How To Maintain A Profitable Blog While Having A Full-Time Job

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One of the questions that I get asked most frequently is how I maintain a profitable blog while working full-time.

The answer to that? Well, I’m pretty much a zombie.

Maintaining a profitable job while also having a full time job is no joke, and it takes a lot of energy, energy that I sometimes don’t really have.

But I’ve found that by following some of the tips I’m providing here in today’s post, things can be a little easier. We’ve only got so many hours in the day, and when you’re working full-time and blogging on the side, you need to make the most out of those hours.

So here are some of the things I definitely recommend.

Figure out when you’re most productive

This one’s a big deal, okay? Some of us are productive in the morning. Some of us are productive at night. Some of us are most productive at noon during lunchtime. If you want to make the most out of whatever little time you have, you need to figure out when you’re most effective so you can get the most done. Me? I can’t wake up earlier than 6am. I wish I could. I have blogger friends who wake up at 5am and they tell me that they get so much stuff done before work and I’m super jealous. I just can’t. I don’t know what it is, but if I try waking up before 6am it’s a total waste because all I do is hit snooze until it’s 6. So instead, I’ve learned that I’m most productive the second I get home from work. Knowing that, I set aside a good hour when I get home to work on the blog and get things done.

Work on Your Energy Levels

I’ve been working on this a lot lately, because I feel like I’m always out of energy. I mean, I’m 25 years old, for crying out loud! I should have SO MUCH ENERGY! But I don’t. I’m always exhausted, so lately I’ve been trying Energems and I’m loving them!  I used to have to chug cups of coffee every day which was a tad bit too much sugar, so Energems are a great option for anyone needing a little energy pick me up, without having to drink lots of coffee or energy drinks. I just keep a bottle in my purse and I’m good to go.

I’ve found that when I have energy, my work is so much better. Not only am I more focused on the things I have to do, but I’m just ready for anything that comes my way and I find it so much easier to hit all the things on my to-do list.

Just three of these babies contain 133 mg of caffeine, which is the same amount of caffeine in a large cup of coffee. So you can take one, two or three Energems to get the boost of energy you want, whenever you want (or need) it. Like when you have a blogging deadline and need to get that post up ASAP!

Do work in batches

I had been hearing about doing work in batches for a while, and I didn’t really know how I felt about it. Essentially, when you do work in batches, you’re doing ONE task repeatedly. So in our case, we’d be writing blog posts back to back, or spending a whole afternoon just focusing on taking or editing photos. I gave this a shot a few weeks ago and yes, it’s life-changing. Why? Because you end up focusing on what you’re working on and you produce more work. I think it helped me a lot because I found myself less distracted and instead of just creating one blog post a night, I found myself creating 2 and 3 posts back-to-back. So definitely give this one a try because especially when you’re working full-time, you need to make the most out of your blogging hours.

Automate Whenever You Can

I was finding myself looking at my phone three hundred thousand times a day checking social media, so I started using some tools to help automate that process a bit. I’m now using HootSuite to schedule some posts on Twitter and Tailwind to schedule posts on Pinterest. I used to think that using these tools was cheating. Like, unauthentic, even. But it’s not like I’m having a robot write stuff for me that I wouldn’t write. Everything I post is stuff that I write on my own, I just do it in advance so I don’t have to spend all day remembering to post. Saves me a lot of time because I’ll do these on the weekend and then I can spend my days RESPONDING to comments and engaging with my audience instead of focusing my attention on trying to remember to post.

Use Your Breaks at Work Wisely

When you’re working full time and managing any kind of side hustle, you have to use whatever breaks you have wisely. I have a one hour commute on the way to work and a one hour commute on the way home, so I always take that time to work and think about my blog. I listen to a whole bunch of different podcasts. Some that I’m loving right now are Two Inboxes, ProBlogger, Smart Passive Income, and GirlBoss Radio. Even though I HATE being stuck in traffic, I like knowing that I’m being productive. I’ll talk to myself like a crazy person, brainstorm blog posts, and make reminders for myself for things I need to do later. I also fully utilize my lunch breaks. When I was writing Corporate Survival Guide For Your Twenties, I spent my lunch breaks writing. Sure, it’s a lot more fun to sometimes get away from work and relax and just eat your lunch, but when you’re building something you’re passionate about, it’s totally worth it.

Get organized, Have an editorial calendar

Without an editorial calendar, this blog would be a giant blank page. No lie. I’m a hot mess most days, but when it comes to my blog, I try my hardest to be as organized as possible because I don’t have hours and hours during the day to fully devote to blogging. I need to know ahead of time what I plan on posting and on what days I plan on posting so I can schedule the rest of my life around any deadlines that I have. I also need to have a place where I can write notes for myself, so my planner’s my one-stop shop for all my notes.