How to Thrive at Blogging When You Work Full-Time
This article will discuss tips and tricks to manage your time as a blogger and working full-time.
If you find yourself here, you’re either a) a blogger who has begun your journey and wants to find ways to optimize your schedule and be more efficient or b) a person with a full plate wanting to start a blog of your own and needs some guidance on how you will balance it all.
Whichever bucket YOU fall into, the fact you are here reading this is a sure sign that you are determined to find success as a blogger. Rest assured that I will share every secret I have with you to help you find your rhythm.
To give you some background, I am a full-time employee, a mother of a very active five-year-old, and I help others build their blogs and manage my blog, The Confident Calluna. When it comes to managing my load, I have become a guru at squeezing in time and making the most of each aspect of my life. And I’m confident that YOU can, too!
When I started my blogging journey, I found myself scrambling to learn new terminology, figure out how to build a website, and of course, find time to do the fun stuff like content creation and interacting with my small audience.
Starting my blog and balancing my busy work schedule was challenging at first. But as time went on, I began to find my flow.
After all, the most important thing to remember is this is YOUR blog. You call the shots, make the choices, and need to make it work for you.
Here are my top 7 tips to manage a full-time job while building a blog:
1) Keep your ideas organized.
One unique attribute all bloggers possess is creativity. There will be instances that your brain is going a million miles an hour. It is essential to keep all of your inspiration organized. Find one place for all of your thoughts to live.
I use Google Docs to keep all of my notes. I love that you can use the app on your phone and pull them up later on your laptop when you are ready to write. This is so helpful when ideas hit me when I’m out and about. It’s a great way to track thoughts in the moment.
If you are more of a writer-type that needs to feel the scribble of pen on paper, try using a Rocketbook. A Rocketbook will allow you to write all of your ideas in a notebook-style tool and upload your notes into a digital format. I LOVE this tool because it’s eco-friendly, reusable, and helps save money on buying notepads.
Wherever you choose to let your thoughts live, I highly suggest keeping them digital.
Please note that this page contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure here.
2) Spend five minutes per day learning.
If you are determined to grow your blog, scrape together five minutes daily to learn. Yes, this may seem counterproductive since this article aims to help you balance your career and blogging. BUT you will save yourself so much time trying to figure it out on your own. Blossoming as a blogger is a life-long journey of continuous learning. Even the most seasoned bloggers continuously have to learn how to optimize their marketing strategies, increase direct sales and website development.
For your blog to flourish, strive to squeeze in a few minutes a day to learn. It could be reading an article (like this one!) or watching a YouTube video to develop a knowledge base on new terminology or brush up on a tool you haven’t used in a while. Where can you squeeze in time for learning?
3) Create time.
Creating time to work at my blog has helped me balance my personal life, my career, AND growing a blog. I don’t mean blow off every social outing and skip TV. BUT while watching TV to relax, whip out your laptop and write an article or work on your Pinterest strategy.
To avoid missing out on social outings or not being productive at work, spend thirty minutes before work and thirty minutes after work working on your blog. You’re creating one extra hour a day for growth. Every minute adds up!
4) Focus on income-producing activity.
When I first began blogging, it felt important to be active on every social media platform daily and write about everything under the sun. Does this sound familiar? Over time, I began to study my analytics more and ask myself two key questions:
1) Which articles pulled in the most readers? and 2) Where is most of my blog traffic derived?
By having this new insight, I began to shift my energy to the areas that brought me the most website traffic. I narrowed down the social media platforms I used and ‘niched down’ to accommodate what my audience is most interested in reading.
The efforts I put toward blogging now are solely income-producing activities. (Or actions that will bring your blog traffic and contribute to monetary growth).
Do you have a growth plan in place? As a creative type, we can get caught up in the intricate details of our content. Good content is key, but make sure you are analyzing what your readers want to hear.
Spending hours writing a blog on topics that your readers have no interest in will hinder your long-term growth. With limited time, you want to make sure you use your time to be productive versus constant busyness. You’re a writer, editor, social media marketing manager, a website developer. You’ll juggle so many roles. Be sure to use your limited time wisely to get closer to your growth goals.
5) Create quality content.
When I first began writing, I wanted to do it ALL. I pumped out new content just for the sake of having something new on my website. While it is important to have a large quantity of articles, be sure they are of good quality and provide value for your readers. After all, the goal is to save time. Sometimes, that means carving out time to create a great piece that will go the mile.
Focus on creating well-written, helpful articles rather than adding pressure to your busy schedule to create new articles constantly. Aim to write at least 800 words per article if possible.
One helpful tip that helps me ensure that quality content is on my website is to optimize old articles. If you do not have a new article to publish, revisit an earlier blog post and find ways to add value.
6) Have a schedule.
Earlier I explained how you must CREATE time. But the most important thing to ask yourself is what will you do with that time? Having a schedule allows you to optimize your carved-out time so that you go in with a plan. For example, Monday will be for writing your new blog, Tuesday will be for editing, Wednesday is for answering emails, Thursday is for posting your new blog, Friday is social media marketing of your new post.
Also, having a schedule will help you develop YOUR rhythm. Are you posting weekly? How often are you answering emails? How often do you interact with your readers via social media? When will you market your content? These are ALL important questions when developing your schedule.
7) Go at YOUR pace.
Lastly, and most importantly, go at your pace. Remember this is YOUR blog and you must make it work for you. If your blog is not your full-time job yet, keep that in mind as you go throughout your journey. Treat yourself with grace and compassion as you grow your passion project. Your readers will see and feel your passion from reading so make sure it is something that brings you so much joy!
Conclusion
Growing your blog and thriving in your career is a completely attainable goal if you are passionate about it. To recap, stay organized, spend five minutes per day learning, carve out time, focus on income-producing activities, have a schedule, and go at YOUR pace.
