Mommy bloggers are a growing force in the blogosphere. A report from eMarketer documented that in 2009 there were 3.7 million mommy bloggers in the U.S alone. Those numbers are expected to grow to 3.9 million this year and eMarketer predicts the number of mommy bloggers in the U.S. will reach 4.4 million in 2014. As Moms multi-tasking and finding the time to write must be difficult. Today’s guest blogger Shondra Walker gives some advice on how to balance motherhood and blogging. Thanks Shondra.
A few weeks ago, I was emailing a former coworker who is on her way to becoming a Stay at Home Mom. She asked me if I was enjoying staying at home and what I did for fun. So I told her.
Her response: “Blogging? Ha. There’s no way I have time for that.”
I totally understand where she’s coming from. As mothers, we are constantly finding new ways to manage our time. If we spend too much time blogging, then we begin to neglect more important things such as family time. If we don’t blog enough, then we can’t become successful. We all know that blogs that are only updated a few times a month take longer to gain momentum.
So how can we find that ever-elusive balance of time?
I’ve created an acronym for the word Blog. It will help us remember a few simple steps we can take to make the most of our writing and blogging time.
B-Blunt
L-Log
O-Organize
G-Get Going!
1). Be BLUNT with yourself. How much time can you really spend on your blog? I’ve read some posts by professional bloggers who claim to spend 8 hours a day on their blog. That must be nice but there is no way I could ever dedicate that much time to mine. If I am blunt and honest with myself, I can spend 2 hours a day-one hour during my son’s naptime and another hour after he goes to sleep at night.
How much time can you spend on yours? Once you know how much time you can spend, you’ll be able to use that time more wisely.
2). LOG your activities. Make a running list of everything you need to get done during the day. Do you need to do laundry, empty the dishwasher, and vacuum? Write those things down and then get them done before your blog time. Once you get the little tasks out of the way, you’ll be able to focus on your blog. With a clear head, your writing will be concise and more effective.
3). ORGANIZE your writing, ideas, and photos. Blog ideas come to me at very random places-the shower, while I’m driving, vacuuming, or even while watching an MMA match (yes, I watch MMA with my husband). It’s very tempting for me to grab a post-it, write down the idea, and then stick it somewhere, but that would drive my husband crazy and would not be very efficient. Instead, I keep a WORD document open on my laptop and put all ideas in that one place.
Keeping my ideas in one place, my photos organized on my computer, and then taking time to ensure that my writing is organized is essential to maximizing the time that I have to blog.
4). GET GOING. When the time to write approaches, it is easy for me to procrastinate. I start browsing Twitter and get sucked in or last night’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy starts calling my name from the DVR. Before I know it, my writing time has come and gone and I haven’t accomplished anything.
The number one thing that can take away the time you have to write is procrastination. Don’t become another one of its victims.
