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How To Make Time For Blogging

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Working moms have a unique challenge – we need to balance the many hats we wear in our lives. This post is devoted to those of you that are having a hard time balancing your work life at home, along side the other hats you wear. I’ll be focusing in on how to make time for blogging with some blogging tips and tutorials, because that’s my niche, but these things could also apply to an Esty craft shop or home based business.

Are you having a hard time juggling your blogging schedule and your life schedule? These five tips will help you find the time you need to invest in your blog.

How To Make Time For Blogging

In the fall, I had the great honor & privilege of being invited to take part in a radio show on Start Up Nation called How To Make A Living At Blogging hosted out of Detroit, MI. My blog is not currently bringing in a regular income; I was on the show as the blogger working towards creating income, and the two other radio guests – Amy Lynn Andrews & Matthew Loomis – were the experts who are actually earning a living off of their blogs.

I can say honestly, without a doubt, that taking part in this radio show has been (and will be) a huge turning point in my blogging career. In the months since being on the show, everything has changed – my focus, my efforts, and my results. In the crazy, over-scheduled world we live in, finding time to accomplish blogging can be a challenge for anyone, but especially for those of us that have major life obligations like children or a career. Here are the 5 steps I’ve started to employ with my blogging that allow me to find time to blog even with a full time job & kiddo at home.

1. Follow a Schedule

When will you write? When will you answer emails and comments? Depending on your lifestyle, some of these choices may already be made for you. For example, I can’t blog between the hours of 7 am and 3:30 pm due to my work schedule, and my time between 3:30 and 7:30 pm is limited because of my son, I need to devote the majority of my time during those hours to being a mother. But the beauty of having a little one at home is that he has an early bed time – that leaves me with time to blog in the evening. Figure out what time during the day works for you, and then make a plan and stick with it. Whether or not you’re bringing in a regular income yet, treat your blog like a job, and give yourself a set schedule.

2. Set Reasonable Goals

I won’t be able to devote 8 hours a day to my blog unless I figure out a way to stop sleeping. Instead I need to be realistic in my goal setting, without setting the bar too low. It’s important to challenge yourself, but in my current stage of life and motherhood, I can only commit to an average of 3 posts per week. I know that on a normal work day, I’ll only get 1 hour on average to blog. Instead of wasting my time comparing my blog to those that have many more hours to devote, I have to make it the best blog I can with the time I have available, so I set goals that fit my life.

3. Pick Your Battles

At this moment in time what is more important… emptying the dishwasher or writing a blog post? To successfully make time for blogging, you need to put aside everything else during the time you’ve devoted to your blog. Save the dishes, laundry, or dusting for another time of day. Just like you wouldn’t arrive late to your work day at the office so that you can stay home and run the vacuum, you also shouldn’t set aside your blog during blog time.

4. Be Intentional

Be intentional about your blogging time. When you sit down to the computer have a clear plan of action. For example, instead of logging into social media & email when you first sit down to the computer, create a routine where you spend at least 10 minutes writing first, before you flood your thoughts with everything else going on around the world on social media. Nothing ruins the natural flow of writing like distractions. When it’s time to blog, close your other windows and tabs, turn off the television, and focus your full efforts on your writing.

5. Break It Into Bite Size Pieces

Instead of putting a large post on your to do list, consider breaking that job into pieces. For example, spend 5 minutes brainstorming, later 20 minutes editing a photo to go along with the post, and still later, an hour writing your post’s rough draft. That way you don’t need to devote such a large chunk of time all at once, and the task in front of you doesn’t feel so large and impossible.

The last thing I want to leave you with is this fantastic quote from Tsh Oxenreider, being interviewed by Kat Lee on the How They Blog podcast – episode 11:

Go ahead and start. Don’t feel like you can’t say something because it’s already been said… There’s nothing new under the sun… but we haven’t heard YOU say it…. be brave and say it.

Author Bio: Tiffany

My name is Tiffany. I’m a wife, mother & teacher – my blog Wife.Mother.Teacher. is all about helping working moms love their budget, accomplish their goals, & live a rich, full life.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kelly says

    Great tips! We’re moving soon and I might start an online social media courses soon so my time is limited. Between taking care of the house, packing and school, blogging isn’t a priority, but I still want to keep it up. It’s a challenge! Thanks for the post.

  2. Antionette Blake says

    Great tips, I blog have a full time job with a 3 hour daily commute so my sleep or lack thereof, is where I make my sacrifice except on the weekends.

  3. Amy says

    Great post Tiffany. Thanks for sharing. It’s nice to see the perspective from a working mom who also blogs. I just recently started my blog and am trying to find the happy medium between my full time job, valuable time with the family and blogging. On top of that when it comes to blogging there’s so much to do…write the post, create the pictures, (I’m now delving into videos as well), and trying to promote via social media etc. I think I need to list out what needs to be done and create the schedule you talk about. Your post in encouragement that others are making it all work – thanks!

  4. Charlotte says

    Thanks so much for your words… i really needed to hear them. Having two part time jobs, running two blogs (and a few corporate blogs), and trying to get my business off the ground means that I often feel as though I’m spreading myself thin (and I don’t even have children!). I think it always comes down to time management and figuring out ways to dedicate time to each task, as opposed to doing everything at once (and then allowing the weight of that to overwhelm our days).

    Thanks so much for this.

  5. Ashley says

    I love this post! I just started blogging but with my full-time job and my social calendar (new boyfriend!), It’s tough to find the time to devote to it! I need to come up with some sort of schedule…my boyfriend has a second job but doesn’t work the same hours every week. Perhaps I just need to blog any time that he’s working instead of setting a rigid schedule. Point is, this article gets me thinking about how to make time for blogging without making sacrifices in the other important aspects of my life.

  6. Kiana says

    Great post! These tips are really helpful. I definitely see myself struggling with being intentional when I set aside time to blog but setting aside specific times to complete each task of the blogging process seems like a great way to stay focused. I also think the tips about picking your battles is a great one.

  8. Stephanie @ www.Mommyzoid.ca says

    I love this list!!! My favourite point you make is to break it into chunks! Usually when I get an idea I open up a new post and just write write write. Then I will save it and walk away. When I come back, I will flesh out the post but the bones will be there. It’s easier to manage by breaking things up, that’s for sure!

    Stephanie @ http://www.mommyzoid.ca

    • Tiffany says

      Tricia, setting a schedule has been HUGE in my blogging. Between all the crazy things life requires, finding time was difficult, but when I made it a priority – a pre-scheduled commitment – it became a whole lot easier to uphold! 🙂

      Good luck!

  10. Prabhakaran says

    Thanks for the very useful insides.

    Even though being pro-blogger its pretty hard to manage all blogs..

    Got some tips, let me try.

    Thanks.

    • Tiffany @ Wife.Mother.Teacher. says

      I can only imagine that running multiple blogs all at once would be crazy, but have you considered scheduling a specific amount of time for each site each day? Best wishes to you as you travel the busy journey ahead. 🙂 Thank you for commenting!

  11. Rabia @TheLiebers says

    Cheers from another working mom and blogger! It’s hard to carve out the time to do what you love, but if it’s important to you and you enjoy it, you’ll find the time. I also try to remind myself that I don’t blog to make money, I blog to be connected and to have an excuse to write.

  12. Adrian says

    I love, love, love this! It is relatively rare to hear from another working mother who blogs. I think these are some great tips and they are similar to what I do. I’ve been in the work force for 35 years and 3 sons, plus I’m a Scout leader and do a bunch of other stuff as well and it definitely is a juggling act. Here are some of the things I do – after 8 years of blogging, I have LOTS of evergreen content that I can reuse, refashion and recycle. Outsource – I recently found a lady on Fiverr who would create 5 nice PicMonkey images for $5. I was driving myself crazy trying to do all the picture “stuff” so that was a fabulous find! Get your family in on the deal. As a blogger, I get to do a ton of fun stuff in the local area – blogger workshops at Home Depot, events at amusement parks, plus I get swag at Conferences and review products. I make sure to spread that stuff around to my family so they can see some of the benefits of blogging and not be resentful of the time I devote towards it. On the other hand, here are some of the things that we shouldn’t do – don’t stay up til the wee early hours trying to get stuff done. I haven’t been to bed before midnight all week and I’m dragging. Don’t try to sneak time in during your regular job – I am guilty of this and it’s really dumb, I am risking a very lucrative career for a hobby that basically pays peanuts – duh! And don’t compare yourself to the Mommy blogger crowd. It’s like looking at some movie star’s house and going well, darn I give up – my house will never be as nice as this! We can accomplish a LOT in our few hours a day, but we are never going to be able to accomplish as much as people who have the whole day to choose from. Thanks for sharing!

  13. marry says

    Great post, love the idea of blogging.
    Like you say I need to find the time and organize myself 🙂
    Thanks so much!