Just recently, I was kicked out of my day job. No, I didn’t do anything wrong - it was just that the slow economy forced my former employee to cut down on staff, and I happened to belong to that group of people who were laid off.
Thanks to this event, it gave me an opportunity to turn to full-time blogging, something that I had dreamed about for a long time. And while I’ve been blogging full-time for only a little while (when writing this post), I have already learned couple of valuable time management lessons during this time.
I’d like to share some other eye-opening insights that I’ve already learned, which are valuable for all bloggers whether they’re part-time or full-time. These lessons weren’t so obvious when I had a day job, but they make much more sense now.
1. Mondays become your friends
The first lesson is that Mondays are actually quite nice. 
Although Mondays are often the most dreaded day of the week amongst the full-time work force, it’s a different story when you are working for yourself.
Since you are now able to do what you love, what day of the week it is doesn’t matter that much. You just don’t feel irritated anymore that the weekend is over. Also, there’s no more listening to complaining colleagues who happen to hate Mondays and the fact that weekend is history.
For part-time bloggers:
Yes, dragging yourself to work after a weekend or a vacation is not fun - I have been there. Then again, I’d say that everything depends on your attitude.
It’s very easy to join others who hate Mondays, but really - do you have to be one of them? Remember, if you are building your blog, you’ll eventually become a full-time online business owner if you are persistent enough. That means that the Monday blues is going to be over at some point.
Also, by having an optimistic attitude - even if it’s Monday - your day is much easier. Just remember that the Monday you are going through is one Monday less on your path to becoming a full-time online entrepreneur.
If you want more motivation for your Mondays, check out these great articles on other blogs:
- 20 Inspirational Quotes For Monday (MindValley)
- 50 Motivational Quotes That Will Put Your Motivation on Overdrive (LifeHack)
2. Working overtime is not a biggie anymore
I remember those times when I had to work overtime, and I absolutely hated it. I felt that even if I was financially compensated, my own private time was violated somehow.
This is different when you are doing the things you love. For instance, just recently, something came up regarding a blog-related project that I’m working on, and I had certain things that just had to be done on a certain day.
Normally, I try to avoid working in the evenings, but this time, I had to allow this exception. So without any further complaining, I spent a couple of hours on my computer and did what had to be done.
If I had been at my former day job, I would have felt stressed and angry. But since I was doing the stuff I liked, doing extra work wasn’t a biggie! I did the work because I loved it!
For part-time bloggers:
Sometimes, you just have to be flexible at work and do some overtime if your boss or your project manager is asking you to.
What helped me to cope in those situations was what I told you in the lesson #1:
Also, at times, we had a deadline for certain projects, and this whole overworking thing concerned the whole team - not just me. This made handling the situation easier. (By the way, it helps considerably when you remember that you are not alone in that situation!)
If you still feel that working overtime is killing you, then you have pretty much two options:
- Find another job inside the company you work for.
- Change to another company.
There is also a third option, quitting your day job, but I wouldn’t advise you use that card just yet.
I remember the countless times I wanted to do this last one myself, but my wife taught me something valuable: the longer I had a job, the longer my online business expenses were being covered thanks to the monthly salary (Amen to that from Jane! Although I (Jane) am now full-time, I made sure I held myself long enough before I knew the financial journey won’t be shaky afterwards).
Finally, you can use this little trick to take advantage of your negative feelings if you have to work overtime: channel them as motivation towards building your online business. Say to yourself,
I’m not too happy about my job right now, but the more action I take related to my online business now, the faster this unhappiness will end.
This is what I did when I didn’t want to do something job-related - whether it was working overtime or anything else; I channeled the energy to building my online business. For instance, instead of complaining, I wrote a blog post.
3. Slacking off is out of the question
You can slack off in your day job even if you happen to do everything you are being asked to do. These situations occurred in the last two years of my day job.
First, I was involved with a project where I did what I was asked to do, yet I still had some flexibility to do some of my own stuff at the same time. Then, for the last year at my day job, I was practically without any work assignments because of the slow economy (thus the reason why I was laid off).
Even though I had a day job, my responsibilities were pretty much non-existent (except that I had to show up to the office and mark down my hours to our input system).
This slacking off and taking no responsibility of your progress is pretty much out of the question when you become a full-time blogger. Sure, you can spend time on low-value activities, but then again, none of those activities are bringing income to you.
For part-time bloggers:
Try to have zero tolerance towards slacking off on your blogging stuff. If you fail to learn this important skill now, things are not going to get any easier in the future.
You can use the same trick from Point #3: remind yourself that the more you slack off on your part-time online business tasks, the more time you have to spend on your dreaded day job. Don’t make things too hard on yourself!
Besides, when you take prompt action on the stuff that needs to be done, you feel good about yourself, and it’s more likely that you’ll reach your goals much faster.
If you are determined to succeed and act accordingly, there is no one stopping you from reaching your destination and becoming a successful online entrepreneur.
4. Treat your days like you would be working full-time
One of the most important lessons to remember is that you can’t take the maximum advantage of your time if you don’t have a schedule to follow. This is how the typical workdays are constructed, and you should create a similar structure for your blogging days as well.
I defined this kind of schedule right after becoming a full-time blogger, and it has helped me to focus on the right stuff at the right time. For instance, on some days, I focus on just guest posting, while on others, I create content for my e-mail list.
When I have days based on a theme, I can focus on that aspect of blogging only and do nothing else. And if you are wondering what my schedule looks like, check out the following picture that gives you an overview.
For part-time bloggers:
Even if you have less time on your hands than full-time bloggers, you should still try to create a schedule that you follow. You could decide that on certain days you write blog posts and on other days you do something else related to your blog.
What also matters is that you plan your work ahead. Let’s say that you are writing a blog post and starting at 6 a.m. on Monday morning. If you only have one hour to work on your blog post before going to work, figuring out what to write about on Monday morning is out of the question.
Instead, do this pondering the night before by creating a blog post outline so that you can jump into writing mode right away the next morning.
5. You owe it to yourself to take action!
You can read all the books, take all the online courses and even buy some coaching. Unfortunately, nothing is going to help you out if one ingredient is missing: taking action!
This is especially the case when you are working for yourself; you don’t want to waste time on just reading, watching or listening to something. You also need to have a way to test new things and see if they work or not.
Your time is more valuable than ever since you are responsible for generating the income yourself. That’s why education is one thing and implementing is another.
When it comes to my situation, here is my plan for taking action on new things:
- Using InstaPaper (see the video below), I mark down an interesting article I want to read. I recorded a video some time ago that shows how to do this (take a look after Step #3).
- Each Friday, I go through the marked articles and take notes on what parts should I actually implement
- I set a date on my task list software (Nozbe) for when I implement the post in action.
With these simple steps, I’m able to test various things, see how well they perform and discover if the strategy is worth using again.
For part-time bloggers:
I understand that time is limited and it’s not possible to do and test everything. That’s why I’d focus on three (or four tops) core areas of your blog.
When I was blogging part-time, I focused on these areas myself (on top of writing posts for my own blog):
- Guest posting (spreading the word about my blog)
- Podcasts (interviewing experts)
- Building my e-mail list (the foundation for any online business)
- Working on a project (anything that moves your online business career forward, like writing a book in my case)
When you think of it, there is a lot going on here even if I’m focusing on certain areas of my blog. Still, it’s a lot less than if you tried to do everything there is related to blogging.
Becoming a full time blogger: Conclusion
When you have a day job, it’s pretty much impossible to understand blogging the same way as when you are doing it full-time. This happened to me, and I have learned many valuable new lessons during my short time as a full-time blogger.
I would say that the biggest change is going to be the responsibility. You are accountable for yourself, and you owe it to yourself to take action. Otherwise, your blog is not going to grow, and the dream of running your own profitable online business is going to be out of reach.
Over to you: If you are a full-time blogger, what lessons have you learned so far? What advice can you give to anyone who wants to become a full-time blogger?
Timo Kiander, a.k.a. Productive Superdad, helps online entrepreneurs to improve their productivity. If you want to get more productive in your online business, grab 222 of his best Tips for Becoming a Productivity Superstar.
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