As a full-time parent, it probably feels like you don’t have time for anything else. Between watching the little ones, taking care of the house, and running errands, most of your time is occupied from the outset of the day.
However, even with your busy schedule, it’s possible to create and manage a blog—which you can use as a creative outlet, or a source of extra income—if you employ the right strategies.
Maximize Sleep Time
Your first goal should be to make the most of sleep time. When your toddler is taking a nap, or down for the night, you’ll have all the peace and quiet you need to focus on writing or posting new material. Get in the habit of opening the laptop whenever your child is down for the count, and utilize effective toddler sleep strategies to make sure your child sleeps consistently and deeply.
Write What You Know
You can also maximize your chances of success by writing about what you know. There are tons of parenting blogs out there, but that doesn’t mean you can’t carve a niche for yourself based on some unique perspective you have, or some experience that nobody else can share. Writing about something you already know minimizes the amount of time you’ll need to spend researching, and allows you to brainstorm new topics and approaches throughout the day. Ultimately, that can save you hours of time every week and may even help your blog be more successful.
Choose the Simplest Platform
There are tons of free and inexpensive blogging platforms available to you, but not all of them offer the same simplicity when it comes to UI and ongoing management. You’re going to have a limited amount of time to focus on your work, so the last thing you want is a platform with a steep learning curve, or one whose UI doesn’t make sense to you. Try out a handful of different platforms, and go with the one that makes it easiest for you to post new material and commit regular updates.
Get Used to Writing in Phases
Life as a parent is hectic and unpredictable, so you can’t count on getting to write full articles from start to finish. Instead, you’ll need to develop your skill for writing in phases. Start by creating an outline of the post you want to write, then fill in the details section by section. It will make it easier to jump back into things if you have to put down your work temporarily to deal with a crisis.
Write and Schedule Far in Advance
It’s hard to tell what tomorrow will look like, let alone next week. If you want to keep a consistent publication schedule, it’s a good idea to write far in advance of your actual publication dates, and schedule your posts for publication in advance. That way, you’re not scrambling to finish your weekly post in time to adhere to your schedule; you’ll have a buffer that protects your blog’s consistency.
Find a Consistent Time to Be Productive
Parenting is chaotic, but it’s still a good idea to find a consistent time to be productive, whether it’s an hour out of every day, or a day out of every week. Make this your designated time to write new posts and work on your blog. The consistency is important to help you build and maintain your blog as a habit; you’ll find it easier to get in the zone, and you won’t be able to make excuses about not getting any work done.
If there’s no time available to you in your regular schedule, ask someone else to help you out. Having a spouse, partner, neighbor, or relative watch the kids even once a week can help you maintain a steady writing and publication schedule.
Don’t Forget to Monetize
Finally, once you start building an audience, don’t forget to monetize your blog. You have many options here; for example, you could use your blog as a platform to sell a product you make by hand, or you could use affiliate links to earn a portion of whatever sales your blog helps to generate for another business. However you choose to monetize your blog, the earlier you get started, the sooner you can start making money—just make sure your focus is still on content quality and audience retention, or no method of monetization can keep you afloat.
With these strategies, you should be able to find the time necessary to write high-quality content, while still fulfilling all your responsibilities as a parent. You may not be as productive as you could be without a child, but as long as you keep posting a few times a week, you have the potential to create a profitable blog.