How I Manage My Life & Blog

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I’m going to give you a peek at how I manage blogging as a full time job and also keep up with my personal life.  Here’s what my day looks like.

Did you know you can learn to manage your time and fit everything into your day that needs to be done. One of the key elements is to make sure you create lists and keep to a schedule….. this is the most important part.

1. I get up at 6 AM every day. One thing I have learned (if you don’t work outside the home) is you need to get dressed and brush your teeth before you even start your day. If you are a blogger like me you have probably noticed if you don’t do those two things before you know it it’s 3 PM, you’re still in your PJ’s, hair a mess, with unbrushed teeth. Now admit it we’ve all been there. Also if you are the last person out of the bed give it a quick making, it doesn’t have to be military perfect but at least make an attempt. My bedroom is upstairs so I also look to see if there’s a complete load of dirty laundry waiting for me, if so I bring it down to the laundry room. 

2. Start that load of laundry. If you make kids lunches or hubby’s now is the time to do that and while you’re at it also get anything out of the freezer you will need for that night’s dinner. If it’s a crock pot meal get it started, if not let the item defrost while you move on to your next project.

3. This is when I head to my computer (by now it’s 6:30 AM) and get all my blog tasks organized for the day. If you missed my 2015 Blog Planner you can print it here. Now you need to stay focused and don’t let yourself become distracted with endless hours of surfing Pinterest or Facebook. REMEMBER THIS…..

4. I pick one day a week to schedule all my posts to Facebook (the FB posts will also go to Twitter via FB)  and Hometalk (they both have schedulers built in so it makes it super easy) I also schedule all my Pins through Ahalogy (if you don’t use that service you will have to pin on your own time or you can use the service Viralwoot) I quickly schedule my own pins to be pinned on the odd hour and other bloggers to be pinned on the even hour. I can do this in less than 10 minutes every morning. Note: I use Bloglovin to follow all my favorite bloggers and this is where I also get my content for my daily pins. I don’t always have time to comment on every blog I follow but I do share the love by scheduling pins from your sites. Next share your post on Google+, if you printed my 2015 Blog Planner there is a page included to help you keep track of all your social media shares. 

5. At this point I know you feel the urge to get off track but stick with me. DO NOT STRAY….Your load of laundry should now be washed and you can move it to the dryer. See how you are multitasking??? it’s a good thing. This is also the time to start writing those lists of things you need to do that day or add those brilliant ideas for blog posts that pop into your head to your list. If you’re like me you have to write it down to remember it. There’s also a page for that in my 2015 Blog planner. For instance as I was writing this post I remembered I needed to calibrate my computer monitor….and guess what I added it to my list.

6. By now your blog duties should be under control for the day and you can move on to writing new posts, visiting blogs, and yes Facebook and Pinterest. For me I like to limit my time in these, and work on my life duties. The laundry is dry so it can now be folded, I also unload the dishwasher from the night before, vacuum the floors and mop them, and do a general pick up of anything that is out of place.

7. Make yourself some lunch, sit down and use your phone to post to Instagram. If you’re a TV watcher allow yourself to fit in that favorite show while you enjoy your meal. 

8. Now check your list and pick something on it to accomplish….it may be write a blog post, photograph something for your blog, or get that DIY project done so it can be posted. For me this time of the day has the best lighting so I take advantage of it. You can get so much done in as little as 15 minutes, or even a tv commercial break so start thinking differently about how you manage your time and you will see so many areas that need improvement. For instance when taking your dishes to the kitchen don’t just stack them in the sink open the dishwasher and put them in, why handle them more times than you need to? It’s the small things like this that keep your place looking neat and tidy and also eliminates you having to do the task again. 

9. Now is the time to check your personal Facebook page, make or return phone calls, check email and surf your smartphone for whatever it is you like to do.

10. The kids and hubby should be getting home so now you can make dinner or if you chose to do a crockpot meal that day you are ready to eat and spend time with your family. None if it’s hard to do if you keep on track. 

Some of the things that really help are the schedulers….if you have a day you can’t get to your blog, it’s taking care of itself. I have times that I don’t want anything to do with blogging and these tips will carry you through and your blog won’t suffer. Don’t be afraid to take a day or two off, give yourself the pleasure of unplugging one day a week, you will find yourself looking at things differently and be willing to get back at it the next day. Cut out the mindless time spent on areas that are just sucking up your time and you will enjoy blogging again. I consider myself a full time blogger and get everything done in under 4 hours a day. Not bad for a full time job I’d say. 

I learned my organization skills from the best….my Mom….she can accomplish a whole weeks work in a day. Now if you have a full time job you will need to manage your time differently, you may need to follow this schedule in the evening hours. I hope you all got a feel for my day and see what works for me. Don’t forget to download and print the 2015 Planner that I have available.