Pursuing Your Passion While Still Working 9-5

I believe that we make time for the things that matter most to us. Although it’s challenging to make time for blogging when you’re still working a 9-5 job, it is possible. Grab your calendar and a pen/pencil, and read my suggestions below.

Mark Weekly Tasks On Your Calendar

If you work 9-5, write that down. Also, jot down your commuting time each day as it’s difficult and illegal to write while driving. I work from home, so I wrote 8-5, Monday – Friday.
What else do you have to do each week? Help the kids with their homework after fixing dinner? Write that down as well. Do you work out at the gym, run, or take a basketweaving class? Write all of it down on your calendar. I wrote prayer on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm and Bible study on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm. I also marked time down to write my Bible study lessons.

Now, be honest and write down all the times you check your personal Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. Write down how long you sit in front of the television. Write down how long you sit on the phone chatting with your girlfriends.

Let’s not forget that we need sleep. So make sure you write down resting times. I know some of you are getting discouraged already. I hear you, “Aretha – I’m simply too busy to work on my blog.” Stay with me for a second.

Prioritize Your Tasks

Go back through the items you wrote down and circle the necessary ones, the ones on which there is no compromising. Underline the ones you probably need to complete, although they aren’t a priority. Place a star by those that aren’t necessary, but you enjoy doing them (Checking Facebook, watching television, etc.). I spend a LOT of time scrolling through social media, so I placed stars next to those.

Carving Out Time

Now that you’ve placed stars beside the unnecessary items that you enjoy, we will start there. How many of those items did you mark? Cross out half of them and replace them with “Work on Blog.” You thought I would say get rid of all of them, didn’t you? All we’re trying to do is carve out time; you still have to enjoy life. Depending on how serious you are about growing your blogging business, you can always cross out all the items with a star and write in “Work on Blog.” It’s totally up to you.

Carving Out More Time

Now that we’ve gotten rid of the things that were stealing your time and replaced them with “Work on Blog,” let’s find more time on our calendar.

• Wake up 30 minutes earlier and meditate so that ideas can flow.
• Go to bed 30 minutes later and commit that time to work on your blog.
• Pack your lunch, and then spend your lunch hour eating and working on your blog.
• If you commute alone, buy a digital recorder (or use the record feature on your phone) and record your blogs while you’re driving. You can type them later. You can record any time you’re alone. I recommend alone because it’s rude to whip out your recorder while at dinner with friends.
• If you have a vacation coming up, spend some of your vacation time building your blog or business.
• If you commute on the bus, make sure you take your notebook, iPad, or computer with you every day. Your time on public transportation is valuable planning, outlining, or writing time. Like your cell phone or wallet, your notebook should be with you. You never know where you’ll be when inspiration hits. 

• Weekends, or your days off, are great opportunities to get housework done and work on your blog.
• Write while waiting for your kids outside their schools. I make a point to arrive at my daughter’s school 15 minutes early to write.
• Work on your blog while your kids are doing their homework.
• Work on your blog while dinner is in the oven.

Since starting my blog, I’ve “sacrificed” a lot of my personal time. My husband, children, church, and full-time job are priorities, and I won’t compromise those areas. However, I spent a lot of time on social media, and I always took LONG naps Sundays after church and some days after I logged off my work computer (I’m a cancer survivor, and I still experience a lot of fatigue).

Working on my blog has energized me, and I don’t nap like I used to. In addition, I go to bed later and wake up earlier to work on my blog. I carry my notebook everywhere I go.  The time we sacrifice now will pay off for our readers and us in the long run.

As you look at your calendar now, have you been able to carve out at least an hour each week to work on your blog? If so, GREAT! If not, keep working on it. If your blog matters to you, you’ll find the time to work on it.