Last night, I told Pancho about my week, and it made him tired.
Lately, I’ve been doing really well at a few things, and not very well at others. I’ve been running about 3x per week, and trying to get back into yoga. I’ve been working really hard and am finally starting to knock out the mounting pile of things to do on my desk. I’ve been doing okay with the housework, with a lot of help from my husband. But I’m sucking at the things I really love, like blogging. Email. Cooking dinner on a regular basis. Why is it that when we’re busy, the things we love most are usually the first to go?
I can’t stop working, obviously. I don’t want to stop working out, especially with swimsuit season in the very near future. I have to have my down time at night (i.e. TV or reading with a glass of wine or cup of tea) or I am a wreck the next day. Weekends are spent trying to catch up on laundry, housework, grocery shopping, bill paying, and all the things I can’t seem to squeeze into my work days.
So this is me. Asking the way more organized bloggers/people: How do y’all do it? Do planners/schedules work for you? Do you fly by the seat of your pants and somehow everything turns out okay? This is a desperate cry for help.
Because this blogging once a week thing isn’t going to cut it.
Comments on Down time.
From lauryn:
I used to try to blog in the mornings when I didn’t have to leave for work til 9. I’d have my coffee and get everything done and it was great. Now I have to leave the house by 7am so my routine is completely thrown off. Lately when I get the chance I’ve been writing several blog posts at once and scheduling for the future. That definitely helps!
From Holly:
I’m all about writing a few posts when I have the time and then scheduling them! I keep a book of blog ideas and plan my posts on a calendar but I don’t really follow it – I write 5 posts some weeks and no posts other weeks. I figure I have to have a life to have something to write about :D
From Manderz:
I totally know the feeling of not being able to fit in what you love to do because you need to unwind from all the crazy. One thing that worked for me (for a little bit at least) was to set aside a half hour before bed for blogging. Then I set an alarm on my phone to remind me. Hopefully you figure out what works for you.
From katherine michael:
i’m no blogging expert, but one of the best tips i’ve ever gotten in regards to maintaining a blog is to write multiple posts in one sitting. Creativity is a process and oftentimes getting the juices flowing is the hardest part, so once they are flowing on one post, go on and write two or three more and schedule them to post 2 days apart.
From Kathleen:
I’m not very good at this either, and my schedule seems to be similar to yours. I leave super early and am dead in the evenings. It’s a rare occurrence when I get a blog post written on a weeknight.
Ideally (and what has worked well for me in the past) I try to set aside some time on the weekend to plan out my posts and get them scheduled. Like you, my weekend is mostly for catching up on other things, but for me the blog is part of that. When you see me posting multiple times a week it’s usually because I’ve planned on the weekend.
When that fails I can sometimes squeeze a post out while I’m at work, but that is extremely unpredictable.
From DebbieQ:
Katherine has it right. I work on a number of blog posts at the same time and I keep a list of possible blog posts. If I don’t write it down when that brilliant idea comes into my poor addled brain then I never remember it later.
From Victoria:
I am so glad that I am not the only one who is feeling this way! I know exactly how you feel! I do the same as some of the other ladies do here, I have several blogs in the works at one time, so if I am on vacation and not near my computer, I can still post a blog with my phone, even though I didn’t just type it up. Granted my blog is about cooking/recipes so I have several in the works right now. What I also like to do while doing house work, I will have a tv show on in the background that I have seen a million times and don’t need to see it to know exactly what is happening lol So for example if I am doing the dishes or laundry or whatever I keep the Gilmore Girls on :) and while I am running on the treadmill, I watch the Gilmore Girls lol I do have to keep up with my cooking since it is what I blog about but I just can’t keep up with the house work, I don’t like staying up late and having things to constantly do. So I try to start on the laundry first and then go from there, like cleaning the bathrooms or living room. I will have my husband help up cleaning like put the food away, vacuum, clean off the coffee table, help with the laundry (folding and putting it away), change the bed sheets and take out the trash, but other than that I have my own system that I have to go by to get things taken care of. :) I hope this helps!
From Faith:
I could have written this exact same post! I used to be a write a bunch of posts at once and then schedule them, but I’ve had trouble even finding the time to do that lately. I’ve taken a week off this week and it’s been nice to not think about it. I’m still reading and commenting, but it’s nice to not think about my own for even a short bit.
From Caryn:
I am a list kind of person. I make to-do lists constantly. This helps me prioritize what is urgent and what isn’t. I keep a notepad in my purse at all times, so if I come up with a blog idea or want to work a bit on a post while I’m on the bus, I can. Occasionally on my lunch break- I’ll type out ‘an email’ but really type out some ideas for my next blog, then post it when I get home or before I go to bed. I have trouble doing more than one post at a time, because it takes me a while to edit (many times) my posts. I am a clean person so I try to clean as I go, so that the piles/time don’t stack up. I start the laundry (usually sat or sun) and because I know how long the washer/drier takes, I kind of play a game with it. See how much I get done before I have to turn over the wash. I often bring my bills to work and take care of that on my lunch break. Or you can set aside one day a week like sunday to be chores day for bills, wash, grocery etc. Remind yourself, it is ok if you take a day off from working out to be productive, for a fresh piece of mind. And somehow, it will all get done. Don’t forget to enjoy NOW too and try not to get too wrapped up in chores. Smile. That helps. Worried about missing a show? That’s the glory of DVR.
From Sara:
I think this post is what I need to reanalyze my own schedule. I just started a new job a month ago and I love having a routine as opposed to a part time job where I get random shifts and too much sleep (not that’s a bad thing though!)
I think a planner of some sort would be an excellent start. Plan an hour or two where you can write multiple posts (and write down ideas of what you want to talk about so you don’t sit there wondering what to say). Plan some meals in advance. My roommate did this and it worked really well, and she would make extra so she would have leftover to take to work for lunch and have the same thing for dinner the next day. It also made shopping trips easier for her because when she planned, she knew what to get and her trip would be quicker. Plan the time periods that you want to keep open for your workouts. Even plan your bills. Bills usually come at a specific time of the month. Or opt for the automatic payment if it’s something you and your husband are comfortable with.
Now I’m thinking about getting a planner of some sort. I used excel before but I never stuck with it. I think it would be fun to carry a little pretty planner in my purse now.. =)
Also, I love what Caryn said, about doing the laundry and playing a game with it. I will have to try doing that myself. Most of the time I just toss the clothes in, become a couch potato and I eventually forget that I’m even doing laundry. =X
From Caryn:
Aw, Sara – I am glad I can inspire you too! I keep a daily planner in my purse too. I tried keeping a calendar on my phone but I like the physical-ness to the actual planner. Let me know if the Laundry Game works for you!
From Amy:
I usually end up blogging at lunch time at my desk. Lunch time is often my bill-paying, bank-visiting, grocery-buying, errand-running time, too. I have trouble writing a bunch of posts at once since I usually just don’t have big enough chunks of free time to do that. My days are really structured. I have a schedule that works for me and deviating too much from it during the work week gives me heart palpitations.
From Jill:
I’m in the same boat. I work so much and am burnt out by the time I get home that I really don’t do much else. Thus I have nothing interesting to write about. The laundry suffers till the weekend and the house needs cleaning all the time. I’ve recently been going to the gym again, but other than that…yeah. I need to get it together!
From Kate @ Undeniable Style:
i love that we’re all suffering from burnout and still trudging along. I’ve been working 13 hours days the past couple of weeks, and only blogged 3 times this past week with content that was…a smidge below my usual standard. I was beating myself up over it!! Thanks for posting this…reading other’s comments has made me re-evaluate.
From Laurie:
It’s not easy to balance work, life, chores, significant others, friends, family AND blogging. Lately, I’ve found myself in the exact same position you are in. With my recent engagement and several life changes that are on the horizon, I’m having difficulty balancing it all too. The thing I keep telling myself is to remember that blogging is an outlet–a way to decompress from my crazy schedule and wind down, have a good laugh and think. So don’t stress too much about not quite mastering the balance. You are definitely not alone.
From mintyfresch:
I don’t have any advice since I’m not great at this either, but I wanted to comment on sweet Pancho looks!
From San:
I know EXACTYLY what you’re talking about… I’ve fallen a bit of the blogging wagon, too in the last couple of weeks because of all the other things going on.
I guess, the scheduling posts works, if you have stuff to write about and can do it in advance.
Otherwise, I’d just accept it as a “phase” which will pass.
From Nora:
I know I’m late on this but I feel you on this. I think I’ll be moving to a M/W/F posting schedule, with maybe a Ten on Tuesday here and there in the near future. I do plan out my posts about two weeks in advance, and try to write them each Sunday evening, schedule them and then it’s done. Does it always happen? NO, but I try really hard. And sometimes I just let it go because I have to, and then I miss it, like you!
Sometimes time management is just not my thing, even though I’m an “adult.”