Time is something that we all want more of but it just always seems to run out. I hear all the time from clients and women who want to blog that they just don’t have the time to do it. Blogging is time-consuming but if you have a plan in place, you can make it work.
There are times when I just don’t feel like writing but know that it needs to be done. Having a specific time in my day dedicated to writing makes a big difference and helps me to stay on task with what I want to do.
5 TIPS TO CREATING WORKING HOURS AS A BLOGGER
Not all of these tips will work for you but I suggest that you give everything a try and see what does. If blogging is something that you truly want to add to your business or as a hobby then what do you have to lose. Let’s throw the excuses away and begin a habit that will work for you and will fulfill you.
Set aside 1-2 hours a day to write. Now, this may seem like a lot but an hour flies by as we all know. Setting aside an hour to work on a blog post is just the beginning. It takes me anywhere from 1-3 hours to create a blog post. That doesn’t include creating the graphics for the blog post, creating the graphics for social media, or creating graphics for Pinterest. These 1-3 hours are strictly dedicated to writing the blog post. If you can, try and set it up at the same time every day. This will get your brain in the habit that this time is for writing.
What helps me to be able to do this is to pay my older son to watch my youngest for that time. This gives him the incentive to help me.
Create smaller work times throughout the day. This helps a lot now since the kids are home 24/7. I am able to get some work done while they are doing homework. Whether it be editing my blog post or creating my graphics. Sitting down during their work time allows me to be present if they need help with any homework but gives me additional time to get work done.
Ask your children or spouse for help. You can even ask friends. Now you are probably wondering how this helps with creating work hours. This step allows me to free up some of my time so that the time I do have is dedicated to the writing process. My son, who is 12, now creates most of my Pinterest graphics for my blog posts. I pay him $10/hour and he creates between 8-10 graphics for me at that time. Again this is giving him the freedom of making money but it is also taking work off of my plate.
I wish that I could say that I have endless hours a day but that just isn’t the case. With the hours that I do have, I have to make the most of them. I have the same time as everyone else in a day.
Lock the door. This one has been a HUGE saviour for me. When I tell my kids that I am going to work for an hour, I head up to my bedroom office and I lock the door behind me. Now they can’t just walk in on me and create havoc when they come in. My littlest one will sit and knock on the door but I just have to remind her (without opening the door) that mommy is working and she goes back to what she was doing. The number of times that my kids would cause distractions would use up probably 50% of the time that I had set aside. Now that isn’t the case.
Break your day down hour by hour. I know that this sounds tedious but once you begin the habit, it isn’t so bad. Plan out your day. I do this for scheduling my Pinterest pins as well as my day. I block off time to write, to create graphics, homework time, and anything else that is going on in my day. I even make sure that I write what times we are eating and what times the kids are playing outside.
This gives me structure. I thrive on having a plan in place. It also allows me to see what days I have more time to get work done. I don’t always stick to the plan. The best part is that these are your schedules so they are not set in stone. But that also means that you can’t always change them because you are now just avoiding the work that you want to do.
It may take a few weeks to a month to figure out what is going to work with you when it comes to creating a schedule. Flexibility is key. Give yourself some grace as you learn to navigate a blogging schedule. This also doesn’t mean that you can only work in the hours that you scheduled. If you have an opportunity to get some extra writing in, take it. It will help to get you ahead of the game and be more prepared than before.
What are your favourite ways to create working hours as a blogger?
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