How To Balance Blogging With A Full Time Job

With no surprise at all, one of my most asked questions from bloggers is how the heck do I manage to blog and work full time without going coo coo for cocoa puffs.

Newsflash to you peeps, I am definitely going crazy.  When you start to realize just how much time it takes to turn a blog into a business, you have a lot of “how the hell am I going to do this with a job” moments.  Seriously, this shit is NO JOKE.  I’ll tell you guys my lil secrets that I hope help you and continue to motivate you to push through.

Set Time A Day.

So I work 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM Monday through Friday in an office **GROSS**.  I make sure during the work week, I take AT LEAST one hour after work to work on my blog.  That means that I am working on my blog at the bare minimum of 5 hours a week.  I could not be a successful blogger if I was only doing it five hours a week though, so I usually end up spending more than 2 hours a night, plus most of the time, I’m sacrificing my weekend.

Make a List.

When you’re making this list, you have to prioritize what absolutely HAS to get done.  My rule is a minimum of one blog post HAS to go up a week.  At the top of my list is to make sure that the one blog post is ready to go along with at least 5-6 instagram posts for the week and any sponsored content.  This is an example of what my list would look like.

• Blog Post : Content and Pictures, Pinterest Pins, Instagram Story and Post.
• Instagram Post for the Week: 5-6 Photos, along with stories, any sponsored collaborations.
• Strategies with Blogging: I usually do my research with Pinterest. I try to learn one new strategy a week and master at least one a month.  For example, pinterest, tailwind, ads on my website, video editing, photoshop, newsletter freebies, SEO, better content.
• Find at least 3-5 new brands to email for collaborations.

Take NOTES!

I legit keep a notebook in my purse at all times to where I can jot down things that I want to write about or learn about or content ideas.  It helps whenever I actually sit down to get stuff accomplished to have all my thoughts in one place…even though my notebook is a complete disaster!

Plan.

If you’re just going to wing everything, you are going to LOSE YOUR MIND.  Seriously,  I keep my draft blog posts for my blog post ideas. Looks like this:

This way I have a place to keep my ideas, and once I have the ideas, I can slowly start to work on them.  Once the blog post is pretty much typed up, I change it to the catchy title so I know there’s only a few things left to do before it’s good to go live.  Take multiple outfit pictures at a time, heheheheh I SUCK AT THIS PART, but wow, when I actually do it, I save myself from like 34987234985 grey hairs!

Take a DAY OFF!

I usually don’t post at least one day a week and I try my hardest to stay AWAY from the computer.  This literally just helps me recharge and keeps me from losing my mind.  The people who look forward to your post WON’T MIND either. I promise.  I know a lot of people have the “I’m going to lose xxxx followers if I don’t post” mindset, but those who unfollow you weren’t interested in the content you were producing anyway.

Have a “Blog Space”

I converted my boyfriend’s extra room into my blog room.  I have a cute little desk that I sit at, until my cat comes crying for me to go lay in bed with her, that I do my work from.  No distractions.  Just my computer and myself.  I am so much more productive at this desk than almost anywhere else and it makes me feel OFFICIAL AF.

Blog Friends!

If you have been following me for a little while then you know my girl gang and I don’t play when it comes to keeping each other in line with blogging.  In January, we made a goal to publish, at the BARE MINIMUM, one blog post a week and we haven’t strayed too far yet.  Get you a friend or group that is going to hold you accountable and that SUPPORT your goal.  This will push you more than you will ever know. We’re constantly learning from each other too, which is a huuuuge plus!

How bad do you want this?

Anything is possible if you manage your time correctly.  If you want to do this, you gotta put in the work.  Wake up earlier, stay up later, turn the TV off, utilize your lunch break, stop wasting precious time.  Sit at a desk, lose the distractions, and FOCUS. I promise, if this is something you love to do, this is not going to be an issue one bit. You’ll be able to handle the sacrifices that come with it. These are the things that I personally do to keep my sanity.

EXTRA:

A secret formula that I have not yet implemented is called batching. You focus on one task and finish it before you move onto the next.  Apparently this is A LIFE SAVER for bloggers with full time jobs.  I thought I just HAD to include it for you guys so you can research it and let me know if it helps you! I’m definitely going to give it a shot.  For example, you would draft up your fashion blog posts for the entire month.  Write down the outfits that you are going to shoot for each post with details and then you can begin to write your blog post while linking all the details, since you don’t need the pictures to be done because you already brainstormed the blog post outfit with details.  Finally you take all the pictures for the blog post at once to knock it all out. One step at a time.

Now that I rambled a little bit and let you guys in on how I “kind of” stay sane blogging with a full time job, leave a comment down below telling me tips that you use to not go crazy! I need all the help I can get! I really hope this helps you guys! As always, thank each and every one of you for sticking around and showing the love! I appreciate it more than I could ever say or show!

L O V E,