Day in the Life of a Full Time Blogger and Mama

Two weeks ago, something pretty cool happened. I was able to quit my full-time job to stay at home with my girls and blog full-time (well, as “full-time” as one can with little kids at home!).

I loved my day job, but my three little girls needed more of my attention than I was able to give them. Since we relied on my full-time income, I knew I couldn’t just up and quit.

Thankfully, I started a blog 2 1/2 years ago and that little blog (the one you’re reading now) is now producing a part-time income. With a tighter budget and the part-time income from my blog, I was able to quit my full-time job to stay at home with my daughters.

You can read my latest income report here >>

I was also at a crossroads with my blog. With a job, kids, a husband and a house to maintain, there was only so much time I could dedicate to it. And no, I’m not one to get up at 4am to blog considering my kids still wake up at night and my baby is up multiple times. Girl needs her rest!!

In order to grow my blog and take it to the next level, I knew I needed to devote more time to it. The only way that I could create more time was by eliminating something off my plate. Since I can’t exactly pawn off one of my kids (haha), my job was the only thing that could go.

So, here I am: Full-time mama and full-time blogger, ready and anxious to see where this blog is going to take me.

I thought it’d be fun to show you a day in my life, as those are always my favorite posts to read! Without further adieu, here is a typical day in the life of a full time blogger and mama.

A Day in the Life of a Full Time Blogger and Mama

1:00 am – 3:00 am: So, my day starts early. I’m usually up with my five-month old during this time. She’s actually a great sleeper, but has been waking up around 1 am and having trouble getting back to sleep. She goes to bed at 6:30 really easily though, so I can’t complain!!

5:30 am – 7:00 am: The baby usually wakes up again at 5:30 or 6:00 to start her day, ha. If I’m super tired, I hand her to my husband and he takes her downstairs and I sleep until 7. If I’m awake (or if she skipped her 1:00 am wake-up), her and I will head downstairs. I’ll use this time to have a coffee, check emails, and promote blog posts.

7:00 am – 9:00 am: This is actually the most hectic part of my day! My older girls (ages 3 and 4) are up and wild. We make breakfast, play, get their school bags packed, I get ready for the day, I clean a bunch (I’m not sure how this happens but I always end up speed-cleaning in the morning and my house is nearly spic-n-span by 8:30 lol), I pack their lunches, and we head to preschool at 8:30 each morning. I drop them off at 9:00, then head home with the baby (she is with me 24/7).

9:00 am – 12:30 pm: The girls are at school – yes!! The baby and I get home by 9:15 and she is ready to eat. I feed her and play with her until 10:00, and then put her down for a nap. She usually sleeps 1-2 hours, so I use this time to blog. Each day is different – but typically I spend one day writing a post, one day updating older images/posts, one day writing a newsletter, and two days marketing my blog, responding to emails, commenting on other blogs, etc.

12:30 pm – 4:30 pm: I leave to get the girls at 12:30 and we usually stay and play at the school playground until 1:30 or 2:00 if the weather is nice. I LOVE this part of my day! The girls have a blast playing and burning energy while I get to chat with other moms! Once home, I make the girls a snack and shut my computer off. This is something new I’ve been doing, but it has made such a difference in our afternoons. We’ve been playing, baking, cleaning together, reading, and just overall having a really fun time. I know when they’re older I’m going to look back and be so thankful I had this time with them. I’m not going to wish I used that time to “blog more.”

4:30 pm – 6:00 pm: John’s home, hooray!! John is usually home by 4:30 every night. We always have fun as a family during this time. Sometimes we go get dessert, grab a coffee, go for a drive, play outside, or just play inside as a family. Dinner is being made during this time, too. I’ve gotten better at meal planning but am still a huge work in progress. Tonight, for example, the girls had a bagel and we had frozen pad Thai from Trader Joe’s, lol.

6:00 pm – 7:15 pm: Bedtime for the girls! I take the baby upstairs, swaddle her, feed her and put her to bed. John gives the girls a bath if they need one, brushes teeth and plays games. If I’m done feeding the baby, I help him out with this. The girls are usually in their beds by 6:45 or 7:00 and asleep by 7:15. We are huge fans of early bedtimes in this house, for us too!!

7:15 pm – 8:30 pm: Blog time! I usually have a second-wind by now and am able to get a lot done. I actually enjoy writing posts during this time and getting them scheduled for the next morning. This is also when I’ll schedule out social media. I might Tweet a post, schedule Facebook for the next few days, use Tailwind to schedule Pinterest, or promote my posts on Medium, Stumbleupon or Google Plus.

8:30 pm: John and I head upstairs to watch a show before going to sleep. I usually fall asleep 15 minutes into the show, but we’re currently watching Criminal Minds which keeps me up! Sometimes we’ll even be really wild and watch two episodes in one night, ha! We’re always asleep by 10:30 though, until I am woken up by a screaming toddler or baby…

Weekends

Some weekends I don’t blog at all; others I spend a few hours writing posts, creating images, joining Pinterest group boards, joining new affiliate programs, etc. I really try to make weekends “family time,” but sometimes that’s the only time I can get quality work done since my husband is home to take care of the kids for a bit.

Disclaimer: When I first started my blog, I blogged more often (anywhere from 1-3 times per week) and was constantly learning new things. I spent a tad more time on it than I do now. However, the income now is relatively passive. I’ve set my blog up to make money even when I’m sleeping or spending time with my family. You can read my whole story and learn how to start your own blog here!

My Biggest Blogging Challenge

I’ve only been blogging full-time for two weeks now, but I really don’t know how I was able to work a full-time job with my kids at home with me every afternoon. I’m way less stressed than I was before, but still find myself feeling really anxious throughout the day. And then when I do end up sitting down to blog, I feel like I have so many things I need to get done that I either rush through it all or end up goofing off.

My biggest blogging/mama challenge has for sure been staying focused. Turning off my computer in the afternoons has helped immensely, but I’ll still find myself thinking of things I want to do for my blog while playing with my kids, or feeling overwhelmed/frustrated in the evening because I only have 1-2 hours before I’m exhausted and wanting to go to bed.

But, that’s life with kids, right? I expect it’ll get easier once the baby is sleeping through the night and once all three kids are in school full-time, but until then, I’m just doing the best that I can every day.

If you’ve been thinking of starting a blog, I highly encourage you to go for it! While my life is nowhere near perfect, I love that I’ve found something for me outside of being a mom that allows me to work on my own schedule and bring in an income for my family. It takes time, but everyone can make money blogging if they keep at it! Head over to my tutorial on starting a blog to receive a discount on your hosting plan. Then, email me or leave a comment on my blog and I’ll send you a copy of my book – The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging – for free.

What does your typical schedule look like?!