Balancing Blogging + Working

Hi everyone!  I have an exciting post lined up for today.  A topic that's been on my mind a lot lately has been balance.  Life lately has been really busy and hectic, and balancing my full time job with blogging has been a challenge!

I've been talking about this with some of my blogging friends as well, and it seems to be a pretty universal issue.  I wanted to get some tips and tricks from other bloggers who balance a full time job as well to see how they do it all. To be completely honest, all of the ladies that I asked for advice I originally thought were full-time bloggers.  They consistently produce such high-quality content that I figured it was impossible to do that in addition to working!  I had to learn their secrets to success, and share it with you all.  I hope you'll find these tips helpful, and make sure you stop by and visit all of these amazing blogs.

Alexa is a local Pittsburgh blogger who shares healthy versions of classic recipes at fooduzzi.com.  I'm absolutely drooling over her recipe for Whole Food Peanut Butter Eggs- just in time for Easter!

Tip #1 - Be Serious

I treat my blog as a “job” just as much as I do my full-time job. Just like my full-time job, I consciously set aside time every single day to work on Fooduzzi. I treat my blog as a business; businesses need a ton of time, effort, and, most importantly, dedication in order to thrive. I hold myself and my blog to that same standard. By treating my photography, writing, and development as a second job, it’s much easier to make blogging a priority every single day.

Bridget and Casey are two best friends who blog together over at the DIY Playbook.  I've been obsessed with their blog ever since I found it, and I know I'll be trying lots of their tutorials when I move, like this mason jar organizer!

Tip # 2 - Stay Organized

We both have pretty extreme Type-A personalities and are addicted to to-do lists. Thankfully this personality quirk comes in handy when it comes to juggling our blog, jobs, and personal lives. In terms of the blog, we plan our content well in advance. In fact, we fill up our editorial calendar about 2-3 months in advance (we know we're crazy!), so we're always prepared for what's ahead. This works for us because we can divide tasks, plan photo shoots, and schedule large DIY projects weeks ahead of time. It especially gives us plenty of time to take photos during the day (usually on weekends when we're not at work), edit photos, and get posts written without a pressure of a tight deadline.  Planning ahead also comes in handy when we want to get things done around the house. We'll often put a "home to-do" on the editorial calendar and then we're forced to make it happen for the blog. To keep our blog content straight, we rely on our google calendar. Seeing your entire month at a glance makes it easy to plan ahead and see what's next on the list. 

Tip #3 - Have a Support System

We often get asked how we "do it all," and the honest answer is...we don't! We rely heavily on our husbands and family members when things get extra crazy. Our husbands are our biggest cheerleaders and are always willing to pick up the slack around the house when things get busy. They both also do all of the cooking (amazing, right?!), so they keep us fueled up for projects or even when we're logging hours on the computer. Our moms are also always there to help out! Bridget's mom once cleaned her entire house before we had a film crew over, and Casey's mom wrapped 20 gorgeous (empty!) gifts for a Christmas tree photo shoot. So our support system definitely helps keep us sane!

Margaret was my partner in crime during my Whole30 experience, and has become a close friend and mentor in the blogging world.  Her posts on Young and Rungry are so informative and helpful, like this post on building a weekly training plan.

Tip #4 - Find an Authentic Balance

I know we hear it all the time, but I think authentic work/life balance is vital. I say “authentic” in the sense that you have to be very honest with yourself because only you know what that balance looks like. When I first started blogging, I was incredibly off kilter and I saw that in my lack of sleep, irritability, and in the fact that I was paying less attention to my relationships and other things that I usually love. I think my biggest time suck and point of stress in blogging was caring too much. I spent too much time checking daily analytics, repin numbers, likes, comments, and even ad revenue. Not only did it very inconveniently break up my day, but even when I wasn’t physically checking it, I was thinking about it. 

It could be something that every new blogger eventually grows out of, but I had to take a break from blogging to remember who I am and what I’m all about. After my blogging break, I didn’t become any less hard working, but I was able to take the stress and the worry out of it and make it fun again. That way when I come home from work and write, it’s a hobby that I enjoy in moderation and I feel rejuvenated through it instead of beaten down. I know many people start blogging either because their work isn’t fulfilling or because they’d like to transition into it full time, but I never want to lose passion for what I went to school for and what I do. I love working with people with disabilities and never want to leave it so it’s really important for me not to lose sight of that passion either, which takes a tremendous amount of authentic balance. 

Tip #5 - Break the Blogging Rules

Listen to any podcast or read any article on “How to be a Successful Blogger” and it’ll tell you that you have to have a set schedule, stick to it, post x amount of times each week, have your editorial calendar, etc. I think that’s awesome, but for me some weeks when I’m really busy at work or with my social life it’s just not realistic and success may be getting one recipe posted by Friday. That’s to say that there are different measures of success so you have to figure out what yours looks like and reach for that instead. If you’re trying to be the perfect blogger and that lifestyle isn’t sustainable with your job and other things that are important to you, find something that’s going to work long term. 

Jess is an absolute yoga goddess who is incredibly inspirational to me!  She's a personal trainer who shares exercises and healthy recipes on her blog Hello to Fit, like this mouth-watering slow cooker Vietnamese soup.  Yum!

Tip #6 - PLAN!

Although most days I don't feel like I balance working a full-time job and blogging, there is always a plan. That is probably one of the most important things for me. When I first started blogging almost three years ago, I would sit down at my computer and try and write from scratch, without any sort of idea or topic to write about. Posts would take me hours to complete, and it was an exhausting ordeal.
Now, when you look at my month-to-month planner, you'll see that the whole month is sketched out with post ideas. Is it set in stone? Nope. But I can look at the next 30 days and see what I COULD write about, if I can make time for it. If you want to be able to post ahead of time, be efficient, and maximize what you put out through your blog, I highly recommend using some sort of organizational tool. That can be in the form of a tangible planner, or an online scheduler.

Tip #7 - Know Your Priorities

Since Hello to Fit is not a primary - or even secondary - source of income, I've learned to keep my full-time job a priority. I used to stay up late blogging, and my work life would suffer. So, while I will attempt to plan out my months of blogging, as well as adhere to the schedule, it's been a process to be comfortable with missing a post throughout the week. How exactly does that keep me "balanced"? It puts things into perspective. I love my readers and my blogging communities, but at the end of the day, this hobby does not produce a lot of money for me right now. My full time job puts food on the table AND allows me to progress the blog the way I want it to. I feel more balanced when I can remember this, because now, more often than not, I won't feel guilty about waiting until the weekend to read a friend's blog post, or if I only get to put out one post in a week.

I'd like to thank everyone for taking time from their (already) busy schedules to contribute to this post.  Make sure you show these ladies some love by visiting their blogs!

Fooduzzi

The DIY Playbook

Young and Rungry

Hello to Fit

What are your tips for finding balance?

Fellow bloggers- what is your biggest struggle right now?
linking up with Amanda