Blogging 101: Running a Blog Alongside a Full Time Job

Since I started my placement year last July my blog has had some ups and downs. Going from uni to having a full time job meant that I had a lot less time. Plus, I was a lot more tired because of it. So over the past year I’ve gradually learnt how to actually do this ‘blogging thing’ alongside my full time role. Without too much stress I would add as well! All it takes is some careful planning.

Schedule Time

If you’re serious about continuing blogging, then you need to schedule time to work on it. Whether it’s a 30minute session per night to interact with other bloggers on social, or a 2 hour sesson on the weekend to write up a post. You need to find time to plan when you’re going to be blogging otherwise you’ll end up slipping. Especially if you’re like me who tells herself that X can be done tomorrow for 4 days in a row!

For me, I usually schedule at least one day of the weekend for blog stuff. And if I’m away or have to be busy both days then I try to make up for that the week before or after. Plus, I try to work on it in evenings when I’m not feeling too tired (although this normally gets binned once I see my bed).

Don’t make this a Second Job

You may or may not love your job but what you don’t want to do is make yourself feel like your blog is a second job. You’re blogging because you love writing, or creating or whatever your reasons are. But you don’t want to force yourself to work 6-10 every night on your blog as you’ll start seeing it as more of a chore. Don’t beat yourself up or get stressed when you can’t meet your self imposed deadlines! Keep yourself quite light on the blog to keep your passion alive.

Be Realistic

Setting realistic goals is important. If you’re only working on your blog around your work hours, you’re not going to be able to meet the same content being pushed out by full time bloggers. They have all day everyday to work on content! So daily content is possible for them but probably not for you unless you want to start burning out.

Numbers are also important to be realistic about. You’re most likely not going to jump from 500 to 5000 followers whilst you’re sat at your work desk. And that’s okay!

Say No

Saying yes to every single opportunity may sound great, but if you’re making yourself busy all the time it will take time away from working on what you want to work on. This goes for socials with friends and family as well as work opportunities and also blog opportunities. Sometimes you need to prioritise your own activities to fit what you want into your life. I’m not saying say no to every meal out with your best friend, but if you’re with them every night for the next two weeks then you’re not gonna be able to work on blogging so take a step back for just one day maybe.

This also works the other way round! Sometimes you can say no to your blog (without feeling guilty!) in order to go out with your friends or family. Or maybe you really want to put some extra time in at your actual job and that’s fine too!