Consistency in blogging has been something I’ve struggled with since the beginning of my blogging journey. Recently, I joined a blogging consistency challenge, hosted by influencer and blogger, Mattie James. This challenge consists of writing one blog post per weekday for 4 weeks in July. Previously, balancing blogging and motherhood had been a challenge for me. This blogging challenge has really made me get my act together! I am sharing 6 ways I am able to balance blogging and motherhood!

1. Planning

I am an educator, so this year our school year was altered because of the pandemic. I was fortunate that I was able to work from home, but it definitely required me to establish a routine. I have a very busy 18 month old, and an 11 year old that gets bored easily. I had to juggle being a virtual teacher, homeschool teacher, and keeping my busy 18 month old occupied. On top of all that I was trying my best to stay consistent on uploading content to my youtube channel, instagram, and blog.

I put some routines in place so that I could balance it all, but blogging everyday required a new level of content planning! Even though I am a part of the blogging challenge, I still wanted to be consistent with my instagram and youtube channel. I quickly learned that I had to do way more planning than I had been.

Asana

I started using the planning app called Asana. I talked about this app in great detail on my blog post: Top 12 Free Apps for Content Creators. This planning tool has really changed the game in my content planning. Not only do I plan when I want to post my content, but I schedule out blocks of time for me to actually create the content. It’s one thing to say – I’m going to post a video on Tuesday, but I learned that I needed to carve out time for recording that video and editing that video as well.

2. Batching

Batching content has been my best friend when it comes to creating content on all of my platforms. You may ask, what is batching content? This is when you set aside intentional time to focus on content creation for a period of time. I usually batch my content on a weekly basis.

Sample Batching Schedule with Multiple Platforms

Monday: Recording Day- 3-4 videos —hours vary

Tuesday: Editing Day– Edit previously recorded YouTube videos/ IGTV 2-3 hours

Friday: Photoshoot- Shoot ALL photos for blog posts and IG feed ( multiple outfits/locations) 2-3 hours

Saturday: Outline/ write blog posts (I usually write 3 posts during this timeframe) 3-4 hours

Sunday: Curate Instagram Feed / Write all Captions for planned instagram posts 1-2 hours

Blocking out time and focusing on one task at a time keeps me organized and I don’t feel as overwhelmed as when I was trying to do multiple different tasks a day. Focusing on 1-2 tasks definitely helps!

PRO TIP- Make sure all devices are charged the night before.

3. Maximizing my Time

I either stay up late, or wake up an hour earlier. I try to get some time to myself. During this time the girls are sleeping and I usually focus on jotting down ideas, pinning on Pinterest, or writing. If the previous day doesn’t go exactly as planned, I use this time to complete tasks that weren’t completed.

Setting a Timer

I recently started setting timers. This has really helped me stay focused and definitely helped me balance blogging and motherhood. I know that once that timer goes off that is it, so I try my best not to get distracted. I also suggest setting a timer so you don’t lose track of time. It is easy to get consumed. In the beginning I’d find myself spending way to many hours creating content, and not enough hours with my girls.

4. Include the Kids in the Content Process

Letting my girls be part of the process allows them to feel included. My oldest daughter loves when I include her in my video content. She is not camera shy at all. I usually include the baby in some pictures, I try to make it as fun as possible. They both love to pose.

5. Organize Mommy Duties

Being a mom is like a full-time job. I have to stay on top of cleaning, cooking, and nurturing. Just as I plan my content, I have to be very strategic in planning time to cook and clean. I usually cook meals that will last at least 3 days. I’m not even going to lie to ya’ll, some days we have to do take-out, but I try to keep that to a minimum.

Cleaning has become a little less stressful, now that my oldest can help out a little more. I usually tackle one cleaning chore a day. For instance, 1 day may be designated for cleaning all the bathrooms, another for dusting the entire house, and so on.

6. Take it One Day at a Time

I used to be stuck one getting everything done as planned, but balancing blogging and motherhood as made me realize some days will go smooth, while others will be rough. At night, I write down the 3 things in my planner that I MUST get done for the next day. Those things are top priority, the other things that are on my to-do list may not get done, and I’ve learned to be OK with that. I just take it one day at a time and I definitely give myself grace.

How do you balance blogging and motherhood? Share with me in the comments down below!