What it’s really like to blog with a full-time job

Being a blogger is hard work. I know many have this illusion that bloggers live a very charmed life. All we do is take a few pretty snaps, throw some words together and then promote it on Twitter right? Wrong. It’s really tough. And even tougher if being a blogger isn’t the only job you have. Like a lot of blogger’s out there, I hold down a full-time job, while spending most of my free time (if not all of my free time) working on my little space of the internet. Why? Because I love it. I love what I do for a job and I love my blog. But managing both is hard work. So if you want to do both as well, here are my top tips on how to blog with a full-time job, without going completely insane. It is possible, I promise!

Plan ahead 

Most bloggers I know who work full time and blog don’t normally write their posts the day they publish them. Most of us tend to schedule our posts ahead of time. It’s just easier! Personally I plan my content about two weeks in advance. It just means I can see what content is coming up, what pictures I need to take and what posts I need to write. Basically just keep track of everything that needs to be done for my blog. For me I work with a Kate Spade planner to do this, but I also use the Calendar widget on WordPress to keep track of my posts.

Work with your schedule 

Blogging can add a lot to your life but it shouldn’t be your life. Especially if it doesn’t pay the bills. Obviously your days are taken up by work, which means I have to find ways to incorporate my blog into my day. This could be spending my commute brainstorming blog post ideas and spending my lunch breaks editing pictures or scheduling tweets. It means I can then spend my evenings writing blog posts. I also try to take advantage of my weekends and work my blog into my plans. So if I’m off to brunch, then I’ll take my camera and snap some pictures for a future blog post. Or I’ll use that time to get my friends to take pictures of my outfit. It means my weekends are still mine, and my blog just works around my plans. Although I do normally spend a couple of hours on Saturday or Sunday morning taking my pictures for the week ahead.

Look at blogging as ‘me time’ 

For most of us out there, we started blogs because we wanted to. For me I started this as a place to share my passion for all things beauty. If you start looking at your blog as a job when you already have one, then it can get stressful. For me it helps to remember why I started blogging and enjoy the time I spend working on my blog as a chance to get creative, play with photography and share my enthusiasm for a particular product.

Set realistic goals 

For me, I choose to blog seven days a week but for some of us that’s not possible. And that’s OK. Set a realistic goal that is manageable and achievable and don’t put yourself under too much pressure. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t get your blog post up at the same time everyday. We all have lives and full-time jobs so it’s OK to post less often than you’d like to.

Living your life is number one 

For me, life will always supersede work. Life is for living and while working is a necessity, it shouldn’t be number one. It’s important to remember that and not let blogging take over your life – even though it can so easily become an addiction!

Do you work ad blog? How do you manage your time?