Having joined the ranks of full-time bloggers and self employment in October 2020, I know the very real stress of trying to balance both a full-time job and your passion. You want to follow your heart to your craft, but you have to follow that corporate paycheck for the sake of your current livelihood.
But it doesn’t have to be like that forever.
Taking that leap is scary, but with the right discipline, organization and willingness to deal with the less-than-glamorous back end bookkeeping that comes with owning your own business, you could be in for something special.
While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all model for successful full-time bloggers or influencers, there are overarching common themes I’ve seen among my fellow full-time peers and myself. Let’s take a look at my top tips for productive and successful full-time bloggers.
Have a Planner Plan
Whether you’re a paper and pen agenda keeper or you’ve gone digital, have a plan that works for you. For me, time sensitive meetings, webinars or appointments go in my phone calendar with an alert reminder so they don’t get missed.
For daily tasks, I used to use an hour-by-hour planner, but with a baby that’s all out the window. My planner today is a small, month at-a-glance planner that lets me see what posts are going live each day and what major deadlines I have.
Most other tasks are fluid, and that list goes on a small dry erase board. This not only keeps me on track, but off my phone. I tend to get lost checking apps when I pick up my phone so I try to minimize phone time during work hours. I also love the dry erase model versus paper because things are constantly changing.
Batch Content
Shooting tons of content can be daunting for full-time bloggers, influencers and creators. Your audience expects you to have content out almost daily, or whatever cadence you’ve set for yourself, and feel the pressure to keep up. Frankly, putting out content is your life blood. That doesn’t mean put out content just to press post; never, ever do this. Your quality always shows through, whether it’s a forced post or something you dreamt up naturally.
Instead, try batching content when you’re feeling particularly creative.
Batching content is shooting and/or writing all of your content in one marathon session. You can shoot multiple photos or videos, edit footage, write blog posts or get all your captions together in one sitting versus shooting one photo, then editing it, then writing a caption. It’s less clunky because you’re not shifting gears every few minutes.
Honestly, sometimes I dread content batching days. They can be long but it feels GREAT when you’re sitting on a fresh pile of content ready to go! It’s well worth it.
Keep a Consistent Daily Routine
Having a daily routine that you look forward to allows you to be more productive in working hours. I used to workout most mornings pre-baby, so I’d drink my pre workout while checking emails, then get a quick sweat in before really buckling down for the day.
Another recommendation is to try and take lunch at the same time as your significant other/roommate to catch up and unwind. After Kevin and I have lunch, we take the baby and dog for a quick walk to get everyone some fresh air.
Getting outside is especially helpful for my productivity. There’s tons of studies that show sunshine is a natural mood booster, so consider blocking out outdoors time to keep upbeat and productive. This could even include moving your work station to the patio!
Take Regular Breaks
Take micro breaks regularly. Full-time bloggers are constantly in a creative mindset and writer’s block is real.
I play solitaire on my phone about once an hour for a couple minutes to decompress, then get right back to it. That’s what works for me; your break can be as simple as refilling your water or petting the dog. Whatever helps you unwind and reset for more work!
Making some outdoor time one of your breaks will check two boxes at once, saving you some time.
No need to take a bunch of different breaks if you don’t require it!
My Personal Weekly Routine
Shifting gears, I wanted to talk about what my personal schedule looks like. It’s easy to talk about what may or may not work, but let’s see what a day in the life of one of these full-time bloggers really looks like, shall we?
Each day can be vastly different, which is why I love working for myself full-time. However, this is the loose structure I follow each day of the week to keep things consistent and productive.
Monday
I used to HATE Mondays, until I realized I hated what I was doing, not the actual day. I can’t say I love Mondays all of a sudden, but they’re way less daunting (and frankly, anxiety inducing) on Sunday nights now.
Every Monday, I’m up and out the door around 7 a.m. With my laptop in tow, I head to a local spot to get as much uninterrupted work done as possible. Right now, it’s the only guaranteed solo work time I have all week. This is before Kevin starts work and when he does, Alexis is down for her nap, so it buys me some solid solo working hours.
I start by addressing all of my weekend emails and checking the status of my weekly Wednesday blog post. If it’s not already scheduled, I prioritize that until it’s finished. I don’t prefer to schedule new posts in the eleventh hour, but sometimes that’s life. Don’t sweat it, just buckle down and get it scheduled!
In the afternoon I’ll do my “rounds”, checking Instagram, YouTube, Amazon, etc. to insure all upcoming content is ready to go. If I have spare time, I’ll schedule a few more YouTube videos to ensure I have content scheduled well in advance.
Tuesday
Tuesday’s top priority is insuring my weekly blog post and cross-promotions are set for Wednesday go-live if I didn’t get it done Monday. This includes setting up an email for my newsletter subscribers, Pinterest Pins and my Instagram post.
Provided my post is ready to go, as it often is, I take Tuesdays to work brand collaboration board pitches and draft email pitches to potential new brand partners. Brands seem overwhelmed with pitch emails early in the week, so I like to write them on Tuesday and schedule them to send on Wednesday so I don’t get lost amidst early-week inquiries.
Wednesday
Wednesday is my weekly blog post go-live day, one of my favorites! Since I just had my regularly scheduled post go live today I like to take a little breather from writing. I’ll usually schedule some Pinterest Pins from my Planoly Pin library and answer pitch email inquiries from that morning. If time allows and the volume is there, I’ll visit collaboration platforms again today to finish applying to any relevant opportunities.
Thursday
The second half of the week is always slower for me. It’s a welcome break from the hustle and a nice transition into the weekend. Oftentimes, Thursdays will be my content shooting days, though that can shift based on business needs each week. I’ll wake up Thursday morning, put on makeup, make sure the hair is looking decent and get to work. I even make sure my hair is freshly washed either Tuesday or Wednesday so I’m really ready to go!
Before anything else though, I always check my inbox for important or time sensitive emails. This is especially important on content shooting days incase changes come over about campaign briefs. Don’t want to be shooting content only to have to redo it!
Friday
Fridays are calm and quiet most weeks. People aren’t emailing as much as they wind down for the week or take some time off. Typically, I find myself writing blog posts and/or editing photos (currently writing this on a Friday) since my inbox isn’t usually blowing up.
If any Pins need scheduling, I get as many of those in rotation as possible and check next week’s content. I’ll make sure to note when I’ll be shooting that, and if I need help with it, loop Kevin in.
While I film most content on my own, some concepts are just easier with a second set of hands. I’m very thankful Kevin is more than happy to help. Likely so because he knows I do all the prep in advance to make the actual filming as easy as possible, and if he’s taking the photos, I’m not paying someone else to help me. Win-win!
Weekends and Taking Time Off
Contrary to what some think, full-time blogging isn’t a free for all, and I don’t just have random time off. I have a very disciplined work ethic. You HAVE to be disciplined to turn a profit as a business owner, in any field.
Like many Monday through Friday jobs, I’m off on the weekends.
For me, my 40-hour workweek mimics Kevin’s schedule so we have time off together as a family. Likewise with holidays, if Kevin’s company gives him the day off, I give myself the day off. However, I’m not off the clock every day that he takes a personal day and vice versa. We each have personal lives too, so if the personal day plans don’t involve the other, he/she is likely working a normal day.
Yes, you have flexibility to work whenever you want as the owner of your own business, but that’s not the glorious statement you think it is. Most productivity thrives from consistency. Have a set schedule you intend to keep, and adjust accordingly as needed. Mimicking my work schedule off Kevin’s works for us because we want to spend our off time together. I’m also used to working a traditional 9-5 schedule, so it was incredibly easy to slot into when I became a full-time blogger.
Interested in More Blogging Resources?
Visit my Website Management & Blogging Resources page for more blogging tips, tools and general advice on running your own blog. There’s so much more to it than pressing ‘post’, and I’m always happy to share anything I know.
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