of the most challenging times we will face in our personal and professional lives. If you’re reading this, you’re likely someone who also lives a life of adventure and exploration, who enjoys sharing your experiences with the world.
To you, I say your time is not over. Our time as an industry is not over.
There will come a day, perhaps not soon, but in the future, when we can feel the sand of the beach between our toes; feel the excitement of packing our bags and heading out to places unknown; and sit down with new and old friends over wine to reminisce of happy memories past.
Until that day, I hope we all can continue to find joy even in the smallest of places and moments, and keep our passions of maintaining a travel blog alive through kindness and the beautiful memories. <3
I love this! It can be so hard to stay committed during a time such as this!
I love the daily schedule idea; I find when I give myself “work” and “rest” time throughout the day I am much more productive!
Wonderful post! Thank you for writing this. Even in an ordinary world, my day job makes it difficult to travel as much as I like, which can greatly affect my inspiration to blog. These tips will come in handy for any time. Thank you also for the additional link and for the message of hope at the end.
I was feeling very unproductive a couple of weeks ago, wondering why I should blog when there’s so much else going on and how uninspired I was. But I did start writing again, and I think I need to really implement a schedule to keep me going. Great tips here, and so true
Nice tips to keep oneself disciplined and maintain a routine. Interesting choice of topic to write a blog on!
This is exactly the post I was looking for. I’ve been having such a hard time deciding what to do on my travel blog. I’ve also been so horrible at maintaining a steady schedule. I wake up at 8 some mornings and some mornings I wake up at 7. I definitely need to be better at that. You just gave me the brilliant idea of looking through old travel photos and finding posts to write based on them. Thank you!!
I agree with all your tips. For me it’s quite important to stay positive and reflect on my own capabilities to improve myself during this time 🙂 Let’s focus on what we can do now and hope for the best!
Such great tips and your photography is beautiful.
Aw that’s such a great compliment! Thank you Meghan <3
Love your ideas on how to stay motivated in these challenging times. Thanks! 🙂
Aw you’re welcome! Thanks so much for reading Veerle!
I am getting my groove back when it comes to my blog. I was very unproductive for about two weeks. Thankfully, I have started to work on it again. Since my niche is travel, I am not expecting a huge boost in the next couple of months. However, I am still working on SEO related tasks to improve my rankings and hopefully see results later this year.
How Ruth got her groove back! haha 🙂 Working on SEO is a great way to improve your site. I have been doing updates here and there since my website was a bit of a mess before haha
I love this post. It’s so helpful given the current circumstance. Great tips. I’m trying to get back into writing and catching up on posts I’ve been meaning to write.
You should!! Writing has helped me so much in the last few weeks. It’s a great stress reliever!
Lots of great tips, thanks for sharing! I haven’t touched my camera in weeks, maybe it’s time to pick it up again and play a bit with indoors and food photography! Might distract me and get those creative juices flowing again 🙂
That’s a great idea!! You can find a lot of things to shoot inside. I take picture of food that I make as well as product flat lays. Also, there’s always your backyard! 🙂
So many great tips! I always find it hard to stick to a schedule but I’m trying to get better at it!
Yes! Just picking it back up again I have noticed has helped me a lot!!
Awesome post to help inspire those who are feeling unsure and lost. Thank you for the great tips!
Aww thank you so much Jean-Marie. I hope that they are inspiring just a little bit. I know this is a really difficult time for everyone!
What great tips! I’ve been struggling with my blog recently with the current situation. It’s hard to keep the motivation going but these tips will definitely help!
I feel you — I’ve been struggling too! It’s certainly a difficult time. I am glad you find this tips helpful!
These are great tips! I love the idea of taking a risk right now, there’s nothing to lose. And I think it’s a good time to catch up with past projects so when this is all over we can start with a clean slate!
Exactly! We have nothing to lose, an if anything, your happy travel memories might also bring other people joy during this time 🙂
I’m definitely trying to stick to a schedule – unsuccessfully so far but working on it! And I have a huge backlog of past trips and destinations I haven’t posted about, so I have plenty of material. I hope you’re weathering the COVID situation ok.
That’s ok! As long as you make an effort that’s all that matters 🙂 I have a huge backlog as well. It’s actually been really fun going through old photos and thinking up new things to write about to help businesses I’ve worked with!
These are all great ideas during this time and super helpful!
Aw thanks so much lady. I am so glad that you find them helpful! Thank you for reading.
Great tips! I am struggling balancing writing at home. My desktop has more space, but it’s more distracting because it has video games on it haha. Also, loveee that red dress!
hahaha oh yes. Mine weakness is Hulu and Netflix. Once I get started on a series there’s no looking back!
This is such a good post, especially in times like these – I find it really hard to keep to a schedule when I don’t even know what day of the week it is!
I wake up every day and I am like….ok what day is it again??? I totally understand what you mean. It’s such a weird and confusing time. Hopefully happy travel memories can help us through it <3
Great, useful and doable ideas. At these times it is so hard to stay motivated and so easy to say, “Why bother?” Sometimes we just need a helping hand to plant the seed. Thank you. I will get off the couch now.
I completely understand! The way I look at it, is the travel industry will need us more than ever in the coming months, so I am trying to maintain and increase my monthly blog traffic so that I can get more eyes on things when I am ready to hit the skies 🙂
Great ideas. I guess the most useful for me is heading down memory lane and writing up some adventures that I never got around to writing about. It should be fun. 😀
(ahem…I still didn’t quite catch up to writing everything before we started self isolating yet…oops…)
These are such great ideas, its been hard to keep up the motivation to blog during this down time, so this was really helpful!
I totally understand. I am the same way! I have just been setting a schedule to update already existing posts and making new and improved Pinterest graphics for them. It has really helped with my SEO and blog traffic!
Thank you for these encouraging thoughts! Love your tips 🙂
You’re so welcome! Stay strong in this time — we will all get through it together! 🙂
Great tips. Commitment is definitely the key and something that I am lacking.
Thanks so much for reading! I am glad that you found it to be helpful.
Same! I found myself losing motivation, but it helps to set a schedule or even just update already existing posts to make them even better 🙂
Thanks for these practical tips! I just started an SEO course last week and hopefully this will help me with my travel blog and if and when I work full-time in marketing comms. Stay safe!
Ohhh an SEO course sounds super helpful right about now! Do you mind sharing which class you’re taking? I am interested!
I started with the ones on Yoast and planning to do one with Goats on the Road
Great! Thanks so much. I will look into those!
I love this, such useful tips to use in the future as well!
Thank you, Melissa. So happy you find them helpful! 🙂
Thank you for this much-needed motivation, and tips, of course. We are not done, just a little bump in the road! Be safe.
You’re welcome. I hope it comes in handy during this time! You’re right — our journey’s are not finished. We are all just on a little detour 🙂 Stay safe.
Thanks for this inspiring post! Right now, I’m putting the time to good use to tidy up my blog, catch up on my blog admin and I’m thinking about some rebranding. There are definitely days where it gets to be too much though and I just need a break. The world is a weird place right now, thanks for your honesty and motivation in this post. Sending love and stay safe!
Hannah | https://getlost.blog/
Those all sound like great ways to pass the time! I am doing some of the same things, even though it’s difficult to remain motivated! Keep up the great work and stay safe and healthy! Thank you for reading.
You have some great ideas. I was particularly intrigued by your idea on using under utilized content. Why wouldn’t you just create new content? Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Karen. For travel bloggers, it’s difficult to create new content right now with the travel restrictions. It’s a way to utilise what they already have at their disposal (from previous trips) without feeling stressed or sad about not being able to go to new places. They can also be creative with making new content such as packing tips or things to do at home, but I thought it would be a good way to use resources they already have so it’s less stressful. Thanks for reading.
Love this! I know it can be really hard to stay committed during such a tough time like this but I also feel grateful to have so many beautiful memories to travel to (and to share!)
It’s very difficult! I have good days and bad, but I it’s just important that we keep trying 🙂 Thank you for reading!
Great post! I’ve been trying to stick to a schedule of sorts and am mainly just working on a ton of blog posts to schedule into the future!
Thanks so much for reading it! yes, sticking to a schedule even when at home is so helpful and it actually motivates me to do more!
This post popped up at the perfect time – thank you so much!
I’m definitely with #1, to-do lists have become my go-to this past month, and I’ve been digging up my old lists/idea journals to get some inspiration for posts 🙂
Im so happy that this post was helpful to you! Making a schedule for everyday and it’s the one thing I’ve found that keeps me on track even when I’m at home! 🙂
Love this post! I’ve been struggling for content so I really appreciate the tips!
Aw thank you so much! I am so happy that you found them useful! I think we are all struggling with content for the time being 🙁 Just have to get creative <3
There’s a bonus to these. I think these tips would also help you travel better, and write better, when the day comes that we can travel again.
Such a helpful post to get my ideas flowing!!!
This is so helpful especially for us who also love being on the move! Thanks for your tips!
It’s not easy to come up with fresh content while stuck at home, but your post helps streamline the process!
You’re right! it absolutely is not haha. But I am glad that this was helpful for you 🙂
I’ve been struggling with keeping a schedule but I know how important it is! It’s tough being motivated during these times!
Love this article! It’s so, so hard to stay motivated at this time, but your tips have made me want to start writing again! Thank-you x
I’m so glad you like it! I know, it is completely hard to stay motivated. The way I look at it is, this is a way for me to catch up on all the things I didn’t have time to before! It pays off in the end 🙂
Great tips Alex. I definitely need to go through all my photos again with fresh eyes and start using more of them
Thank you, Luisa! I am so glad that you found it helpful. Going through old photos really is useful! Sometimes your way of editing things changes over time too 🙂