A Day in the Life: A Part Time Blogger

If you'd asked me a couple of years ago whether I wanted to be a full time blogger, I would have said "yes" without a moment's hesitation. I found myself at a point in my life where my degree was very much a sideline to my *blossoming* blogging career. But I can honestly say that my desire to be a full time blogger has completely vanished. And the separation of something that I truly enjoy as a hobby from work, has meant that I've found a new sense of purpose with this little space on the internet. 

But I think it's easy to assume that regardless of whether you're a full time blogger or part time, there is an assumption that it's an unbelievably glamorous life. So I thought I'd talk you through my daily routine balancing both my Masters degree and my blog.

7:00am.

This was the moment I realised that I had become an adult - when I set my alarm to go off at 7am every single morning. But with lectures and looming deadlines, I find that the only way I'll end up going to the gym is if I do it first thing.

All my blog posts are scheduled to go live at this time so I make sure to schedule tweets in advance on Buffer so I don't have to worry about tweeting myself!

9:30am.

I get all my menial blogging tasks done first thing. I reply to any emails that I've been avoiding and schedule in any tweets to fill up my Buffer schedule. Because I'm balancing university and my blog, by getting everything done with my blog first thing, it means that the rest of the day is for university. 

10:30am.

I'm quite strict with how long I spend getting organised with my blog admin - especially as I often find myself procrastinating from writing essays with things like this! Once I've done an hour, no matter how much left I have to do, I put a pin in it and move onto work. 

1pm.

Almost all my lectures are in the late afternoon which means that most days are free for getting reading and work done. But 1 o'clock is lunchtime - and I'm absolutely no fun when I'm hangry.

This is also the time where I try and upload a daily instagram picture. I find that lunchtime leads to the most engagement! I also take a bit of time during lunch to have a brief scan for any urgent emails and obviously check social media!

2pm.

Depending on how my day has gone and the progression through my to do list, this is when I decide to either work the rest of the day from the library, or spend some time working on this blog. Because I'm aware of looming deadlines, I find that I'd rather spend a bit of time scheduling posts to avoid neglecting my blog when I'm busy working. 

3pm.

Deciding that working from home was productive enough, I dedicate about half an hour to updating my Buffer to include any scheduled blog posts.

5pm.

Depending on the day, I often find myself heading into town for any evening events or meetings. I've had to limit these to a maximum of two events a month because I need my sleep! I also have a few lectures at this time so I try and plan for events to follow on from these as it saves time sat on the bus! 

If it's a particularly riveting lecture, I sometimes head to the library after to get any notes down and avoid forgetting anything. This is so helpful, especially as we approach essay season.

6pm.

I always make sure to "finish" blog work by 6pm and avoid checking my inbox after this! Because I am balancing a Masters with my blog, I totally prioritise any university work over writing. So evenings are left mostly blank to allow for any last minute catch up with work. Normally this isn't an issue as I schedule so far in advance, but enforcing some sort of guidelines can be helpful!

Are you a part-time blogger? How do you balance work and blogging?