Book Blogger Hop: Balancing Blogging with Work

Posted June 25, 2018 in Blog Fests & Hops, LIFESTYLE, Uncategorized / 10 Comments

Book Blogger Hop at www.curiousdaydreams.comToday I’m taking part in the Book Blogger Hop, a weekly hop hosted by Billy B at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer (originally created by Jennifer at  Crazy-For-Books). You can see the hop schedule here.

 

“Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end on Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.”

This week’s question:

For all of you worker bees out there! How do you balance having a day job/career and managing your blog at night? Is it hard or easy to do, and what do people in your work life think of your blogs?

(submitted by Danielle @ PoetryBooksYA)

 

Oh boy, this is going to be a long one (apologies in advance!)

This is something I still struggle with. When I first started working it was only part-time, so it was still pretty easy to keep up with posting. Fast forward nine years and I’m working full-time, looking after my two-year-old daughter and trying in vain to keep up with household chores and maintain some semblance of a social life. There isn’t as much room in my life as there used to be for blogging, reading and other creative hobbies.

When my daughter was newborn, I had to take a hiatus from blogging. Motherhood was a huge adjustment for me and I struggled to function on the few hours sleep I was getting. Something had to give and it was my blog that I put on the back burner. I unplugged and enjoyed my time with my little lion cub, I wouldn’t change that for the world. Family always comes first for me.

But when I returned to work after my maternity leave, I began to feel a little lost. I get satisfaction from my job, but it isn’t a particularly creative role. After playing with my daughter and putting her to bed, I would do the chores then spend my time aimlessly scrolling social media before falling asleep. I began to crave a creative outlet again. I needed somewhere to express my thoughts and I wanted to do something for myself that would help me reconnect with who I was outside of working and parenting.

 

Always find time for the things that make you feel happy to be alive.

 

So, earlier this year I decided to switch my blog to WordPress and completely reboot it with a new name and design. I got excited about blogging again and since then I’ve been blogging fairly consistently. It’s such a great outlet for me. However, I can’t commit to posting daily or reading several books in a week. My reading time is limited to about half an hour every night, so it often takes me more than a week to get through just one book! 

But I’ve changed my whole attitude to blogging. It’s not my whole life anymore, it’s a pleasant addition to what I already have. I want to be present for my daughter as much as possible, so I try to reserve blogging for when she’s asleep or at nursery. I also don’t stick to a strict schedule, I give myself the freedom to post as often or as little as I want to. I read whatever books I feel like and I rarely sign up to review books. If I miss meme posts like Top Ten Tuesday, I just accept that it was a busy week. 

 

Balance is not better time management, but better boundary management. Balance means making choices and enjoying those choices.

 

One thing I would like to improve is the organisation of my blog. I’m participating in Blog Ahead at the moment and hoping to finish it with a lead of at least 15 posts scheduled. Getting ahead would take some of the pressure off and I’d have time to post more interesting content, such as creative writing. There never seems to be enough time in the day to do everything I want to do, but I’m hoping that my upcoming break from work will give me a chance to catch up.

I do think running a blog alongside a full-time job or parenting is a hard thing to do, especially if you want to make money from it. It’s not just writing content that takes time, it’s all the other stuff: making graphics, replying to comments, visiting other blogs, promoting your blog on social media, tweaking the design, updating plugins…the list goes on!

So in summary, my answer is that I’m still working on finding a perfect balance. As for what colleagues think about my blog, I’m not sure. Most of them probably don’t realise I have one, if they follow they’ve never mentioned it. I don’t mind this in the slightest, as I quite like to keep my blogging life separate from my work life. I feel like I can express myself here without worrying about being professional; I can unleash my true nerdiness without fear of judgement!

 

What about you? Is it easy for you to manage work with blogging or other aspects of your life?

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10 responses to “Book Blogger Hop: Balancing Blogging with Work

  1. It really does amaze me how you and others can have a job, kids, AND still find time to make posts, read books, blog hop, etc. I’m glad you’ve found (or are finding) a good method of blogging and outlook toward it that works for you! Blogging and reading a little is better than not blogging or reading at all 🙂

    • That’s what I tell myself. I figure that spending my free time blogging is better for my general wellbeing than scrolling Facebook anyway. I don’t think I’ll ever have a huge audience but I’m happy with the little community I interact with here-you all keep me sane!

  2. Keeping up with a blog can be tough. I’ve definitely changed how much I blog throughout the years. I’m glad you’ve found a “schedule” of sorts that works for you right now. I’m doing Blog Ahead too, though I haven’t had much time to start — hope to get as much scheduled ahead as I can.

    Lauren

  3. I wish I could say I’m good at balancing blogging, and I USED to be good at it. But now that I’m in college and working and adding on an internship soon, blogging has taken a back burner (especially when final projects are due and I feel so bad about commenting 2-3 months later). I’m not sure how long I can go. ?

    I moved to WordPress as well in the hopes it would renew my creative self again like you, but while it did in a way… I also notice myself not putting blogging as a priority (my mom would say otherwise because my off days consist of me catching up on comments then getting distracted and scrolling around).

    I should really try to schedule more posts though – 2016 took all of my posts I set for emergency use and now I’m a hamster trying to get those again. ?

    • It’s so hard when you’re at college and have lots of deadlines to meet. One thing I have learned about blogging is that it’s absolutely okay to step back for a while to concentrate on other areas of your life. When you come back, you might have to build up your base of followers again, but it’s not the end of the world. It’s important not to burn yourself out. I hope you find a happy balance once you’ve started your internship and wish you the best of luck.

  4. Figuring out how to allocate our time and energy is, I think, a continuous process, and always worthy of review and tweaking. Kudos to you Tizzy for finding a way to blog and read AND fit in everything else as well. Fitting in as many pockets of joy into our lives should be a prime objective in my opinion. So many pockets, that eventually every moment is joy-filled. Isn’t that a lovely plan?

    • Yes, you’re so right Deborah. I struggle with this at times because I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person. There was a time when I only did household chores once a week, for example, and it would take me half a day. Now I do a little every day and it’s much more manageable. I just need to apply the same approach to writing and exercise.

  5. I’m impressed by people who have kids, a job, and a blog. How do you keep up with everything?! I get up at 5am so that I can reply to comments. I write posts late at night. If I didn’t have a blog, I’d probably get a healthy amount of sleep.

    • I guess I survive by being mediocre at all of them haha! There’s no way I’m waking up at 5 am, I’m not a morning person AT ALL, but I’m impressed by your dedication! I guess we can sleep when we’re dead, right?

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