Hopefully, you have taken the time to track the amount of time you spend working on blog-related business during the week and have an awareness of any time that you are… cough… wasting and maybe even found a way to focus using the Strict Workflow extension for Chrome.
So, now that you know how much time you need in a week to blog, you can decide when you are going to place those office hours.
When to work on your blog
Depending on your family structure and whether or not you have another job, your hours are going to vary. For me to tell you exactly how to set up your office hours would be useless because I don’t know the details of your life or what type of support you get from others.
Talk to those in your life
My husband and I frequently talk about how many hours I am spending at the computer and what type of impact that is having on our family. For me, it is important to maintain the balance we have found and to keep him as the supportive spouse that he is. I never want my business to be an unfair burden on him or our children. So, we work together to fit my blogging into our lives.
My week looks something like this…
- Sunday evening – After the children go to bed, I work on writing posts for the week and scheduling social media.
- Early morning – Before my feet hit the floor, my hubby brings me coffee and I try to get as much accomplished as possible in one hour.
- Weekday afternoons – While the kids give me “peace and quiet time,” I check social media and respond to email.
- After hours – Before bed on most nights, I do a final check to make sure everything is set to run for the next day.
- Monday nights – My hubby watches the children after dinner while I lock myself in the bedroom to work on writing posts, checking social media, and plugging through long-term projects.
If I have an intensive project on my calendar, I will have a bonus work night on Thursday evenings.
Know when your readers are online
The second part of setting your office hours really has more to do with scheduling your posts and social media. You can work at any time during the day or week as long as your posts and updates are being published at times when you target audience will see them.
I have watched my analytics enough to know that Sunday nights are big for publishing a post. Sunday is also a prime time for pinning to Pinterest.
On Monday through Thursdays, I know my readers are coming through Facebook during the day between 7 AM and 6 PM and I try to consistently publish posts and social media updates at those same times.
Fridays and Saturdays are much more laid back. I post on Friday morning but then you probably will not hear from me again until Sunday evening.
Again, this works for me but the attention you receive from your readers will vary greatly depending on your niche and location.
When NOT to work on your blog
While I cannot tell you when exactly to establish your business hours, I can tell you when you should not work on your blog.
- Don’t blog over holidays. Use Instagram to autofeed to Facebook but let your blog rest. Since Christmas is so important to our family, you will notice that I take a two week break during that time to focus on my family and to pray over my goals for the next year.
- Don’t blog during stressful times. If your feelings are hurt or if your family is going through a difficult time, blogging can be an unnecessary burden. Let it go. Your readers will be there when you get back.
- Don’t blog when you need to focus on your family. If your children are small, don’t spend your days on the computer. Work when they are busy playing or sleeping. I admit that I need to take my own advice here because I don’t want my children to grow with the memory of mommy always being on the computer.
Setting your office hours is about finding the balance between what you can do (structure of your life) and what you need to do (attention of your readers) while remembering what you should not do (working when you need to ficus elsewhere).
Great tips, Tabitha!
This is something I am working on. I am trying my best not to be on the computer when my kids are awake and I am getting better but some mornings after I take my oldest to school I get on the computer while my youngest plays. I really want to get a better schedule for everything in my life.
Thanks for sharing this! I am just starting my blog and I am really excited about it, but overwhelm at the same time. By the end of the day I feel that nothing was accomplished. Its like doing it all at same time! Setting up office hours its a must! Thank you!