I have the affliction where I’m physically incapable of posting content on my feed that doesn’t represent my current reality, so it’s never sat right with me to post when I’m travelling UNLESS it’s connected to the trip itself.
(it’s kinda like once you get a haircut and you feel like have to throw all your old banked videos in the trash — strategically, false. EMOTIONALLY, TRUE.)
there’s a level of flexibility that I’ve spent YEARSSS trying to perfect, preparing as much as possible while not being too precious about how the idea comes to life — because there’s nothing more frustrating than being stressed about f*cking CONTENT when you’re in a gorgeous new place.
the balance = giving myself just enough structure to stay accountable to showing up, but not putting so much pressure on it that it takes away from the experience.
I just spent last week in costa rica, so I figured I’d give you a lil’ behind the scenes on what I prepped so I could stay flexibly accountable to my platforms while I was away.
PLZ NOTE: I didn’t just randomly deciding to become a travel creator for a week.
everything I shared was still connected to my EXISTING THEMES.
because I travel often, it’s already one of my lifestyle lanes (AKA it fits within almost *every* theme in some way) and I already have lots of travel-ish ideas stashed in my idea bank waiting for their moment. that said, I can also take existing ideas and massage them to suit the trip itself — i.e., the travel can be a means of embodying something we already talk about all the time at home.
here’s how I did it:
001 / map ideas out ahead of time
in my idea bank, I look for ideas that align with anything that’s going to be happening on the trip or anything that the trip represents re: my existing perspectives, values, beliefs etc.
002 / visit the inspo i’ve already saved
I have a folder on instagram where I’ll save travel content inspo as I see it. this is their moment to shine, so I go through this folder as I’m planning and pair any relevant visuals to my existing ideas!
003 / plan photos + videos around unspecific scenarios
deciding to vlog a specific experience requires things to go exactly to plan, but deciding to vlog “something”, at some point, with a few options, allows for leeway so you don’t get disappointed if plans change (which they always do!!)
(TIP: I prefer choosing something that repeats, like morning routine, knowing that I’ll have tons of days to try to film it, rather than putting a bunch of pressure on something where I’ll only get one opportunity.)
004 / write skeleton captions before the trip
writing takes the most presence and focus for me, so I try to set it up before I leave!
I’ll include enough copy that the takeaway is clear and I don’t have to spend too much time finessing, but with enough flexibility that if I want to reflect on something specific from the trip, I can.
(TIP: it can help to even put a prompt in there like [describe how it felt to arrive on the first day] rather than trying to do so before it’s actually happened.)
005 / ditch any “have tos”
one of the gifts of traveling is embracing the unexpected, so feeling bound to posting something on a specific day or at a specific time is really gonna f*ck with that!! I aim for posts that could be shared any time throughout the week (or even some once I get home)!
006 / batch post off-the-cuff content
for the more spontaneous content spaces (like stories or threads) I prefer sitting down to share in batches when I know I’ll have the time so I don’t have to think about it otherwise!
(TIP: it can be super helpful to decide on a different format for the purpose of the trip! for example, ON STORIES when I was in costa rica I did an end-of-day photo diary using the layout feature 🙂
(ALSO BY THE WAY, if you want to take a vacation just take a f*cking vacation. there is NOTHING wrong with staying completely off the feed while you’re gone! I just genuinely ENJOY documenting and sharing my experiences as they’re happening so I’ve come up with a process to make it feel as smooth as possible for meeee. and maybe you!!)
save these notes for the next time you wanna create on-the-road!!
