Something I pride myself on is how I balance my full-time job as a veterinary technician with blogging and podcasting. Both my full-time job and my passion project take up a large portion of my time so finding a way to balance them and learn how to work from home was essential to keeping my sanity.
Here's how I try to balance everything and work from home...
Add Everything to my Planner/Calendar
This is possibly the most important aspect of balancing everything going on in my life. If I don't write down what is going on in my life - I 100% will forget about something important. When it comes to balancing work, blogging, and podcasting I have to be able to keep track of everything from what time my shifts start, to when I need to write and record content. Adding everything to my planner or my calendar is the best way for me to be able to see everything at a glance. I personally like to keep everyone on one planner or calendar so I can figure out how much time I have to split between work, the blog, the podcast, and my personal life each week.
Create a Detailed Content Calendar/Plan
Keeping a detailed content calendar helps keep me focused. By knowing what blog posts I need to write, what podcast episodes I need to record, and what other content I need to work on I'm able to schedule my work throughout each month to avoid missing any posting dates, etc. This also helps me visualize my blog and podcast to make sure I provide a variety of content throughout the month. When it comes to blogging and podcasting while also working full-time, finding the most organized process is key to keeping my sanity. This also helps me make sure everything I need for blogging and podcasting is ready and available for me on my off days from work, so I don't spend half my time trying to find everything I need.
Time Batching
This is one of the most helpful tools for, well really, life. Setting time aside for specific tasks when I'm at work and when it comes to blogging and podcasting makes it possible for me to get everything done. It also prevents me from doing a half-assed job because I'm not forced to do too many things at once. When I time batch different tasks such as writing blog posts, recording podcasts, prepping for my workday - I'm able to prioritize the tasks that need to get done and I don't procrastinate as much as I typically would when I'm not time batching. The best way I've found to do this is to break up my time batching. For instance, Sundays are my planning and brainstorming days for the blog but I also have to prepare for my work week. So, I will spend an hour or so brainstorming, then an hour making sure my scrubs are clean, etc. for the next day. This gives me different things to do so I don't get bored but I'm still able to get everything done.
Leave My Full-Time Job at Work
When it comes to balancing everything one of the best things for me to do is leave certain things at work. What I mean is, if I have a bad day at the vet clinic (which can happen in vet medicine) but I need to write a blog post or record a podcast when I get home, I need to leave all of the negativity "at work". Sometimes this helps keep me productive and balanced, simply by helping me work through the more mentally trying days, and sometimes it helps by keeping me focused on what I am actively working on. For me, there is not much I can do for my full-time job at home, so there is really no reason to focus on it when I'm home. As for blogging and podcasting, I can't work on that when I'm at the vet clinic, so again there's no reason to focus on it when I'm working.
Create a Designated Work Space at Home
One of the difficulties with working from home is trying to get the motivation to actually do work; especially if you don't have an office or a desk. Of course, if you have a home office with a desk it's easier to create a workspace at home, away from your tv and other distractions. But, for me, my apartment doesn't allow for the extra space to create an at-home office. So, I had to figure something else out. Creating a designated workspace where I can set up everything to blog and podcast has been a great way to keep me from getting distracted. One of the biggest tips I have for working from home is to avoid setting this space up in your bedroom or at the very least your bed. I find working in my living room to be the best area for me. Working from my bed or even my bedroom makes me feel sluggish and unmotivated whereas working from my living room gives me space to lay out everything I need - not to mention it's closer to my coffee maker.
Those are just some of my tips for balancing my full-time job with blogging and podcasting and working from home. What do you do to balance everything or work from home? Let me know and let me know if any of these tips work for you!