Whether you have a blog or are just considering one, there is one thing I know you’re wondering – How do I find time to blog?

I get asked this SO MUCH that I thought it would be helpful to give you some ideas of ways I fit in blogging into my busy life.

I have three kids, ages 9, 7, and 3, and we are constantly on the go between school, playdates, doctor’s appointments, birthday parties, sports, etc. The craziness never ends!

If I had waited until this point in my life to start a blog, I don’t know that I would have been able to get past the mental part of wrapping my mind around taking on ANOTHER responsibility.

But on the other hand, looking back at the years I fit blogging in the spare minutes I had before, I don’t know how I did it.

That’s the thing – it’s always tricky to fit in blogging as a mom!

Here are some times I have been able to squeeze in time to work on my blog over the years:

1. Naptime

Although this was trickier as the kids started dropping naps, for the longest time, naptime was the longest guaranteed length of time I could blog most days…even when they started dropping naps, I made the older ones do “quiet time” while I worked for an hour in the afternoon.

2. 1st Hour of the Morning 

So I probably won’t get any mother of the year awards for this, but I find it easier to concentrate first thing in the morning, so I’ve been know to let my kids watch two episodes of Curious George or Sid the Science Kid while I checked email, etc.

3. Carpool Line or Any Driving Time Really

Some days I am in the van on and off all day, so I use this time to listen to podcasts, webinars, Youtube videos, or video courses to further my blog. Just 30 minutes a day of consistent learning time works wonders when you’re trying to learn a new skill or grasp a new concept!

I also do a lot of blog planning when I’m just driving down the road. I don’t need to be in front of the computer to come up with blog post ideas or think of how to word my next email….I do this on my “offline time” and so when I sit down to actually work, I can just bust out that content!

4. Instead of Watching Evening TV 

I am not a huge TV show person, but I do like to have a regular show to watch and unwind. However, I find that I can get the most work done when my husband is watching his own show and the kids are in bed. My favorite TV show was a necessary casualty of my blogging career. 

5. Bath Time 

My husband and I made an agreement long ago that he would be “bath guy.” We used to get in so many arguments over “whose turn it was” so we agreed he would do baths and I would clean up downstairs/do dishes, etc.

It’s worked out great for blogging! Now when he heads upstairs for bath night, I stay behind, clean up quickly, then get in about 30 minutes of work before it’s time for me to go upstairs to tuck everyone in or tell bedtime stories after they’ve bathed & brushed their teeth. 

6. During Preschool Hours 

Once my oldest two got in school, I still had my little guy at home with me. But he was enrolled in part-time preschool from 9-12 three days a week. So I would often drop him off and work from 9:30 – 11:30 at least 2 out of 3 of those days. The other day I would hit the gym.

7. During Scheduled Playdates

As my kids got older, we did drop off playdates where a friend would come over and they’d all play together outside or in the playroom. Since they didn’t need me to assist with playtime like they did when they were babies, I could use this time to catch up on a small project, like a quick blog post or Facebook posts. Mostly things that take like 30 minutes or an hour. Then we’d spend the rest of the playdate doing a craft or eating a snack, just like normal!

I don’t know about your kids, but when my kids have another kid over to play, they don’t care what I do. (When it’s just me + them, they’re by my side all the time lol) 

Those are just the ideas I have off the top of my head. I’m sure I’ll think of more later!

I’ve been a serious blogger for approximately 3 years and my kids aren’t that old! I’ve had to be VERY creative over the years to get ANY work done!! 

The Key to Making it All Work

What’s not apparent on the surface is that you must chunk down your work in order to get work done in spurts like this. You must also FOCUS like crazy when it comes work time because you may only have 25 minutes to get something done before the house comes crashing down around you! 🙂

As a busy mom, it’s not always feasible to sit down for hours on end to creatively produce a blog post masterpiece. But if you break down the tasks into doable time blocks, you can get a lot done in many different time slots. 

In reality, what it looks like is this – 

• Using a 20-minute block of time while the kids are playing nicely together to write a blog post outline (title + subheadings) on a piece of paper
• Using another 20-minute block of time to write two paragraphs of that blog post on your phone – you can write it as a text note, email it to yourself, add it to Evernote or even dictate it as a voice memo
• Using a 30-minute space of time to add your handwritten outline and separately written paragraphs into your blog post editor in WordPress (this is a great task to do at night after the kids go to bed because it’s easier to focus on the computer when the house is quiet)
• Teaching your 5-year-old to clear the table after dinner so you just found an extra 10 minutes of work time right there (if you’re the after dinner cleaning person like I am). 🙂
• Coordinate your kids’ activities to overlap or be at the same time, and get 25 minutes worth of work done while you wait for them to to finish class. I did this when I enrolled the girls in gymnastics while my son took Tae Kwon Do in the same facility. I would bring my laptop and do work in the hallway! You do what you have to do when you legit have NO spare time except stolen moments like these! 
• Taking a piece of paper or your phone into the bathroom with you when you take a shower (I am not kidding! This is guaranteed golden mom alone time! I know you know what I’m talking about! ….write part of the post for 10 minutes before you get in, think about what else to say while you’re in the shower, then write for 10 minutes when you get out. You can get an entire post done this way! 
• Use a 20-minute chunk of time to find the perfect photo for your blog post and brainstorm captions for it. 
• Use a second 20-minute chunk of time to edit it in PicMonkey.
• Finally, set aside separate portions of time to do the final blog post editing & image uploads. This takes a bit of time and can easily be done in a short focused length of time. 

Additional Tricks – 

• Keep in mind that not every blog post has to be a novel….maybe you could write a list post of the Top 21 whatevers in no time flat while you wait in the doctor’s waiting room? 
• Maybe you are really fast at editing images and don’t need a lot of brain power to do it? Save that for the evening when you’re more tired and do the tougher tasks like writing in the morning! 

You get the idea!

You might be thinking all of this stop and go blogging might take forever. While this style of time blocking might mean you can only get 1 post done every 2 or 3 days, that’s ok! Two or three posts per week is a great writing pace AND keep in mind that 2 posts per week done this way is better than zero posts! 🙂

Consistent Hard Work Pays Off 

If you’re waiting for a magical four hour time block of time to work on your blog before you tackle anything substantial – and you’re a stay-at-home-mom – then I have some bad news for you – you probably won’t get very far!

Finding that kind of time is a luxury, and I’m just guessing, but you probably cannot afford to pay someone to help you as you fumble around and find your way in the blogging world. 

If you (and your budget AND your significant other) are anything like me, then you need TIME. Time to find your way. Time to prove that this is a legit business idea for you. And time to just see what works!

Don’t stress yourself out by trying to find the ideal working situation from the start. You will only become frustrated and write off blogging as a legitimate endeavor that’s “not for you” before you ever had a chance to build real momentum. 

1 Hour Here, 2 Hours There Kind of Thing

What’s cool about blogging is that it’s a 1 hour here, 2 hours there kind of thing. I built up my blog to $10,000 per month fitting blogging into the “in between” hours of the day.

Now that my blog is more established, I can afford to hire a babysitter, so I don’t have to be so strategic with my time. But I still limit my work hours because I know it’s not the quantity of hours that matter…it’s how you use that time.

I hope this was encouraging to you! I want you to keep hold of your dreams to become a full time blogger if you want. Blogging is such a wonderful career if you are willing to put in the effort up front and adopt a work ethic like no one else dares to do, you will have a life no one else dares to imagine! 😀

If you want to start a blog…

But haven’t started one yet, click on the image below to read my Blog Startup Guide online OR click here to request a copy via email if you are on the go and don’t have time to read a long blog post right now! 🙂 

Related Blog Posts

• How to Start a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog (web based tutorial)
• Blog Startup Guide (<= click here to get the printable version – I will email it to you!)
• WhatMommyDoes Income Reports Collection
• How to Know if You’ll Be a Good Blogger
• What to Name Your Blog
• 1st Thing You Should Do After Installing WordPress

Resources:

• Bluehost (webhosting)
• StudioPress (blog templates)

If you already have a blog….

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