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I’ve always loved those “How I Work” features on Lifehacker and Day in the Life series’ of other bloggers around the web, and I thought with our month-long Blog Extravaganza, I’d let you in on how I work, and blog, and freelance, and live, and do stuff, and plan a wedding… and eat, occasionally 🙂
In case you haven’t checked out my About Me page, I do work full-time in the budget section of my organization (shout out the spreadsheets!) In addition to working full-time, I have this blog, and I freelance. I love (almost) everything I do, which makes balancing it all worthwhile. However, it’s not easy. Want to see how I balance a hectic schedule as a blogger? Read on!
A Day in the Life: Stuff I Use
My favorite part of the Lifehacker How I Work series is learning what tools and gadgets people use to get work done, so here’s a quick run-down of what I use:
Computer: Mostly my 2010 15 in. MacBook Pro (4 gb) – oldie but a goodie! Occasionally a giant Windows computer B built for me that has a ton of space and a faster processor… but I mostly use it for gaming. Really practical use for such a stellar computer, huh? 🙂
Phone: Recently upgraded to an iPhone 5S. I like how it syncs to my MacBook. Helpful!
Apps/Tools/Software I can’t live without: I’m mostly a minimalist. I’m addicted to Google Drive and the Google “Office” suite. I use DropBox occasionally, but not as much as I should. Last Pass is the best for remembering all sorts of passwords. I use Tailwind for scheduling my Pinterest and Pinterest for clients (I work with Gretchen for the Pinterest Assistant!). Hootsuite for scheduling Twitter. Finally, Whitney English’s Day Designer for LIFE (I love it!)
A Day in the Life: 5:30 – 7:00 a.m.
I’d love to say this is when I’m my most productive, but it’s not even close. I’m a zombie that early in the morning, but I have to get up by 5:30 a.m. for work. I leave the house no later than 6:30 in order to be at my full-time job by 7 a.m. It takes me about 2 cups of coffee in order to make me a functioning being by 7 a.m.
7:00 a.m. – 5:30ish p.m.
My work in budget is constant and fluid, which means I make a list at the beginning of the week of things that must get done, and tackle it according to my energy level. The toughest, most mind-intensive things I do early in the week and early in the day. By Friday, I’m usually just cleaning up any project that wasn’t resolved earlier in the week and getting ready for the following week.
I usually spend short breaks (10 minutes or so) and lunch time brainstorming blog topics and doing research. I try to keep it pretty discreet, since my cube is mostly open for everyone to see. Luckily, everything I research is related to personal finance, so no one is surprised to see me reading something on CNN Money during lunchtime.
I leave work (usually) by 4:30 p.m. Every other Friday, I have off, so the longer schedule (9/80s, for those of you familiar) is worth it for those Fridays off!
5:30-7:30 p.m.
I usually get home around 5 or 5:30, depending on traffic. During my commutes, I try to listen to blogging-related podcasts like Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income and Cynthia Sanchez from Oh So Pinteresting.
I try to give myself around 2 hours when I get home to decompress, hang out with B and Molly, and take care of myself. Depending on the day, I’ll either go to the gym or stay at home and play with the dog while catching up with B. Lucky for me, B is a great cook and likes to cook, so dinner isn’t something I have to worry about.
Going to the gym (or taking the dog for a walk, in the winter) is incredibly important to me. When I first started freelancing, I noticed I was gaining weight and feeling tired all the time, because I was exchanging gym time for work time. Going to the gym a few times a week keeps my mind clear, my clothes fitting, and helps me reclaim some of “my” time. While it may mean I work more on the weekend, I’d rather stress less during the week with a (semi-) regular sweat session.
7:30 – 10:30 p.m.
By 7 or 8, you’ll find me back at work at our kitchen table. It’s not so much as “kitchen table” as it is my work station. The picture below does not do my work station justice: there are usually many more things on it (like my laptop), but this happened after we cleaned and had moved the table. That box in the back corner? Yeah, that’s our wedding invitations and save the dates I still haven’t really looked at… About that…
I try to work until 10 or 10:30 on weeknights. I’m absolutely horrible if I don’t get at least 6 hours of sleep at night, so trying to stay up past then and be functional at work is just not an option. Yeah, bedtime at 10:30! Real party animal here 🙂
My weekends are a little more free. I try to catch up on emails, posts for this blog, and personal development. I still get up pretty early, but more like 7 a.m. and not 5!
The Hardest Part of Juggling Full-Time Work, Blogging, and Freelancing
Okay, before I go further: people who work full-time, blog, freelance, and have kids have it way, way more challenging than I do. In fact, if you’re one of those people, please tell me how you do it, because it seems impossible to me!
The hardest part about balancing full-time work, blogging, and freelancing is actually having a life outside of work. If it were up to me, I’d work 90% of the time, just because I like it. I’m one of those crazy workaholic type people 🙂
But I do have a fiancé and a family (and friends!) I like a lot, so I have to make a conscious effort to make time for them too. Basically, as long as I carve out some time every day and spend a few hours on the weekend, I’m all right. But your results may vary if you have a bigger family or more demanding family members.
On the bright side, I’m more or less too busy to stress too much about wedding planning. Since I have to be organized about my time, I carve out short increments during the week to do wedding “stuff” or make sure I’m on track with planning. Being so busy has made me more efficient at planning vendor visits and dress fittings, too. 🙂
So fellow bloggers, how do you balance blogging with life, freelancing, and full-time work? What recommendations do you have for new bloggers about balancing blogging commitments with life?
It’s sounds like you do a good job with organization, which is key. I don’t know how people do both, or three (if you have kids). I find myself busy enough if I’m just freelancing, so kudos for being able to keep it up!
I love this type of post, too!
I often wonder how some people get so much done in a day,, because I can’t! But then again, I get much much more than 6 hours of sleep each night – I need it! I couldn’t imagine being awake as early as you do all the time… bravo Melissa!
I also work full-time, blog, and freelance, but I have yet to figure out an exact schedule that works for me. Recently I’ve been getting a lot more freelance requests which is a good thing but it requires a lot of work to constantly respond to e-mails and pitch story ideas. I suppose it’s a good problem to have.
Time management is just one of the main secrets. Honestly, sometimes I have a problem when managing my time and I’m working on it.
I’ve always worked a full-time 9-5 and freelanced on the side. I just recently started a finance blog more as a creative outlet than anything else. I’m realizing how important time management is. Especially with a family at home that I want to spend valuable time with as well. It’s a tough balance to achieve but worth it!
Your days sound very organized. I find that the more organized I am, the more I can get done. 🙂
Can I just say that I love your work station? I have a tiny work station so it gets a little cramped. It’s so great how efficient you are with the packed schedule!
You sound very organized and that’s key. I was actually thinking about writing a post like this soon and my day sounds very similar to yours being that I work full time and get off around 4:30, freelance on the side, plus I have a child. It’s not always easy, but I love the work I do and sometimes you just have to make it work. Time management is key. Congrats on getting engaged by the way! I’m glad that you’re not getting too stressed with the wedding planning. It actually sounds like it could be a fun stress reliever and very exciting to prepare for the big day.
This was exactly the post I needed to read! I just started my FT job and I’m trying to continue blogging and freelancing, too! Plus…I do have my two little ones. I’m only two weeks in, but so far I spend my mornings with the girls (and reading/commenting blogs if we’re up early…like today!), go to work, come home and spend time with the family, put the girls to bed, then freelance/blog. I try to wrap up by 9 (so I have from 7-9) so my husband and I can spend time together before bed. I’m always asleep by like 10 haha. I also need my sleep!! I’m honestly not sure how long I’ll be able to keep everything up, but for now I’m doing OK 🙂
I guess I’m lucky that I work from home. Not so lucky that it’s necessary due to health problems, but it definitely makes my life simpler.
I work 8 – 4. For most of the year, emails peter out in the late morning/early afternoon. Only a few come in at a time. So I use that downtime to go read other blogs.
I generally write posts in that time or right after I get off work. Then the computer gets turned off because my husband pouts otherwise.
I avoid freelancing because I’m a huge perfectionist. (I edit my emails. Seriously.) So I spend way too much time on each piece for what you can get on the average freelance job. That frees up a lot of time and sanity, I think.
Whew! Kudos to you for doing all 3. I’m always wondering how bloggers manage to freelance too. I think that break from 5:30-7 or 8 is probably a key for your schedule. Getting a bit of a break makes a big difference. I try to get work done in the mornings, along with an hour or two in the afternoon. In the beginning I worked in the evenings after the kids went to bed, but I’m thankful to not have to do that anymore.
I love getting work done as much as I can in the mornings, too. It’s definitely hard to do work in the evenings when everyone is demanding your time. I wonder if doing all 3, and the stress that can bring, is why some bloggers decide to go off on their own and freelance full time. I’m not entirely sure if blogging, freelancing, and working a full-time (40+ hours a week) job is sustainable for a long time!