I’ve been wanting to write a post about how I juggle full time work with running a daily blog for a while now. It’s something that I struggled with all last year and even though there are a lot of similar posts out there I thought I’d share with you some of my tips and trick of how I manage the two. I also want to mention that I work in a completely different area to anything fashion or beauty related and I’m not sure if that makes things easier or harder juggle!
My Schedule
So firstly, because I work full time and I’m busy most days of the week I try to photograph, film and write everything for my blog and YouTube on the Saturday or mostly Sunday. This won’t work for everyone, but I just find it easier to do everything on the weekend then I don’t feel stressed about it during the week. When I go on holiday I try my best to write up and schedule a post for the days I’m away so I don’t have to do it on my holiday. I’ve found this routine really works for me as I’m normally so tired when I get home and writing a blog post is the last thing I want to do.
YouTube
Since starting Youtube it’s definitely gotten a lot harder to fit everything in because you need to add on the time for filming and editing, which can be a lengthy process. I film my videos at the weekend trying to do 2-3 in one day then I edit the videos during the week. This is another reason why I try and write all my blog posts at the weekend so then I still have time to edit if I need to. I still haven’t got into a full routine for YouTube but I do want to aim for 1 video a week.
Social Media
In an attempt to not spend my entire day on social media I use a few different websites which help me share and schedule posts easily. Firstly I use IFTTT, which is a website that allows you to pick different ‘recipes’ to share you’re images or tweets between different platforms. For example, when I post a photo in Instagram IFTTT automatically posts the same image on my Twitter and Facebook, this means I then don’t need to individually share the image in different places. The other website I use is Buffer as this allows me to schedule tweets or facebook posts throughout the day. I find this really useful for promoting my blog post for the day on different channels.
Blog Post Ideas
I find that the easiest way for me to jot down blog post ideas is by using my notepad in my iPhone. I have many different note books but I don’t like to carry these around with my during the day so I find using my phone is the quickest way to jot down ideas quickly. If I’m struggling for ideas I tend to think about things I would like to read about or walk around my spare room (where I keep make-up and clothes) as normally an idea will spring to mind.
Meetings and Events
Lastly I thought I would touch on the meetings and events that come with blogging. People always ask me how I manage to fit everything in whilst working full time and honestly I think it’s because I work so centrally. I work really close to Soho, which makes going to meetings at lunch and events after work really easy as I can walk to most places. I would say that this is the thing that tires me out as I almost have to have my two working hats on at all times, but then I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy blogging so much.
I hope you have found this post interesting and useful if you too juggle to two, or if you’re just wanting some time management tips!
I have to say that I find it much easier to juggle my work and blog when I’m really in love with blogging and a lot more difficult when I’m not feeling as motivated. I think that’s a really important point to remember, if you’re not loving your blog take a step back and think about why you feel in love with blogging in the first place. It shouldn’t be something that feels like a chore.
