I think what hinders me the most with blogging is not believing it were actually possible to live from it for me. Or at least cover some expenses with it. And also not really knowing what to blog about.
I have the desire to blog during my job, but then when I come home I’m so exhausted from the job I don’t know how to muster up energy to work on my blog. Even though with a lot of time investment I could finally get out of the rat race called career where efforts are exploited and never rewarded.
What helped you have more energy and motivation after your day job to work on your blog? Does your income from it increasingly grow?
I was in the same situation during 2013 - 2015. I started blogging part-time while I was working as a junior electrical maintenance engineer. I used to spend late nights and early morning hours writing content and promoting my blog.
I reduced my sleeping hours to 5 hrs daily and worked hard to push my blog. The blog is still live even in 2024 and I left my full-time job on 31st Dec 2015.
It’s all about the mindset and a strong desire to achieve something in life.
Maya said: @MarkJones
Well I guess it‘s not possible for me then. Like I said I barely have energy left after my job. Congratulations!
Else you build brand by focusing on marketing activities. Most of the time will be spent on content writing only and you can delegate the task to someone else (I mean you can hire a writer).
Got a new job that’s way more laid back and less commute time. I wish I had done it sooner but the corporate mental blocks are real
I tried blogging while having a stressful job with 3+ hr commute. I tried making voice notes during commutes, listened to entrepreneurial podcasts, took online blogging courses - I was DESPERATE to rip off the golden handcuffs and thought blogging was my immediate ticket out. Boy wish I did not set such unrealistic expectations. Felt guilty and shitty for not being able to focus once I got home. I thought I was the laziest POS but in reality I was extremely burned out and adding unnecessary pressure.
I put a hold on blogging and focused on my health. Got rid of the toxicities in my life (aka quit my shitty job). Slowly things fell into place and now I have the capacity to work a couple hours a night on my blog and way more on my days off.
Plus, once I accepted that blogging is not an overnight FU to the rat race, it’s made me work smarter, not harder
@SHAWN
Wow yours is the comment I could relate to the most. I‘m considering working part-time too, or switching to less demanding jobs that are even paid well compared to jobs with way more responsibility.
Joan said:
I have a “notes” notebook. I jot down thoughts and sometimes drafts. Then I create a space to encourage me to write like instrumental music.
This - and to be honest my blog is very small. But I always carry a notebook around. Just having something off-screen pocket-sized for notes and scribbles has never been so important!
The first thing that motivates me is Money and Love in what I do (writing articles).
The second thing is getting the tasks ready. I write down the things I have to do one day before. So I just open it up and start working on it without forgetting it. If I have any new tasks, I will add them. Once I have tasks completed, I will mark them as closed, which makes me feel I have achieved my new goals for today. Small steps, Big Things.
I’ve changed my sleep routine so I wake up at 4:30 am and blog then before work. I start getting ready for work at 6 so that gives me 9 mins. I get home from work around 4:30 pm and continue on the blog until 7:30 pm at least, most days until 9 pm. Asleep by 9:30 to do it again the next day. Saturday and Sunday are my days off work so I do full days blogging: I’ll do at least 12 hours working on it per day.
My only “off” time is Friday after work.
When I was working from 9 am to 6 pm I found it hard to blog after work, it’s somehow easier to get up early, and I’ve never been a morning person!
Today, having and maintaining a blog after the day job is not so easy like before as things, developments, trends, have changed a lot and a serious dedication to it at least half a day is needed to make the needle move positively. It is more of a full hustle than a side hustle to reap its rewards.
What helped me was shifting my mindset. Instead of seeing blogging as just another task, I treated it like an investment in my freedom. I carved out 30-60 minutes daily, no excuses.
Quit my job and drugs are helping, but it’s only been 16 months so I’m entirely focused on leveraging AI to create content fast. So far it’s going great, I had 40 views yesterday! People have been saying for years that drugs and unemployability are my two biggest things, and I’m finally leaning into that.
wish I did not set such unrealistic expectations. Felt guilty and shitty for not being able to focus once I got home. I thought I was the laziest POS but in reality I was extremely burned out and adding unnecessary pressure.