How I Go to School, Work Part Time, and Blog Consistently

Man, if I heard those three things in the same sentence two years ago, I'd say, "there's no way." Although, I've listened to some GREAT podcasts and read some GREAT books lately. They helped me believe I could be doing less for my blog and simultaneously building my brand faster. I started by cutting out unnecessary social media tasks and writing blog posts weekly.

To help y'all understand, here's what I have going on weekly: three online classes, ten hours of work (social media marketing), and writing for Bliss Junkie! God literally set this combination in my lap. I wanted to go back to school, but I didn't want to leave my blog behind, and he found the best compromise ever.

I started classes again last summer, so I've been using a similar schedule for almost a year now! I'm so excited to share this with you too, because I feel like I've read limited posts like this. Let's get into it, it's about time you feel confident about your blog schedule!

sunday or monday practice:

I've spent a little time reviewing how I organize my week on Insta Stories, so if you watched that, you can skip the next two sections!

Filling out my planner can make or break my week. Here's an ordered list for how I create my weekly schedule:

• I write down every homework due date for that week. Then, I check every assignment and estimate how long each will take. I put the time frame next to every due date. If it doesn't have a time frame, it's most likely an ongoing project.
• Next, I plug in exactly what day I will be doing which assignment. This way I only have two to three hours of homework a day. It also helps me avoid saying, "I can just do that tomorrow." The following day is already booked with assignments, so each one feels more urgent. After I plug in the day, I put a check mark by the due date signaling that I've scheduled time in to complete it. Along with that, if I keep to my schedule, I don't often have to do any on Saturday or Sunday.
  

TIP: I always count the amount of pages I need to read for the week. This way, I can break them up into a few days. I usually read every other paragraph
in text books and score pretty high on quizzes!

plug in marketing work + blog schedule:

Like I said earlier, I only do ten hours of marketing work a week. I split this up into two hours a day, Monday-Friday. If a blog post ends up taking extra time to write, I skip Monday work and work 2 1/2 hours Tuesday-Saturday.

As for my blogging schedule, I write in when I'll be creating the blog post and my email newsletter. I write blog posts biweekly, so if it's an off week I work on brainstorming and a rough outline. I normally write my blog posts on Monday and newsletter on Tuesday, so I can publish both Tuesday night. For more details on my blogging schedule, check out headline #3, in my post Blogger FAQs People Actually Care About.

social media schedule:

For social media, I like to print out a monthly calendar and write in tasks. Usually, I use the one in my planner, but I like to keep that open for my part time job details. I'm currently in the midst of finding a schedule that is smart and focuses on key engagement. Right now, this is how each week looks for social media:

Tuesday: post an Instagram (this is my day of highest engagement)
Wednesday: share pin from the blog post of previous day (meaning, share to group boards and my personal boards)
Friday: like/comment/follow five bloggers in my niche on Insta (travel, faith, or blogging)
Saturday: contribute to two Facebook groups- Women Winning Online + Female Travel Bloggers (I chose the two groups I thought would do the most for my traffic)

That's it right now! Crazy, right? I feel like I see daily blog check lists and they have like 30 things listed. That's insane. I know this list is pretty tiny, but I'd rather have a few really great things, than a bunch of little tasks that don't do much for me. Those weekly items are mostly because they are the platforms I'm not completely focused on right now.

While I complete this schedule, I'm also hustling hard on Pinterest and growing my email list. Although, if I don't have a bare minimum for the apps I'm not as concerned with, I won't remember to stay active there! This helps me stay organized. If you want INSIDER blogging tips straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter below! I only send out two or three emails a month and I promise they're worth your while! :)

daily routine:

Having a planner and filling it in doesn't mean a thing, if you don't look at it. I keep mine open to the exact week out on my desk. This way, I can't say, "Oh, I forgot to get it out today." My assignments and tasks are in my FACE, so I get a move on right away.

When I wake up, I make coffee, and spend an hour doing devos. I really like it like this because I can pray about homework, energy for work, and blog post ideas. Then, when I sit down to start my day, I feel light and confident to kill my projects.

The first thing I work on is homework. It's my main priority and the morning hours are when I have the most energy. Once my two to three hours is done, I like to take my puppy, Bella, on a walk. It breaks up my day and I always feel really motivated when I get back. This is about the time I jump into an hour of blog work. I usually spend it writing and not on social media engagement, because I can hop on apps when I have low energy.

From there, I do my two hours of online marketing. By the time I'm finished, it's about 6 to 8pm. Around this time I'm pretty tired, so I take a quick nap or engage on social media/respond to emails. Then I fall asleep after an episode of the Fosters lol and that's about it!

an ugly truth:

If you feel like you're super organized and have no extra time, it's time to cut things out girl. Change isn't always easy. Try making a list of your main responsibilities from the ones you love, to the ones you like. Cut out the item on the bottom of the list and see how the week goes. If it's still frantic, try cutting out another thing and so on.

creating content:

When I first started travel blogging, choosing topics were a little nerve wrecking. I didn't have a lot of money and I could only make posts based on trips. After awhile, I noticed I really enjoyed talking about the technical side of travel blogging. That's when I began writing posts about blogging too. I wasn't required to travel as often and I had a whole new world to write about.

About a year and a half ago, I felt God tugging at my heart. I was learning a ton about my faith and I journaled about it daily. I wanted to serve God's kingdom with my blog, but I wasn't sure how. I was praying about it often and soon, blog post titles about faith popped into my head. Not only that, but I felt I had the confidence to actually write about these topics well.

Today, I'd consider myself to have three niches: travel, faith, and blogging. This was such a smart choice. Now, I rarely run out of blog post ideas. Some bloggers may warn you against having more than one niche. However, my traffic has grown tremendously since the switch and my readers come for my writing! As long as you post consistently about each topic, your readers won't have a problem finding more they like on your site.

why the school, job, and blog combo?

Some of you may wonder, "Why did you go back to school, if you knew you wanted to just blog?" Well, at first, I didn't know how close I was to graduating. I had quite a few credits and I thought it'd be nice to have a degree if I ever wanted to stop blogging.

People don't give part time school enough credit, especially when it's ONLINE. Like why didn't I start off college like that? It's so great, I've never been happier! It allows you to have a job and do just about anything extra you want. Plus, you're in full control of your time.

If I was full time student, I wouldn't be able to blog. Remember to think creatively as possible and pray for a better schedule along the way. This combination did not come to me by accident. I went through two jobs and a few semesters before I could figure out what God was calling me to do.

Thanks for reading guys, I hope this post motivates you to create a KILLER blogging schedule. I know you can do it!

If you found this post helpful, PIN IT AND SAVE IT FOR LATER!

You may like these posts too, if you're working on your blogging game:

• 12 Killer Tricks for Mastering Pinterest
• Six Things You Need to Know Before You Hit Publish On Your Blog
• 11 Things I've Learned as a Blogger This Year