Friday, March 4, 2011

Happy Weekend + Inspiration + Work

Happy Friday! This week, I've been struggling with inspiration. Do you ever have weeks like that? I'm surrounded by images and visual stimuli but I'm also tired after a full day of work and wish I had more time to put into the blog. If someone ever tells you that working full time and keeping up with a blog is easy, don't believe them because it's a lie! Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and although I feel like I have two full time jobs, I think I'd go mad if I didn't have the blog as an outlet for creativity. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to the weekend and recharging my batteries. I'm curious though, are there any of you out there that work full time and blog daily? How do you keep up with it all? I've been doing this for over two years now and I have some tips of my own (which I would be more than happy to share if you're interested?) but I'd love to hear what you have to say. xo

22 comments:

Robin Baron @ Simplifying Fabulous! said...

What a lovely inspirational quote! I hope you recharge in full this weekend. working and blogging DOES drain you!

Adventures in Dressmaking said...

Yes, that's me! I started my blog when I was underemployed and bored and now that I have a great job I love, I still want to blog!

I would love to answer this question more thoroughly but I don't have time this second (ironic!!!) so will have to come back!

Maggie Rose said...

I work PT (32 hours) but have a ridiculous commute, so I'm away from the house longer than I'm at house M-Th. I try to cram a ton of stuff for the blog and my design clients into the weekend, plus having a life, seeing my boyfriend in daylight, and trying to fix up our house (which is blog and pleasure rolled into one). It can be exhausting, but I don't plan to do it forever. Something's gotta go, and it's not going to be the blog! My best tip is to plan things in advance, stay organized, and schedule "off or unplugged" time. When I'm disorganized I start getting overwhelmed and don't know what to work on next, which means I'm not getting a break and jumping from thing to thing. It's a tough balance, but worth it to be part of the blogging community!

maizie clarke said...

I'm just starting out, but I've really enjoyed working on my blog (almost) daily and working full time. I start a lot of posts and keep them in draft form so that when I'm feeling less than motivated to write something new, I already have something to go with. I've really enjoyed reading your blog and would love it if you became a follower of mine!

Mango Gal said...

This year it will be three years that I've been blogging and it's been particularly difficult to stay consistent this year. I currently have a huge project that I am working on and it's taking a lot of time, top it off with the fact that I work full time and have to keep my house together.

I think I'm going to start planning out my week's posts and if possible, write them a day or two in advance, versus day of, to make sure I keep my blog running smoothly. It's an important creative outlet for me and I don't want to let it fall by the wayside.

Jessica said...

Blogging with a full time job is the MOST draining! The past couple of weeks have really been hard for me to muster up the inspiration to post something. NY Fashion Week really took it out of me, and I haven't slowed down since.

Advice? hmm... I like having one of my blog crushes Guest Post. It gives me a break, and added diversity to my blog. Win Win!

Unknown said...

Sometimes finding inspiration is hard, especially so when you're working for a client and can't wait for inspiration to strike. I definitely notice I'm more creative at night for some reason.

Anonymous said...

I do what Chic Done Cheap does; I just copy and paste links into drafts on my blog as I find them, with a few notes to myself about why I liked them. Often I end up combining two draft ideas to one post.

I work a full-time job and a part-time job, with anywhere from 1.5-3 hours a day in the car, but hobbies are what keep me sane so I have to literally schedule them in.

I'm not married and I don't have kids or a pet so that helps. Sometimes I just have to rearrange the social calendar to make time for MY calendar.

Anonymous said...

Also, yes, please share your tips!

Pinecone Camp said...

I know exactly what you mean. I shoot lifestyle and interiors stories for mags, and sometimes it can be an over load of visuals. I wish we lived closer so we can chat about it all!
Have a nice weekend.

Carol@TheDesignPages said...

I don't even know how one does that? I tip my hat to anyone who has the energy and endurance for work and blogging. Having said that, you do a fantastic job of making it look easy. I would love to hear some of your tips!! Hope you feel recharged after the weekend.

Rebecca said...

I work 30+ hours/week and I'm a full time student and I have a boyfriend (who requires a lot of time :D)...I blog every day, but only just started (and am loving it!)! I do what several have already mentioned - save links/ideas/inspirations as drafts...and have an ever-growing database from which I can draw.

I also try to have productive weekends...get lots of rest, but also work on diy projects, go thrifting or somehow get charged & inspired for the week ahead!

herecomesthesun said...

From reading the comments I think it's pretty safe to say we all have days or weeks where we feel that way! I know I definitely do!

Pretty much what I do is, if I'm having a day where I'm finding a lot of great stuff, I go ahead and schedule a few posts because I like to do it while I'm enjoying it and having fun and feeling inspired. Because the hardest thing for me is to try and churn out a post when nothing is coming together how i want it to and i just get frustrated. So i try to eliminate that by scheduling enough on my good days that on my bad days i can have the freedom to just walk away and do something else.

Claire Kiefer said...

I want your tips! I work full time AND part time and try to blog daily (usually not on Sundays) though I skipped today (and skip days occasionally) cause I'm too busy. Plus, I love reading blogs so that takes up a lot of time as well. What are your secrets?

Diana said...

i'm subscribing to the comments on this. i need advice, too @_@

Adventures in Dressmaking said...

I definitely schedule posts ahead of time, too, and write things and save them up. The thing about having a sewing/DIY blog is you have to DO the stuff before you can blog about it; that's the real issue. If I sew three things over the weekend, there's three blog posts for the week! So I guess it's about power weekends!

Samantha said...

Yup, full-time plus but I only blog a few times a week rather than daily. I remind myself that nobody dies if I don't post for a few days.

Andrea said...

Full time as well, with a pretty long-ish commute...While I've never been an every-day poster, I like to put up at least a few posts a week.

I'd love to hear how others manage to maintain their motivation and manage their time...as much as it pains me to do so, I've found my blogging is the first thing to go when I get too busy or tired.

(It's been a particular struggle of late, but I'm hoping it's just a case of the winter blues).

designchic said...

We all need a little weekend for recharging the battery...hope yours is wonderful and relaxing!!

Callie Grayson said...

Yes, I have times like that!
I work about 50 hours a week and post monday through friday, but I research and get it all ready on Saturday then review my binder (yes, I have a binder with monthly tabs) the morning so it's easier to post. But most of the work is done on Saturday morning.
makes it easy. I also take the binder with me through the week to add inspiration and links that I may find that relate to posts.
xx
callie

lucy@fourwallsandaroof said...

Some great tips here for those of us who are over-scheduled! I always feel bad that I can't post enough - if it's twice a week, it's a good week. But then again, I work (in a completely different industry) about 60 hours a week and have two kids (4 and 10 months) and a husband who also works the same hours so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad...

merola+moya said...

I have been struggling with this! Working over 45 hours per week plus commuting 4+ hours a day (yeah, that's not a typo!) Plus husband, house and 3 cats it is hard to post more than 2x a week usually. Also I think when you work in a creative field sometimes you are just plain burnt out on creativity by the end of the day.
I am working on big lifestyle changes for my future that will make everything more balanced!
For full time workers who blog daily- you are awesome and I want some of your energy!

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