How I Manage My Blogging Schedule, Personal Schedule and Full-Time Job

As many of you know, and for those that don’t know, I work a full-time job. Yes, full-time, 40+ hours a week,  leave in the morning, come back late evening JOB. Many of you also know that I absolutely love blogging and making over our home during my free time, which normally means after hours only. Now, throw in being a wife, mom to a 4 year old, and dog mom, as you can imagine, my plate is full! In the beginning, I was feeling overwhelmed trying to do it all, but then I developed some key processes in both blogging and my personal life that helps make it all manageable and I wanted to share it with you all in hopes that it may help you!

1) Pre-planning meals

 

Cooking is not my most favorite thing to do, so the very thought of the task made me fatigued…no seriously. That is until recently! I’ve begun meal planning on a consistent basis and let’s just say I am so confused as to why I haven’t been consistent before. It literally has taken a load off of my plate with the daily routine of thought, ” what are we going to eat?” This in turn frees up my time on the drive home from worrying about what I am going to throw together for dinner to utilizing this time to educate myself through podcasts and ebooks.  I shop based on my plan for two weeks at a time, which brings me to my next point…

2) Grocery Pick-up

I literally haven’t set foot in a grocery store in months. I order from my local grocery store app, schedule which date and time that I want to pickup and I’m done. So I sit down every two weeks, plan my meals, and select groceries based on my plan, plus other staples that we need. The time that I would take normally trekking around a grocery store on a Sunday with a small child in tow, I instead use this time to work on administrative things for my blog, take and edit photos, and plan social media content for the following week.

 

3) Implemented Processes

I’ve signed on as a beta tester for Lauren Myers Co, where myself along with several other bloggers are testing a process oriented blogging schedule specifically developed for bloggers with 9-5’s. What has made this process so seamless and easy to implement is the how it breaks down all of my blogging tasks into small doses so that I no longer feel overwhelmed, plus this is the most organized that I’ve ever felt. This in turn allows me to focus each night on various blog related tasks and/or projects in a manageable time without neglecting my duties as a mom and wife.

4) Eliminate Distractions

 

We all have distractions in life, so I do my best to eliminate them, especially when I try to focus on my blog related tasks. Things such as social media, television, people in our home, or our home in general all can provide equal distractions, so when needed, I do my very best to eliminate them. I do this by placing my phone on Do Not Disturb, leaving the house to write a blog post, or keeping the tv off when I know there are other things that I should be doing. This helps to avoid the urge of texting, or answering texts, getting to involved in a television show, chatting with family members in the home,  surfing through Instagram or Facebook, or just looking at arbitrary things in my phone, when I should be focusing on specific tasks.

These tasks don’t always have to be blog related. Sometimes I should be cleaning instead of IG scrolling, or watching the food that is cooking on the stove instead of worrying about posting to IG and answering comments, or getting to engulfed in a YouTube video. I’ve literally burned chicken trying to read comments on social media. It’s so ridiculous.

5) Sacrifice

This is huge and important. In order for me to manage my blog and be as consistent as I need to be, sacrifice is something that I had to implement. I am not too fond of sacrificing family time or self care, so other things had to be sacrificed in order to avoid sacrificing those. For example, I had to push my bed time back by one hour in order to meet my blogging and home project needs. I have to continuously work during times that I would otherwise reserve for television, internet surfing, or whatever, just to accomplish my goals. That’s okay with me because it allows me to keep my ultimate goals at the forefront which is most important to me. Also, by doing this, I feel a lot less overwhelmed and it makes it all so much more manageable.

6) Sticking to a schedule

As I’ve mentioned in point # 3, I been working through processes that helps me to stay on top of what I should be doing. This is important because it helps me to fit it realistically into my schedule. Now whether you are a pen and pad girl like me, or like to manage your schedule through your phone or computer, I think you can agree that by planning, you are setting yourself up for success. Even if things don’t always go as planned, having a general outlook of how my day will run is super helpful.

I also make sure that I don’t create some exorbitantly long to do list, or daily plan. This in my opinion sets me up for failure. I like to keep my list no longer than 5 things maximum to do daily in between my mandated work, home, or blogging tasks.

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So that’s it guys! Implementing these simple tips above has helped me to manage both my full-time job, my personal life, and my blog more efficiently and more effectively.

So let me know what you think about these tips. Do you currently have a blog, or thinking about starting one? Do you find these tips beneficial? Holler at me in the comments.

Until next time!