Blogging is on the rise. Approximately 32 million people in the United States alone are bloggers, which is a 10 million increase from 2014 when it was 22 million people. 

So it’s likely you’re here because you’re a blogger or want to start your own blog. But life can be crazy, and if you’re struggling to balance one or two commitments already, including blogging to the mix seems impossible. 

Perhaps you’re trying to fix content creation with a time-consuming full-time job. How then do you blog effectively with such constrained time without neglecting one crucial activity or the other? 

Take a deep breath.

It isn’t as hard as you imagine, and we’ll show you why.

7 smart tips to make time for blogging with a full time job

Here are seven ways to blog effectively without neglecting your other responsibilities

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1. Draft Your editorial calendar 

Since you can’t spend your whole day typing, it wouldn’t make sense to spend the time allotted for writing on brainstorming about what to write. With an editorial calendar, you can create a clear picture of what you intend to blog about and allocate the time for it.

The editorial calendar will also help you know when you’re running out of topic ideas as it’ll start looking sparse. And this will tell you that you need to brainstorm for new topics, so you don’t run out of blog post ideas completely. 

The idea behind an editorial calendar is to help save time and put your thoughts into words and pictures. You can try out Trello, Coscedule, or even google docs to create your own editorial calendar.

2. Create a workable timetable 

It’s smart to put out specific hours or dates for blogging to ensure you get things done. However, you also don’t want to infringe on your free time as the process may become draining long term.

If you pick out Mondays and Wednesdays at 8 pm, for example, and that’s right after you get back from work, on paper, it may seem achievable. But if your body shuts down after work, crafting a blog post in that state isn’t workable. 

So choose weekends instead, as you’ll be at rest mentally. If you have to be out on weekends for get-togethers and unwinding the week, picking weekends wouldn’t be the best decision. 

Be true to yourself on whether your timetable works with your lifestyle. This approach makes your timeframe easier to follow. 

3. Make out time 

If you tried the ideas so far and just came up with a few spare hours a week, then you may want to create additional time. You can make out time by taking advantage of your break periods during the day. 

If you have an hour lunch break on your full-time break, that’s 7 hours a week of additional time right in front of you.

Most times, we spend those break periods drifting through social media platforms, but you can change that. Eliminating those minor activities means you can make use of those hours for blogging activity. 

For more hours, you can always wake up earlier than usual every day, especially on weekends, when we sleep a little extra. It may not be easy initially, but it’ll be worth it when the results show.

Making time for blogging with a full-time job is only achievable if you are committed to spending a fixed time to your blog.  

4. Emphasize time management 

The modern world is filled with continuous distractions – WhatsApp messages, Instagram, TV shows, there’s a lot to capture your attention. And when you intend to dish out a 4000-word post in 4 hours, you end taking two days to achieve that.  

The solution is to be big on time management by eliminating distractions. Turn off your smartphones, take a snack, so you don’t have to keep getting up to satisfy sudden hunger bouts, and focus on crafting content.  

Most times, it’s helpful to create a workstation in your home as that’ll help install the mindset that it’s time for work. Being conscious of the minutes and hours you have in a day might open some new timeframes to fill with blogging.

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5. Automate promotions 

Blogging is hard work, and one factor that makes it so is content promotion.  But if you barely have time to brainstorm and write content, spending so much time promoting isn’t possible. 

However, with social media posting automation, you can have your social media followers getting updates about your blog posts immediately you hit publish. 

You won’t have to make a Facebook or Twitter post every few hours to notify your followers about your new content. 

With online social media scheduling tools, you can fill out your posting calendar, so the platform automatically shares the content across social media sites at any time you choose. You can hit publish and carry on with other activities. 

You can look at Promo Republic as a social media content calendar that organizes the content and also automate promotion.

6. Write ahead of posting times

Let’s face it—if your weekly schedule is insane, Saturday or Sunday may be the only time you get to sit and write. So why not write content in bulk? You can craft 3 to 4 articles during the weekend and then automate their posting for specific days of the coming week. 

The same applies to your photos. If you need to take personal pictures for your blog posts, then do so in bulk during weekends. Or you could even go the extra mile and do so for a month in line with your editorial calendar.

Running short of content ideas? Here are 25+ ways to find new blog post topics that never fails!

7. Accept guest posts on your blog or interviews

Brainstorming and writing content on your own can get draining when you have limits on your time. If you have a huge deadline to meet up with at the office and you need to focus everything towards that direction, you can keep your audience occupied with fresh content via guest posts. 

Reach out to fellow bloggers in your niche who may be interested in getting your audience to know them and have them write. It’s a win-win situation as you get the content, and they get exposure.

But if you’re uncomfortable about having other people write on your blog, you can always do interviews instead with other bloggers. This means you get half of the content written as answers, and you just have to come up with the questions.

Are you tired of creating content every day? And, still struggling with traffic, sales and subscribers? Check out the concept of ‘Evergreen Content’ strategies with examples, and illustrations to learn exactly how I create content that lives forever on my website. Unlock all proven strategies, ninja tricks and an ultimate guide on creating best content for your readers.

This is a guest post on SMB

Wrapping it up

We’ve seen a lot of ideas on how to keep your blogging dreams afloat with limited time. And, you need to make time for blogging with a full-time job. But remember not to get worked up about the whole process. You need a calm mind to remain creative. So set out time to breathe and see how your efforts are paying off.

Don’t lose sight of your other commitments. The point of making blogging work with such constrained time is that your other responsibilities don’t take the hit for it. 

Have additional tips and ideas on how to blog alongside a full-time job? Leave us a comment!

Heather Redding is a part-time assistant manager, solopreneur and writer based in Aurora, Illinois. She is also an avid reader and a tech enthusiast. When Heather is not working or writing, she enjoys her Kindle library and a hot coffee. Reach out to her on Twitter.