20 Ways to Be A Successful Blogger While Working Full Time (Part 2)

How to Blog and Work Full Time

I meant to posts this a few weeks ago, but hey, better late than never! I'm moving right along with some more ideas on effectively blogging while working full time.

Pomodoro

I LOVE this. Basically, this is a timer that gets you to work in 25 minute increments, then the alarm goes off, your computer dims, and then you can start again. This really helps me concentrate on a task and get work done without lollygagging. I use tomato-timer and pomodoro.

Create a weekly time limit

Maybe you want to devote a total of five hours a week to your blog. I’ve tried “clocking in” and not going over that time. Again, this is a way to ensure that you knock out content while being able to knock out other things. I used to spend endlesss amounts of time "blogging", ie checking social media, etc. Nope!

Be okay with not posting a billion times a week

In an ideal blogging world, I'd like to post three times a day! There's no way in the world I can devote that kind of time to my blog, so I have to be okay with posting 2-3 times per week. When I pressure myself to post 5 times a week, I end up only posting once, because I get overwhelmed. It's a sad reality.

Set up drafts as you go

Did you begin a post and you've got some good content going for it? Go ahead and throw it in your editor and draft it! Add images and links later, if necessary.

Totally unplug and go at it

This was the productivity tip that helped me like no other. I wrote all about it here.

Check out  part one, three and four of the series too.

Grab the printable with all 20 tips:

20 Ways to be a Successful Blogger While Working Full-Time: Part 1

How to Blog and Work Full Time

When you want to keep your blog fresh and always booming with new content, it can really, really be a stressful thing. In my I'm so overwhelmed that my blog is suffering post, I discussed this pretty candidly. In this four part series, I'm going to share tips to be a better blogger, even with a full time job.

Please note that this series was written in desperation for myself. I'll be referring to it constantly. I hope you will to.

Brain dump

Take some time and just write down everything that comes to mind about your blog. Post ideas, color scheme changes, template updates, what you like, what you don't like, where you want to be in a year, goals--you name it. Get it all out of your mind to you can have it for future use and expand on it. I use Google Docs as a tool for my blog. It syncs easily, I can use it on the phone or web. I keep it open in a separate tab all day, and add to it when an idea comes to mind.

Working lunch w/ laptop (phone/ notebook/ etc.)

My hair dresser made me think about this a lot more. Use this power hour (or half hour) to eat lunch while working on post drafts, editing videos or photos, answering emails, sending invoices, pitching, etc. That's one hour where you can get concentrated work accomplished, if you really focus on it.

Schedule days for tasks

Trying to do all the steps to creating a blog post at once can be daunting! But if you use an hour a day to do one type of task, you can be far more productive. For instance, take all of your photography on Saturdays. Take an hour on Tuesday morning/evening to start drafting all your posts for the next week, etc. Use Thursdays to schedule recycled posts (don't let them get lost!), and Fridays to schedule new posts. Develop a routine and knock out a major part of the process.

Email yourself

Okay, this might not make you the most productive blogger at work (or whereever you are). Sometimes when inspiration hits I need to get started on a blog post draft! I open Outlook while I'm at my desk and just type out all of my ideas for that post. In fact, that's how I created the outline for this post!

Utilize your mornings

Ah, this can be a hard one, but it's all about routine. It took me a few months to realize that waking up at 7am to leave at 8am isn't very productive. I started off waking up at 6:30, which was pretty tough, but I'm used to it now. Ultimately, I'd like to get up around 5 or 5:15. That way, you can dedicate a portion of your morning to productivity around the house, blogging, or any of the other things you're into.

Grab the printable with all 20 tips:

Check out part two, three and four of the post too! For more blog tips, check out Erin's Guide to Better Beauty Blogging.

Burnout: My Current State of Blogging Affairs

Over the past two weeks, I'm having an issue that I've never really felt before. I'm overwhelmed and burning out at a rapid rate. Stay with me.

I work as a web content creator at my day job. I update the site all day, make changes, upload files, re-design pages, etc. I have this job to pay the bills, to look good on my resume, and to keep me constantly learning. While I'm there, Scandalous Beauty is always in the back of my mind. Always. Always. Should I do a roundup or review items individually? Maybe I should re-start my podcast. I know some amazing people who would be perfect to feature. I have to write that brand and let them know how amazing they are. I need a new email campaign.How do I get an opportunity to do what that blogger is doing? I need to tweak my layout for the 432nd time. Maybe I can post on Youtube every week. How do I get more comments? Why am I not doing more makeup on myself? Does anyone actually read my blog? 

The list goes on and on and on.

To make matters worse (or better, depending how you look at it), I've gotten serious about a new venture I'm starting. I finally let my guard down, built my confidence up, and started to power through the fear that has been holding me back for years. I'm not the type to talk and talk about something before it happens, so I'll just say it's insanely time consuming. Setting up, researching, creating marketing plans, learning, and being freaking terrified is a lot to deal with.

After nine years of blogging, I am sick of being mediocre. I want to do more. I want to be stellar. 

But when I wake up at 6am to work on projects, and I sit at my job for the next 8 hours and want to gnaw my fingers off in boredom, by the time I get home, I can't even imagine opening my laptop. I simply can't open another screen. I look at my editorial calendar and products that are ready to be photographed and reviewed, and by then, I want to walk out of the room, get a glass of wine and do absolutely nothing.

So how do I fight this urge? I have absolutely no idea. I'm taking it day by day. Eventually, I'd love to do all of this full-time. In fact, that's what I'm setting myself up to do. I'm excited to have a future where I'll (hopefully) be able to use my day to create, edit and post a few times a day, create video tutorials and vlogs and realize that I generate income and help my family by doing something that I created and really love to do. But until then, I don't want to force anything. I'm spreading myself way too thin. So maybe I'll post once a week. I won't check every social media account I'm on 10 times a day. I'll turn my phone off and focus on one thing at a time. I'll unplug all together and enjoy the world.

There's no conclusion to this post. I just had to vent. I'm off to sit on my porch, have a glass of tea and enjoy this lovely afternoon.