Blogging with a full time job you say? How is that even possible? Well, I am here to share that with you. Finding the motivation to blog after a long day at work can be a little difficult, but when you love something you will make time for it no matter what, or at least that’s how it is for me. Sometimes I will come home not wanting to look at a computer screen for the rest of the night but will suck it up because I want to get new content out. The key to managing a full time job and a blog is definitely good time management and being 100% strategic with your free time. Now without further ado, I will be sharing some tips and tricks on how to juggle blogging with a full time job.

Most days, as soon as I get home I start working on my homework for grad school and blogging related things such as content creation, attending Twitter chats, and responding back to comments on my blog. I even try to do blogging related activities on my lunch break while I am eating so that I am not as overwhelmed with my to-do list when I get home. Although sometimes I do wish that I could come home and relax like other people, I really feel like I thrive when I am consistently busy.

Blogging With a Full Time Job

1.Break down your big tasks into smaller ones // Looking at everything you have to do for your blog each week or even each night can be very daunting so you need to break it down into more manageable tasks and learn where you need to focus your efforts. You can focus on growing your social media one day and then next focusing your efforts elsewhere. You just need to find out what works best for you and get on a schedule.

2. Keep a running list of blog ideas // Because inspiration can strike and probably will when you’re on the go, be prepared with a notebook or even the notes app in your phone. This will maximize your time and then you will just have to sit down and write the post, not brainstorm what you’re going to write about.

3. Write posts over the weekend // Not gonna lie, I am not always able to follow this advice since my Saturdays are spent out and about and my Sundays are usually spent doing homework for my grad course and lots of miscellaneous chores…but I think if you can, you will have more time to relax and focus your efforts elsewhere during the week.

4. Be mindful of your blogging time // You probably don’t get t00 much of it, so make sure that when you are able to devote time to blogging that you are completely in the zone and don’t have any other distractions…that includes randomly getting sucked into the blackhole that is social media unless that is your task for the time.

5. Utilize an editorial calendar // This keeps me from running out of things to write about and knowing what I am going to post on what day in advance so I can try to have content written further in advance…Now whether that works out for me or not is a different story, but having something already planned makes it a lot easier to whip out than having to brainstorm what I am going to post each day.

6. Recognize that you can’t do everything // While people who may blog full time may be able to do this because blogging is their job, you are trapped at work from 8-5 so you aren’t going to be able to accomplish everything that they can. This is the one I need to remind myself of the most because I can get sucked into the comparison game more often than I’d like to admit.

Check out some of my favorite blogging resources:

Helene In Between’s Courses

Melyssa’s Courses

Is there anything I missed? How do you manage blogging with a full time job? Let me know down in the comments.