One of the most common questions I see from other bloggers is, “How do you juggle full-time work or other commitments and blogging?” My advice to others is simple: plan, organise, and take full advantage of any time off. Here are a few more of my tips on getting the perfect work-blogging-life balance.
Schedule, schedule, schedule
My chosen platform for my blog is Blogger, for no other reason than it being very easy to use. However my favourite tool that Blogger provides is the ‘schedule’ option for blog posts. This means I can write up my blog posts for the entire week and know that the magic of the internet will do the rest. This also a great tool for holidays, even though you’re basking in the sunshine somewhere lovely, your readers will still get their blog-fix.
Plan your posts
I generally have some idea of what posts I’d like to have up and when. I generally have a good mix of beauty, fashion and lifestyle and try to post a variety each week. I also try to coincide with bloggers chat on Twitter. For example, I know beauty bloggers have their Twitter chat on Sunday and Wednesday, therefore I schedule beauty-related posts for those days. I find it always helps to make a list of posts on your phone or in your diary too, especially when you find a little inspiration when you’re out and about.
For help planning, click here.
Make the most of your days off
At the moment my placement hours are really great, however this isn’t always the case. Working long thirteen hour shifts as well as working nights, doesn’t leave you a great deal of spare time, so on my days off I take full advantage and get as many photos taken as possible and write up some blog posts. If I have tonnes of work on from uni, I tend to tell myself “if you write 500 words of this essay, have as break and do some blogging.”
Don’t feel under pressure to blog everyday
I did for a long time blog 6/7 times a week. At this moment in time, this is unrealistic for me and do you know what? That’s ok. It’s taken me a long time to try and sit back and reduce my posting schedule to 4/5 times a week, I was worried I’d lose followers and people would get bored with my blog, but thankfully that hasn’t been the case. I think it’s important to remember, you’re only human and frankly as much as I love my blog, it’s a hobby and right now my future career comes first.
Utilise social media
Just because you haven’t had chance to blog today or this week, doesn’t mean you can’t promote your blog via social media. I find Twitter the easiest and most accessible place to promote my blog and it takes a matter of seconds to tweet and hashtag #bbloggers.
Most importantly, make time for you. For me blogging will always be a hobby and sometimes I need to remember, it is just that.