a hundred tiny wishes

4 tips for blogging with a full time job

I had been talking about getting a full time job that I love for a really long time and in June it finally happened. I went back to work at the beginning of June, right after my son went back to school. Sure it kinda sucked, it was like "hey, great you are out of school, but mommy has to work a full time job, and leave an hour before work." BUT it was also a lifesaving job (more on that later).

The one thing that I did worry about going back to work full time, was how I was going to handle family time, household things, and blogging. After about two weeks, I finally figured out my recipe for blogging with a full time job.

1) Write posts ahead of time & schedule

Scheduling posts is a big one for me (spoiler alert: this post was scheduled). I will write a post or two over the weekend and then schedule it out. The nice thing about Summer in the blogging world is that no one will notice if you only post once a week (I need to make it a goal to do so!!). Haha Anyways -> if I have a rough draft due to one of my networks, then I will go in and post it on the day and time frame manually, if I don't: then it gets scheduled. Scheduling really helps me stay on track with what I want my readers to read from me. It also helps me not write a post on the fly (cause we all know that those can turn out bad).

2) Say no

I am a member of so many sponsored networks, and I love the opportunities that they afford me. Of course, the networks are always sending me or publishing opportunities to make some money, get free product, or both. The opportunities are very enticing, but since I have a full time job now, I can't always say "yes" to everything- I pick an choose. This is the scenario in which I look at the product and decide if the product itself would be something my readers could use or not. If the answer is the latter, then I say no, or don't apply for the opportunity. It's just that simple. I also apply the same idea to pitch emails that I receive.

3) Make the most out of your time

When you work Monday through Friday 9-5, making the most of your time is essential. When it comes to needing photos taken for the blog, I either use styled stock, or I take them all at one time. This is also true to product photography and flat lays. Why do I do that? Because I don't want to spend time taking pictures every day. I mean, why not just switch out some flat lay paper and go to town?!

4) Social media can wait

Social media is essential when you are a blogger, but when you have a full time job, it is a different story. If the post just can't wait, then by all means post it, but if it can, then there is a concept called social media automation. It is a thing of the future and it is ah-mazing. I personally use Tailwind for Pinterest and Hootsuite for Facebook and Twitter. Writing out a little post about the post I want to promote is easy and fast, plus the two "apps" know what they are doing. I love that with Tailwind, I can pin to all of my group boards at the click of a mouse. Also, Tailwind isn't just for Pinterest now... you can actually schedule out your Instagram content, too!

5) If all else fails, hire a VA

A VA is a virtual assistant. In the blogging world, a VA can help schedule out social media, promote blog posts across social media, work in Facebook groups for you, and so much more. Unfortunately, the one thing they can't do? Write a blog post for you... but they can "advertise" the crap out of you on social media. Also, a VA does cost money. So maybe it's not a win win.

When I come home from work, I am not in the mood to blog. Honestly, I would rather spend the time with my son after not seeing him all day. After thinking about how much I loved this little space of mine, I knew I needed to figure out how to be a mom, work full time, and blog. Thankfully I found my recipe for blogging WITH a full time job and it has enabled me to be able to do everything that I want to do.