“I must write a post, I must write a post.” “What should I write about? Why can’t I think of anything to write about?”
This has pretty much been my train of thought over the past week. At the start of the year I was doing so well with my publishing schedule. I was posting three pieces a week, all of which were over 1,000 words and, I thought, very informative.
My monthly views were going up, people were emailing me out of the blue saying I’d inspired them, and things were generally going well.
So what happened?
Life happened. Paying the bills happened. Trying to find a work-life balance happened.
I’m not a full-time blogger. I don’t make my sole income from this blog – in fact, I only make about £100 a month from it. My actual income is made up solely of freelance work – copywriting and blogging for travel companies and brands.
I love my work, I really do. I get to write about awesome places all day, research destinations, and flex my ever-improving writing abilities. But at the end of the day I’m all written out. Sometimes (read: quite often), the last thing I want to do is write more. I want to get out and about, read a book, and watch television. Basically, I don’t want to sit at my laptop typing away.
This isn’t the case every day. On some days I’m raring to write a post I had an idea for that morning and I’ll churn it out in an hour. Those are the good days – the days where I’m inspired to help you guys, to share my story, and to put down words that I’m not being paid for.
Let me just clarify. Blogging is not hard. So many bloggers claim that blogging is ‘oh so hard’. It’s really not. What’s hard is earning money from it, which is why I’ve branched out into other verticals. I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, especially in an industry that is constantly evolving.
What I personally find difficult, though, is balancing work, life, and blogging. I have to prioritise my paid work because, well, I have to pay the bills. Which means blogging and life take a backseat. When all the paid work is done, I can either choose between blogging and life and, like most human beings, I tend to choose life.
I have to remind myself that I didn’t quit my 9-5 to sit in front of a computer for even longer every day. I quit my job for the freedom and to make it on my own – being tied to my laptop whilst the world is having a tiny party outside was not part of the deal.
But I also have to remind myself to be realistic. If I want to make money and, ergo, pay the bills (and have money for travel), I have to put in the hours. Money isn’t just going to magically appear in my bank account. Which is where the tricky work-life balance comes into play.
The nature of freelance writing is a hard one to master, too. Some weeks I’ll have barely any work and plenty of time to focus on the blog, whilst other weeks I’ll be inundated with paid work with hardly any time to breathe in between. I like this, although it does take some getting used to. It means that it’s difficult to find a blogging routine and really get into the groove with it.
True, I have only been doing this for six months now and I’m sure I’ll find a rhythm that works for me along the line somewhere, but I wanted to share this with you in case you feel like you’re in a similar boat (are you?!).
I know a lot of people who struggle to separate their work and home life, and I know there are millions and millions of people out there who don’t have enough time to do the things they love because most of their week is taken up by work.
Every situation is different and there’s no one-size-fits-all way to juggle everything. If you are in a similar situation just remember that you are not alone. Hundreds of people struggle with this every day and, whilst it might be considered petty, it can actually have a huge impact on your life.
To finish, I thought I’d share some ways in which I try to balance my work, blogging, and life and the ways in which I don’t let it get the better of me when I can’t master it.
Find inspiration daily
I am a strong believer that inspiration motivates us. When I’m inspired I could work for days and days on end without coming up for air. But, on the flipside, when I’m not inspired I struggle to put a single word on paper.
For blogging I have a range of tools I use for gaining post ideas, some of which I covered in this post I wrote for The Write Life. I’m slowly changing the focus of Wanderful World from a niche travel blog to a site where you can come to realise your dreams and start auctioning goals to reach them. This has helped me ten-fold over the past few months as it has provided me with a baseline of ideas to tap into.
When I’m not blogging, I look for inspiration in books, films, and out and about on the street. Even if it’s got nothing to do with work or blogging, I just love being inspired – it gives me a metaphorical kick up the butt to carry on!
Write a to-do list
Lists are literally the lifeblood of my day. I write a list for the week and a list for each day, so when I sit down in the morning I know exactly what I need to do and can get stuck straight in.
I have three separate lists, one for my paid work, one for my blogs, and one for other personal things I need to do. It’s motivating to tick things off, and you can look back and see how much you’ve achieved at the end of each week (something that really helps me believe I’m not stuck in a rut with every single thing I’m doing!).
I also put down the amount of time I think each task will take to do, so I can tally up the amount of hours I need to be focused on it – and how long it’ll take before I can sit down in front of Netflix!
Carve out time
Being self-employed, it’s so easy to tap away at my laptop all day every day. The more hours I put in, the more I get paid. But it also means that I have less time to do other stuff that’s equally as important for maintaining a happy and balanced lifestyle.
At the start of this year I set myself the task of separating working hours from ‘play’ hours, and so far it’s worked pretty well. In the mornings I work on my paid freelance gigs, either until my to-do list is done or until five o’clock. Then I’ll step away from my laptop, close all my work, put away my to-do list and either work on the blog or do something else.
I know, I know, I quit my 9-5 job so I wasn’t working 9-5, but in reality these really are the best hours to work – who’d have thought it!? I work best in the mornings and I like to get all my essential work out of the way first so it’s not on my mind for the rest of the day.
Don’t be too hard on yourself
There have been so many times when I’ve felt guilty for missing a blog post or because I’ve gone a day without tweeting anything. And then I have to remind myself that I’m the person pushing myself to do this – no one else. No one else really cares if I miss a post, right?!
I have to remind myself that I started blogging because it’s fun and a personal portal where I can write about my experiences and offer (hopefully good) advice to you guys. No one’s forcing me to do anything with it and it’s okay if I don’t stick to a tight schedule or send out my Instagram’s at the right time.
One of the best things you can do to improve your work-life balance/your earning-blogging balance is to go easy on yourself. Allow yourself to make mistakes and to veg out in front of the television for hours on end.
This is all part of the process.
Remember, everything in small doses is absolutely fine!
Tell me, how do you balance your work and life? Do you struggle to draw the line between blogging and your job? Share your experiences in the comments below – I’d love to read them!
Terrific piece, Lizzie! My head was nodding in agreement the entire time reading. I too am experimenting with different daily schedules to accommodate my freelance writing, personal blogging, and triathlon training. I just wrote a post about a new routine..helpful to read how others structure their day when they control it. Thanks!
Thanks David! I hope you find the right schedule for you 🙂 I’m heading on over to your post now to have a read!
This post is great. I love how honest you are about everything and the solid advice.
I’m in the 9-5 desk job routine right now, and have been playing with the idea of branching out into freelancing (if I can manage) during my next backpacking trip. It’s great to read a post that actually gets into some real details, with a very relatable perspective. Cheers 🙂
Marie @ Marie Away recently posted…Here’s Why You MUST Visit Newfoundland
Glad you liked it Marie! Let me know if you have any other questions about breaking into the freelance world 🙂
how do you get freelance for travel sites to blog?
kate recently posted…Ripped Me off $5
Hi Kate! I’m not really sure I understand your question – do you man how do I find freelance work?
I can relate – I have 70 articles waiting to be published on my blog :((
I want to be sure though that when I publish those articles, I am 100% happy with them. When I have been writing all day for other people, my head is literally swimming and I just can not focus.
Just started experimenting with 1 day purely for my blog. Hoping it works!
Natalie recently posted…Best Places To See Ottoman Houses in Turkey
I completely agree Natalie! I’ll be able to churn out a post when all my paid work is out of the way but it’s never up to the standard I want it to be, so it remains in my drafts until a later date… rinse an repeat!
Dedicating 1 day to your blog is a great idea, I’m looking into ways I can maximise time on my blog and personal projects so that I can build them up and monetise them.
Awesome. awesome. awesome. Thanks so much for writing this. So much of what you said resonates with me. I am a freelance copywriter who has just started blogging. I haven’t tried to monetize my blog because that seems to stressful right now. I’m just using it as a portfolio that I can send my potential clients to. Plus I really just wanted to write about my own interests and passions and not have to worry about SEO and all the stuff that goes along with my paid work.
With an unlimited amount of work waiting, it’s been tempting to type away all day. I’ve been ending each day bleary-eyed and wondering if I really want to do this. You really helped put it in perspective for me. My new goal is to find a bit of balance.
Tara recently posted…Awesome Living History Museums for Interactive Learning
So glad this has helped you Tara! I’ve been ending the day in a similar way so I’m currently experimenting with ways to find that ever-elusive balance! Good luck with it 🙂
WOOHOO – thanks Lizzie! #HUGS
Take your own advice and go easy on yourself. You are doing a phenomenal job of sharing your love for words, travel and LIFE through your freelance work AND your personal blog!
Your readers don’t mind waiting a bit to read your ah-mazing posts – because you are so very worth the wait! <3
As for schedule, I am struggling. I create a new structure every week, but haven't been able to find one concrete schedule that works for me! :- (I would LOVE to read and exercise more though 😀
OODLES of love
Kitto
Thanks so much Kitto! Sometimes we’re our own worst enemies, right?!
Good luck with finding a schedule that works for you 🙂
You really hit the nail on the head with this post. I don’t freelance, but I do work full-time as a copyeditor, so I spend most of my day looking at a computer screen, typing, writing, and editing. By the time I get home I’m so ready to get my hands off a keyboard and doing something else. I’m fairly new to blogging, so I’m still trying to find the times when I actually like to do different blogging tasks. For example, I’m too tired to write when I get home, but I don’t mind replying to comments or connecting with others on social media. Sunday mornings are pretty relaxed, so I like to write and schedule posts during this time. Another thing I’m finding is that because blogging is similar to my day job, it’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing blogging as work. I have to remind myself that it’s a hobby I do for fun, and it should feel fun most of the time. Thanks for sharing this! It really hit home for me today. 🙂
Brittany Bergman recently posted…Sunburned in Santa Monica & the Magic of Malibu
Hi Brittany! So glad that this isn’t just the case for me. I love that you’ve found a system that works for you and it sounds like a good one, too 🙂 Keep up the great work!
what a great post and helpful reminder!!!
xo welltraveledwife.com
emi recently posted…venturing to vancouver
Glad you liked the post Emi!
Great post Lizzie! I too have been flitting between Brighton (where my mother lives) and Barcelona (where I’ve spent the past 5 months). Two awesome places!! I agree that it’s really tough to prioritise work over blogging and vice versa. One thing that helped me was going and doing a workaway where I was completely in the middle of nowhere with no distractions! It was brill (see post below). Anyway, keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your tips!
Rachel (Digital Gypsy) recently posted…Can you be a digital nomad AND do volunteering stuff?
Brighton and Barcelona – the best combination! A distraction-free workaway sounds absolutely bliss right now – that’s definitely something I’d like to do in the not-too-distant future. Heading on over to your post now to read about your experience 🙂
I found your blog through this post and I love it! Keep up the awesome work. It’s certainly not easy to be working full time and blogging, I know this article inspired me, as I’m in the same rut… I’m sure it inspired many others as well
rebecca recently posted…Everything ends, that is what gives it meaning
Glad you like it Rebecca! I hope you manage to get out of your rut 🙂
This is such a great post! I thought I was the only one going through this. I give my best to my paid work so I feel like I’m just phoning it in sometimes to my own blog. That’s also not good because that’s where I send clients to get a feel for my work. It’s like a catch 22. I’m also a crazy listing person. I actually have a blog about brain-dumping now that I need to finish. Haha! One thing I’ve decided to do is work on my own blog on weekends (including batching social media) since that’s when I’m most creative and do client work during the week. Thanks for sharing!
Oh you’re absolutely not the only person going through this, Nia! I started treating my blog like a client at the start of this year (one of my business New Year’s resolutions!), and since then I’ve been much more rigorous with my schedule. I plan in advance when I’m going to write posts and I set time aside, just like I would if it were a client. Let me know how you get on!