I quit having a blogging schedule. (I was SHOCKED with what happened!)
chapters:
why I quit have a blogging schedule
what works for me?
NON-negotiables
making smart decisions
my findings
I don't know if anyone else does this, but as a Blogger,
that's not yet a full-time entrepreneur (still in my 9-to-5)
and that's pregnant
I am aware of how ESSENTIAL it is to stay accountable on HOW FAR ALONG I'm getting with my Blog, for the obvious factors of:
not having ALL the free-time in the world, amongst juggling a 9-to-5 job, pregnancy, and life as a girlie in my 20s
having a pregnancy that is soon approaching the due-date, and that will knock-me off my Blogging grind for a while, whilst I navigate postpartum and life with a newborn (sort-of feels like having a deadline to get ahead with my blog in preparation for this time)
Many other girlies reading this can probably relate, whether it's Blogging alongside a 9-to-5, Blogging whilst pregnant, or BOTH.
To combat this, advice from quite a lot of entrepreneurs, or Bloggers online, is to have a schedule.
A blogging schedule so that you can stay-on track with your Blogging goals, and making sure you are making time for your Blog weekly, monthly; and therefore: CONSISTENTLY.
Well, let me tell you: I TRIED THIS, AND IT'S NOT FOR ME.
You might be wondering "how do you make sure you're still Blogging as much as you aspire to, WITHOUT a schedule?"
Well then, FIRST, let me tell you what made me quit having a blogging schedule IN THE FIRST PLACE!
why I quit having a blogging schedule
When I used to have a blogging schedule, at the very start of my Blog, I tried the following blogging strategy:
Each Sunday, I would plan the week-ahead according to:
The amount of time I would spend on my Blog
WHAT I would do in this time
On what days and at what times
Of course, this might sound like the right thing to do, and logical, but I found myself NOT STICKING to the schedule.
NOT because I was being lazy, or not accountable in my commitment towards my Blog, but BECAUSE:
1. I am a firm believer of a fulfilled life, which equates to balance and ENJOYMENT, as well as the Blog and my personal development goals
Having a blogging schedule made me feel bad, if social plans came-up with family or loved ones. Not because of fear-of-missing-out, BUT BECAUSE I treasure quality time with people I love, and don’t want to feel like I am sacrificing time NOW blogging, to compensate in FUTURE, time with loved ones; time that is NOT GUARANTEED.
I stand for discipline, but not for hustling at the expense of time with loved ones.
Learning these things in MYSELF made me realise I had to have some flexibility when it came to my blogging ethics, and therefore, HOW I worked on my blog.
2. I cannot predict that I will be CREATIVE and in flow-state at 6:30pm next Wednesday
In other words, you can’t plan for when you will feel the inspiration and ideas flowing through you.
The wired feeling we get, from feeling on a high energetic and creative level, is WHAT creates amazing quality content.
Forcing yourself to create blogging content at specific times where YOU MAY NOT be feeling this, or even if you try to get yourself into this flow state, you are not putting your best self forward to your Blog and to something you CARE about.
How to counterbalance this? I prefer to take it day-by-day; KNOWING I have a number or objective I want to work towards in a week but allowing myself to Blog when it feels natural to me.
How does this work if you DON’T have endless time (as I mentioned earlier)? I sprinkle some fun and rest throughout my week, with low-maintenance hobbies, and consume motivational content, as well as constantly reminding myself of my 2025 blogging goal. I prioritise intentionally filling my cup, and fuelling myself with inspiration, throughout my week, in simple but SIGNIFICANT ways; to blog even more passionately than I would be, if sticking to a fixed schedule!
3. It is NOT realistic or sustainable for me!
Realistically, your general life-schedule will change over time, with the changes you experience in life.
And of course, as a result, you COULD just adapt your blogging schedule to fit-in with these changes, but it is much more complicated and exhausting to do so, since you’re placing yourself constantly in a state of TESTING and trialling, WITHOUT knowing if that schedule will be something that you can work with; in showing up as your bestest, highest self to your blog, self, and life!
FOR EXAMPLE, being a first-time mum, there is NO WAY I can predict how I will be able to schedule around a newborn. Yes, they will have naps, and eventually have their own schedule that I can work-around for blogging, but point #2 of creativity above, will still impose questions and unpredictability in how sustainable having a blogging schedule would be.
I want to work smarter, and more efficiently to be able to have blogging work for me in the ways I want, but for that, I have to ACTIVELY make decisions and THINK about what works best for me.
Definitely see what works for YOU, but for me, having a schedule is NOT what works best!
I’d rather have a guideline of goals so I know I am levelling-up and growing, as a Blogger, but not within a fixed blogging-schedule setting.
what works for me?
You might think that simply having “a guideline of goals” might be too vague to be able to stay ON-TRACK, as I mentioned earlier.
So what WILL work?
I have to say that navigating OUT of the traditional way of blog-scheduling; going against what MOST online content creators advise, for successful blogging time-management, was a bit hard.
All because I was navigating “unknown waters”.
But it was a NECESSARY path, because the conventional blog-schedule path had been tried-and-tested, and did NOT PASS the vibe check for me! ahaha
So, I shifted my perspective and instead focused AWAY from the limited boundaries of time.
I started to focus ONLY on blogging with INTUITION instead.
By this, I mean:
I was blogging out of what FELT right and the necessary BEST NEXT-STEP for my blogging business journey. FOR EXAMPLE, I knew I wanted an easier platform to Blog on than Wordpress (where I started my Blog), so I could personalise my website design and provide a more aesthetic and faster-speed experience for my community here. So, I did that and now I am on Squarespace! And then, I look to the next, AND THE NEXT thing to-do in my Blog, whilst always creating content consistently.
I started looking at the CURRENT PRIORITY for my Blog, and actioning the BABY STEPS that would take me to accomplishing that objective. FOR EXAMPLE, monetisation and traffic sources : growing my Pinterest to 1MILLION views over the course of 1 year! I posted on the how-to of my success, as well as a separate post on my PLANS for monetisation in 2025.
I gave myself low targets at-first; to allow myself to explore how much content I could produce in a valuable and high-quality way. Breaking the bounds of time-limitations with blogging allowed me to unleash my blogging creativity and capability, to LET THAT inform me on how I can best APPROACH blogging in a productive way.
For example: “create and schedule 1 blog post this week".
I started finding that as I was focusing more on my OBJECTIVES, my blogging strategy, where I wanted to take my Blog, and what I wanted my Blog to express, WHILST giving myself freedom in the creative process : I started to Blog without a schedule, whilst STILL reaching the same goals I set myself!
NON-negotiables
In this process of intuitively blogging (not looking to anyone else BUT MYSELF, to navigate how to blog weekly; without a fixed schedule), I learnt the true essence of what blogging methodology ALIGNED with me.
I found my own set of blogging non-negotiables that set the standards for how I was going to show-up for my Blog; with content creation, marketing, and running the online business itself.
My ultimate blogging NON-NEGOTIABLE is: I will not blog if I do not have the CAPACITY to show-up, as my BEST VERSION. This sets the standards, and means, I will not blog IF:
I am lacking sleep, tired or low-energy
I am uninspired, not feeling great or the happiest that day
I am feeling unresolved, feeling like I need to mentally or emotionally resolve something I haven’t allowed myself to process
it doesn’t feel right; maybe I’m feeling pressure, or stress (the bad-kind)
These standards clearly define my blogging ethics; that my Blog deserves only the BEST from me.
You ALL deserve my best and beyond, and that’s the minimum I am willing to give you.
For many girlies, this may beg the question of time-availability, time management, or balance, since “ how can you possibly only blog when inspired, if you already have a 9-to-5, house choirs, and still trying to enjoy some fun in life, whilst also processing an unplanned pregnancy?”.
I would’ve thought the exact same, BUT after embarking on this process, it’s all about self-trust.
I relied on MYSELF alone, and I trusted I could make smart decisions that would have the best interest at-heart for both me, my blogging business (in her Full Effect), and balancing life in general (girlhood, fun, loved ones, and more).
THAT is HOW.
making smart decisions
We have briefly touched-on the concept of smart decisions.
Making smart decisions, as Bloggers, are the foundation to us working smarter, not harder.
This KEY SKILL is what will set-us up to have a Blog business that GROWS into a successful online business that generates us passive income streams and beautiful opportunities of time freedom, and even wilder dreams, we can’t even come-up with YET.
I feel like with my blogging methodology (described in the previous chapters) has enabled me to reach my own sense of smart-blogging (essentially blogging in a way that works FOR ME, and in MY FAVOUR); by trusting what TRULY aligns with me.
Find your version of SMART and adopt it into your blogging wholeheartedly, even if that IS: to have a traditional form of blog scheduling.
For me, that WASN’T the case, but for you, it might be! It’s important to just keep an open-mind, and go looking for what that is for YOU.
Get hands-on.
HOWEVER, do keep in-mind that making smart decisions can also present itself with its own set of challenges; like distractions that may sway you from your course or goal!
Making smart decisions for your Blog is a muscle you will find yourself having to constantly train, and strengthen, since you can find yourself dipping into unproductive habits (for example) or having imposter syndrome cloud your judgement..
You will find yourself having to CONSTANTLY keep yourself in-check to see if your decisions on actions taken are aligning with WHERE you want to take your Blog. In other words, your blogging GOALS!
An RXAMPLE of how I make sure I am staying on-track:
stopping myself from blogging, when I am not fulfilling one of my blogging standards (listed above).
This is ACTUALLY HARD, and requires next-level accountability and restraint, since:
I FEEL THE NEED to keep going to stay on-top of MY blogging goals; that sense of time-urgency which will NOT fuel creativity, but influence content to be created from a place of being rushed: NOT the high-quality I want!
BUT in these moments, I need to measure-up my time vs quality AGAINST my capacity.
FOR EXAMPLE: when I feel inspired and in-flow state: I could write 2500 words of QUALITY content, in 1.5 hours and have it just flow out of me,
BUT other days, I could feel more drained or in-need of some rest (because of that day's effects on my energy levels / just LIFE) and can NOT smoothly flow; writing only 1000 words in 1 hour, of not the greatest quality.
That isn't good enough. It's about making a choice, being aware/in-tune with yourself, what your capacity is to show-up with QUALITY to your Blog, and knowing when to say “NO, I need to come back when my cup is filled”.
The WHOLE POINT of having these self-imposed blogging guidelines is because I have learnt what is best for me, what is SMARTER for my blogging business, and so it is an act of self-respect and discipline to FOLLOW IT.
Hopefully, you have been able to better understand how I put all of my own learnings, and blogging ethics, into PRACTICE!
It’s all about making the smart decision for your Blog, but then following THROUGH with it.
my findings
The MAIN finding in my own experience with blogging; trialling and testing with different approaches, is that:
Once I STOPPED having a blogging schedule, I started doing MORE.
Not just more in quantity, but importantly, more in QUALITY.
I feel like I have done A LOT MORE, than if I was to have followed a fixed blogging schedule, as I originally tried to.
But the FOUNDATION for this came from me learning:
what aligned with my blogging ethics : HOW I wanted to show-up for my Blog and community here
what aligned with my SELF : how I SHOW-UP as my best-self to the Blog
what aligned with my blogging GOALS : WHERE I want to take my Blog
and the actionables : DAILY STEPS of HOW I will get to my goal, BASED on prioritisation and maintaining accountability to stay on-track and stay focused
Without a schedule, I actually started getting AHEAD of schedule!
♡
I hope seeing the breakdown of my journey with blogging, as a beginner, in my first official year of blogging (!) creates the CHANCE for you to say JUST HOW MANY POSSIBILITIES there are with how you can make blogging work for you.
Your path doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s, but that’s something only YOU can embark on for your own self-discovery with blogging, but JUST KNOW that it does get easier the more you TRY to immerse yourself into it.
And that’s all the juice I have for YOU GIRLIES on this one!
As always, sharing everything possible to help you take control of your own narrative, and:
Own your Womanhood. Own your Time.
♡
I’ll be logging updates throughout this whole journey as a mother-to-be, working to be an entrepreneur, but to also still preserve the girlhood within, to try and be her best self, and live her happiest life, so keep-up with me through the blog!
I release a new blog post every Friday at 1pm! (UK-time)
Let me know if you’re in a similar headspace (pregnant or not), being in our 20s is confusing, and taking control of our story is the only way we can take ownership of our happiness and live out our dream life.
I document my unwanted pregnancy journey at 25, taking control of my narrative, figuring out being a girl in my 20s, chasing my dream life, and conquering my boss babe dream of becoming a self-employed, entrepreneur / Blogger!
