4 Tips for Running a Blog When You Have a Full Time Job
It is no secret that this blog is not my full time job. Blogging has always been a side gig for me; When I launched my first blog, Jessclassy, in 2012 I was a senior in college. Now I work full-time as an event coordinator by day and then I squeeze in time for blogging when I get home. It's hard work, but it's also fun/relaxing because I enjoy sharing my passion for beauty and life stories with you guys.
If you work a full time job (or any job!) and run a blog, here are 4 tips that'll help you blog more efficiently.
1. Start an editorial calendar
After five years of blogging I finally started organizing my blog posts into an editorial calendar. It helps me see my blog posts at a glance and has been an essential part in running my blog more efficiently.
I use Google Sheets to organize my editorial calendar because I like that it's cloud based making it easy to share it with my photographer or people i'm collaborating with. I include things like blog post title, categories, tags, and other deadlines but of course you can organize yours however you like. I'm linking a sample of my editorial calendar to hopefully inspire your own.
2. Schedule time to work on blog stuff
I used to work on blog stuff right after work and it was so hard to concentrate because I didn't give myself enough time to de-stress after a long day. Now I come home, cook and eat dinner, watch some tv with Angel, shower, then I work on blog stuff right before bed. This schedule works for me because more often than not, if I go to bed without drafting a few posts, all of these awesome blog post ideas will start to bombard my brain once I try to fall asleep.
Figuring out the right schedule to work on blog stuff will be rough at first but it will ultimately help you run your blog more efficiently slash keep you sane.
3. Download blogging tools to your phone/tablet
Downloading blogging tools to my phone has been a game changer in the way I run my blog. Whenever I get a blog post idea at work, I launch my Google Sheets app and add it to my editorial calendar. If I come up with new content for a blog post i'm drafting — and I don't have my laptop — i'll open my Squarespace app and add my thoughts to the post i'm working on.
4. Use the reminders app to organize blog tasks
I use my phone's Reminders app for everything: Work to do, Personal to do, Grocery lists (you get the idea). When I was in the process of relaunching my blog, I relied on my Blog to do list to help me get tasks done. Every month I set up a reminder to update my social media stats. And when I work with my photographer, I make a list of posts we need to shoot pics for. Something as simple as keeping a working to do list helps keep me and my blog on track.