I want to know y’alls secrets. Let me first say I am LOVING this blogging thing. But, I’ll be honest here and tell you I haven’t cleaned my house in 2 weeks since this all began. I straighten things up, but the vacuuming and dusting have not been done. The laundry has been done, but the clean clothes sit in the dryer for a few days and I keep hitting the “refresh” button to get all the wrinkles out. I can say as of today though, the laundry is actually folded and all put away. :)
How do you find the time to keep good content your readers will like, comment back to fellow bloggers, link up to all the blog parties, do your projects, take care of your house, take care of your husband, and your kids? It’s a lot! There are many other things I didn’t list but I’m sure you get the idea.
I’ve been doing things when my little girl is napping, and then do everything else when she is asleep for the night. I haven’t been going to bed till 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. every night, and that makes for a very tired momma the next day until I get my burst of energy late in the night. Does everyone stay up this late??
So, I would love to hear how you all do it and any tips would be appreciated! I know there has to be a balance somewhere. :)
xxoo
Decorchick!
I just asked the same question on 2 days ago? I’m not sure there is a good answer, because blogging it seems, is an entity all on it’s own!
I typically post 5 days a week anywhere from 5-6:30 am, after Husband leaves for work and our 3 kids are still sleeping.
I comment sporadically, when I am home and not at the office. In my post I talked about the time it takes just to read AND comment on my favorite blogs, like I said, it takes time.
I think you have to balance it all, not letting your blog (or anything else) consume you!
Good luck! :)
Thanks Suzanne, you’re so right. I forgot to mention that I LOVE sleep. I need sleep. I crave it. So getting up early isn’t an option for me! :)
It does take a lot of time, but it’s worth it.
Believe we all understand. Blogging is a time consuming venture for sure.
I think it all depends on what your overall goal is as well. Is it going to be income through advertising for you or is it purely for the fun of it and meeting new friends? For me it’s the latter and that takes the pressure off so to speak. I do try to be courteous and answer ALL who comment on my posts. I really appreciate my friends and followers and I let them know often.
Since we have no children I know I have more time than most though.
The bottom line is enjoy it. Have fun! Relax and be yourself. Comment and post only when you have the time. You don’t have to post everyday. No rules here in blog land. You are a sweet person with many great decorating ideas and many bloggers are taking notice. I just adore your blog!
Blessings to you this weekend. ~Melissa :)
Thanks so much Melissa, you’re such a sweetheart! I wish you lived closer. :) I love meeting all of these new people and creating new friendships. Couldn’t be any better.
*hugs*
I know exactly where you are coming from. I must say now that the weather is nicer, I’m finding I have less time for blogging and crafting. I try waiting til my boys are in bed to get things done but at the end of the day, I’m tired too.
I found in the winter when we’re all trapped in the house, it was easier but now that it’s more about outdoor family time, I find time flies by much too quickly.
Everything I do now is in pieces/time slots. If the boys are playing outside, I may try to spray paint something in the garage. If the boys are playing in the basement, I might try to sew something. If one boy is in school and the other is playing, I try to blog, etc. I’m finding as long as I go with my children’s schedules/activities, it makes it a little easier. But yet I’ve been caught blogging at 1 a.m. too!
Jeanine
That’s true Jeanie, I didn’t think about the seasons, but that makes sense.
So yea, I’m sure you will still be getting comments from me at 1 a.m. Ha!
I too have a hard time balancing it all. I just addressed this issue in on my blog yesterday. Rather than write out a rather lengthy rerun here, you can go to
http://greenwillowpond.blogspot.com/2010/06/im-taking-up-challenge.html
It may be quirky, but it works pretty well for me.
Thanks Deborah, about to go check it out! I like quirky. :)
Hi! I’ve been wondering this myself. Some weeks are better than others. I try to type out a few posts at a time when I can and then post them through out the week. Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your sweet comment! I’m now a new follower:)
Thanks Suzanne, I’m following you also. Getting all the posts together for the week would be ideal…maybe I will try that. Thanks!
I wish I had some words of wisdom for you but I do not. I am refluffing my laundry for the 2nd time as I type! I have a serious need to get the vacuum out and my dirty bathrooms are calling out to me. I did do yard work today though!
Hahaha! I am hoping tomorrow I can get the vacuum out since today I opted for a 2 hour nap instead. :)
I wish I could answer you. I’m struggling the same. I’m trying to be at the computer a few set times during the day, but I’m having a hard time sticking with that. If you get any great answers, I’d love to hear them!
Oh Jen, that would be so difficult for me to have set computer times. I just do it here and there, but all day long. If I could get the posts drafted for the week like Suzanne suggested, that sounds good to me. But not sure if that will happen or not since I am scatter-brained and will start on a totally different project and decide to post that one instead. Arghh!
So funny becuase I too feel the same way — in fact my hubby asked why the house had gotten so messy lately (I had remnants from projects and crafts everywhere!)
I don’t have a ton of good advice — but I’ve been doing a few little “projects” to make up one big project and using each small to-do as a post. I also do most of my posting on Sunday nights and I schedule them for the week.
Your blog is doing fantastic, though! Keep up the hard work!!
Man, thank goodness my husband hasn’t said anything…yet. Then I’d feel like total poo! I have remnants all over the house too. Right now we have burlap covered carpet. :)
Scheduling all the posts on Sunday night sounds great.
Thanks for the sweet comments, you’re awesome!
I am also new to blogging, 1 month today actually, I did a post 2 weeks ago on the very same thing. I had to set rules for myself, such as not turning on my laptop until I have my everyday chores done, we now have clean clothes again, lol!! I am also in the process of joining the gym so I get some exercise & my 3yr old & I both interact with real people. I also have a ban on blogging between 5.30pm & 7.30 pm so I can cook do homework & more chores. I love the idea of drafting all posts for the week on 1 day , that leaves time then to comment & read the other blogs. We will have to keep encouraging each other on this one cause blogging is FUN!!!
Yay on your one month anniversary! You’re rules are very wise. But man that’s the first thing I want to do when I wake up!
And yes, once me and my daughter start a few classes this summer, that will help I’m sure so we can interact also and get out of the house! Just hope I don’t bring my laptop with me. ;)
Thanks for commenting! Lets keep encouraging each other for sure.
I blog just Monday-Friday, and always take the weekends off…for my own sanity. Blogging can be very addicting…both keeping your own and reading others. I follow a lot of blogs, but have cut back on the amount of time I spend reading them. I also do my blog entries the day before, and set them for 12:01 AM publishing, that way I’m not rushing to get one put out first thing in the morning. Another thing I do is take a mini vacation away from my blog every now and then…so I can return fresh and with new material. I have limited myself to 1 or 2 times a month where I add a craft to linky parties…any more than that, and I’d be on this computer all of the time. There have been times (recently too) where I’ve thought about ending my blog…but have nixed that idea because it’s a great way for me to keep family and friends up to date with what’s happening…and I’ve also made some great friends along the way, that I’d never have met if it weren’t for my blog. I can go on and on, but in all honesty…if you find your “life” is being put on hold because of blogging, then it needs to be treated like a job, where you set certain hours to work on it. I too have been guilty of dishes piling up and dusting and vac’ing being put on the back burner…and yes, that bothers me. The other biggie I can recommend…take a few days or a week every now and then and call it a vacation from blogging…if you’ve got followers, they will be there when you get back. Hope some of this helps.
Thanks so much for your advice. A break here and there would be great. I get my posts ready at night too so then in the morning all I have to do is hit publish, so at least I’m not getting posts ready in the morning. That would be way too difficult.
Thanks again! Maybe I should set some hours. :)
*hugs*
Make it easier on yourself, and click on ‘post options’ when you are writing your blog entry and pre-set the time for your blog to be published. That way if you get caught up with other things, you’ll be assured that your blog entry won’t be forgotten!
Yesterday was actually my one month anniversary! It’s been a wild ride. I’m guilty of being up late on a work night trying to finish up a post and I’m training myself to get away from it. I started this new thing where as I’m working on a project, I’ll start writing my post and adding pics as I go along. (The laptop is usually not even a foot away from me anyway!) That way, when the project is finished, so is the post! It’s worked well on the smaller projects, not so well on the bigger ones. Also, if I only commit to no more than two posts a week, that gives me time to respond to comments, comment on other blogs and do the linky parties too.
I *heart* your blog!!!!
T.bird
Yay for you!! You and Trish started at the same time! That’s a good idea too for the smaller projects, to do it as you go. That’s hard too though since I do most of my things at night, and don’t want to use flash for the pictures. Arghh! I think I’ll just have to admit that I’m a night owl now and there’s no getting away from it. :)
I heart your blog and heart you!
Balance is a tricky thing. I try to remind myself, that if I have LOTS of blogs that I follow, then my followers probably do too. This being said….if every one of them posted daily I would never get through all of them. Some people have time to post daily but I couldn’t go through my favorites and tell you which ones. Take it easy on yourself and remember that your family is the most important thing! It is easy to get wrapped up in this blog world but it will roll right along if you take time for you and your family. Good luck finding that balance.
Thank you so much Melinda, you’re so sweet!
Rats!! I thought someone would have a magic answer. Its 12:15 am , I haven’t blogged in a few days due to the kids being on summer va-ca and I need some sleep to photograph a baptism at noon. So I guess we’re all in the same boat! I am following you now. I love your blog! I found you by reading New Nostalgia! Good Luck and when you figure it out…let us all know!
Hugs–Karina
Thanks Karina, I’m a follower too. Today I’ve been doing bits and pieces of lots of things, and I just feel really busy. Weird. Thanks for visiting from New Nostalgia!
You made me so excited!! thanks for following and for the advice, I’m not going to beat myself about it, then it loses its “funness” right?!
Thanks so much!
hugs!
karina
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting on my wooden lamp makeover. To answer your question, I don’t think there really is an answer. It’s so hard to find a balance b/w work, family and YOU but I just figure it out as I go. I think keeping your priorities in mind you can start to set goals. I have been doing mine one month at a time and posting them on TO DO lists on my blog. This motivates me to accomplish things {speaking of which I think I’ll post my June TO DO list right now! Good luck :-)
-Desiree
Ha, a to-do list is a good idea too. Thanks for visiting. :)
I still am so new to this I wing it…but I am finding that getting up in the am and reading the days posts give me a jump in the blogging world and naptimes I clean up my very small posts. I read somewhere that they plan there posts two months in advance. I am starting to keep an idea file and taking short notes at night. Other than that, load up on the coffee and fold laundry as needed. Good luck, I am enjoying your blog.
Thanks so much Annelise. I’m just wingin it too. :) If I had a maid I would feel a lot less guilty. :)
When I first started, I logged 10 hour days for at least a month or more. It took awhile to get my layout the way I wanted it, all my plugins installed, and also it takes awhile to figure out a good system for keeping track of blogs, leaving comments, etc. Eventually you’ll get into a rhythm.
Also, don’t tell anyone, but I haven’t done a craft in at least two weeks. Yup. I’m serious. I do all my crafts in unison and will get like 10 lined up. Then I take a break and blog about those crafts over the next several weeks.
I’ve got at least 6 posts ready to blog about with the pics already edited and added to my flicker. I’ve also got at least 4 more blog posts sitting in my iPhoto ready to be edited and uploaded to flicker. And then I’ve got at least 10 half finished projects that I’m still working on.
Sometimes when I do a post it’s from something I’ve made a month ago!
Also, when I have time if I’m not being lazy I’ll write several posts at once and save them as drafts and then just post them when I’m ready for a new post. I try to do at least 2-3 crafts or recipes a week, plus a giveaway (which the sponsor usually writes) and a link party.
I’ve been slacking lately though. I need to pick up the pace. I’m moving in 2 weeks though and have been busy packing and getting ready for that.
You will eventually find some balance. Also, you can take one big project and drag it out into several posts like what Thrifty Decor Chick does. She’s redoing her kitchen and is blogging about it all along the way instead of just doing one post.
Also, something that I have to constantly keep in check is that I get really stressed out about my numbers and if I’m posting enough and I feel like I’m in this big rat-race. I have to step back, take a deep breath, and s-l-o-w down. This blog is for me, and if others like it that is awesome. But I really try to not let myself get all wrapped up in feeling like I’m in a big competition. I just try to do my own thing, and if someone else posts a post that is something that I’ve been working on and I don’t get my idea out there first, so what. Right?
Your blog is great. You are doing a billion times better than most new bloggers. Take a deep breath.
Ohhh, I’m gonna write a post and tell everyone. :)
You sound so organized! Makes me sick!!
And thank you!
Have you seen my blogs? I never have time to update them. Its so sad.
Ha yes. You need to update them per Holly’s and my request! :)
Like Holly can even talk – when she gets a blog herself she can have a vote :P But I did update yesterday. I just don’t think I have much to say that anyone wants to read. Hence my lack of FB statuses as well. Ha