How to Start Blogging with a Full Time Job

It’s not always easy, but it is possible to start blogging with a full time job. We’re already busy as single moms, which makes us great at time management. Here’s how to put those skills to use as you start a blog and build a business with a full time job.

This post includes affiliate links. If you make a purchase using an affiliate link I may get a few bucks, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more, read the Affiliate Disclosure.

Have you ever heard the saying, “If you want something done, ask a busy person”?

Sounds counter-intuitive at first, but surprisingly it’s quite true.

If you’re like many new bloggers and business builders, including me back in 2005, you’re busy with a full-time job as you’re starting out, and you view it as a big setback.

You Can Start a Blog with a Full Time Job

I learned that having a full time job can actually be a good thing when you start a blog or business. I’ve seen it play out again and again, for my clients and colleagues. And for myself.

Benefits of Having a Full Time Job When You Start Blogging

Yes, there is a plus side. You just have to look at it from another perspective.

• Having limited free time forces you to focus on doing only what counts
• You will get more done in less time
• You won’t be wasting time on over-thinking and over-educating
• Having a job takes the edge off, financially, so you don’t feel desperate for immediate income
• You have more resources to invest in your new blog or business
• Your day job may offer connections and opportunities for your new blog

Challenges of Starting a Blog with a Full Time Job

It’s going to take a lot of time and hard work to succeed at starting a blog or building a business online. That’s true no matter what your circumstances are when you start.

You’re already stretched pretty thin as a single mom with a full time job.

To get through the stress and the feelings of exhaustion that will come up, you need to be really clear why you’re doing this. And you will need to be focused, organized and consistent.

For sure, there will be late nights and rough mornings when you feel like a total zombie. You’ll worry that you’re not spending enough time with your children and you’ll definitely have less downtime by yourself.

You’ll feel like all you ever do is work, and you’ll feel frustrated while you wait patiently for results. You will sometimes wonder if it’s all worth it and question why you ever started.

I know I’m not painting a pretty picture, but this is the reality of entrepreneurship. There will be doubts. And that’s OK. Feeling doubt doesn’t mean failure, unless you let it.

You Must Have a Big Why

It’s perfectly normal to stress out, wondering if you’ve done the right thing when you start blogging with a full time job. It’s true about any big changes we make in our lives. I mean, who hasn’t occasionally thought “omg, what have I done?!” when the kids just won’t. stop. screaming. 😂

That thought passes quickly because we have a Big Why when it comes to our children. It’s unconditional love, pure and simple.

To get through the challenges of starting a blog as a single mom with a full time job you need a very specific Big Why.

Ask yourself why you’re dedicating the little free time you have to starting a blog. What is the goal you’re reaching for? What does success mean to you?

Do you want your blog to make enough money to replace your full time job? Why do you want that? What will change if you are working for yourself from home?

Will it mean more time with your children? Will it mean you can move where you’ve always wanted to live? Or do you dream of being a global nomad running your business from your laptop traveling the world with your kids?

Your Big Why is very personal, and very important. If you’re vague, it won’t pull you through the late night self doubts. Not big enough, and you’ll be easily dissuaded from pushing yourself to achieve your dreams.

Your Big Why is more than a goal, it’s the purpose behind everything you do. It relates to your values and what motivates you to take action. Take the time to do some heartfelt journaling and dig deep until you reach your Big Why.

Keep Your Big Why Front and Center

When your Big Why is crystal clear, put it in writing or create a vision board, so you can display it on your desk. Keep it front of mind every day.

Share your Big Why with your children, and supportive friends and family (don’t bother telling the doubters). Tell us your Big Why in the Mom Bloggers and Business Builders private Facebook group. We will support you and lift you up.

Create a Schedule and Stick to It

Time management is going to be absolutely essential as you start blogging with a full time job. Luckily, you’re a single mom, so you’re already a pro! #mombossFTW

Start by looking at your calendar and consider all of your various commitments. What can you cancel? Where are you stretched too thin? With that Big Why in mind, find things to cut. You’re going to need that time to reach your goals.

Next, go through your calendar and mark out the specific hours on specific days that you can dedicate to your blog or business. Be super clear, and be as realistic as possible. It may only be a few hours in the evening after the kids are in bed, maybe Saturday mornings and one lunch hour during the workweek. What is going to work for you?

Be Protective of Your Time

Block that time on your calendar, let your friends and family know that time is off-limits and stick to your new schedule.

Having clear boundaries and sticking to them is essential in every stage of your business. Because you’re so busy, you’ll need to be protective of the few blogging hours you have.

Read 5 Real Moms Share Their 10 Best Tips to Work from Home with Kids for more about time blocking.

Brainstorm ways to save time. Can you take turns with a mom friend for school drop-offs and pick-ups? Can your full time job be done remotely, even one day a week, to save commuting time? What can you outsource?

It doesn’t matter if you have 2 or 10 hours per week, you must honor them as sacred time for your business. The good new is, ultimately it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.

Leave Room for Your Personal Life

Remember to block off time to spend with your kids, and slice out some time to yourself here and there. Consider using vacation or personal days, if you have them.

Get creative about how to have fun, be with the kids, and still work on your blog. Depending on your niche, there are ways to do it!

Read 5 Real Moms Share Their 10 Best Tips to Work from Home with Kids for some great ideas to get the kids involved.

Plan ahead and put automations and systems to work on your blog. These will help you grow even when you have to take time away from the blog for the job. Or when you’re taking vacation. Read 5 Ways to Prepare Your Blog for the Holidays (and Keep Growing).

Know How to Best Use Your Limited Hours

There are many moving parts to a new blog. It’s very easy to get pulled from one thing to the next, wanting to learn more and do more. There is a lot of learn and a lot of actions you’ll need to take to be successful. Truth is, you will need to pace yourself because you can’t do everything at the same time.

Get the Basics Done First

Get your blog started with WordPress, if you haven’t already. With the tech in place, next you need to get really clear about your niche. You need to know who your ideal reader is, and what problems your blog is aiming to solve for them.

If you’re unsure of your niche, narrow it down as best you can and start writing. In most cases, clarity will arise as you write. The clearer you are about your niche, the sooner your blog will earn money.

Read Easy Guide to Choosing a Blogging Niche + Free Workbook

With limited time, always focus on writing content.

Aim to publish new content to your blog at least twice a month. Spend a little time on keyword research, and never skimp on good SEO, and your blog’s traffic will grow. Read 15 Elements of a Great Blog Post for SEO tips.

Use the rest of your time promoting your content on Pinterest, emailing your list and sharing it strategically on social media.

Read Best Social Media for Bloggers to Grow Traffic and Make Money

Grab the Blog Post Template

Next Steps to Grow Your Blog

Once you are posting and promoting consistently, and traffic is starting to grow, begin work on the next action steps your blog will need to succeed. This will include creating list building freebies, affiliate marketing, and cultivating relationships across social media.

Read How to Set Clear Blogging Goals for Greater Success

Plan time for bigger projects. As you start blogging with a full time job, first block time for the regular weekly work. Second, find an extra afternoon or evening on your calendar at least once a month. Block that time to work on bigger projects.

With an extra block or two each month, you could start creating a product that you can sell. It could be a printable or eBook that directly helps solve your reader’s problem. If you have special skills, you might offer services or create online courses.

This all takes time, and these are the tasks that will lead to income.

Prepare for the Transition to Self Employment

When your blog begins earning income, you can cut your job hours, and eventually quit the full time job. You can replace it with a part time job or side gig. If that’s the goal, do what you can to save money so you have a solid emergency fund when that time comes.

Read 10 Best Apps to Save Money for Single Moms and start saving now.

Be Consistent and Stay Focused

New bloggers spend a lot of time worrying they’re not doing enough. With too much time on your hands, you can get stuck on the hamster wheel always asking what you’re supposed to be doing. Overthinking leads to a lot of procrastination, and jumping from one thing to another, without getting any results.

In the early stage, with few followers and no other job, you may feel obsessed with your new blog. It’s harder to focus, and to allow thinks to breathe and develop organically.

Read How to Stay Focused as a New Blogger

With loads of time, you might spend excessive hours on one newsletter and expect amazing results. You feel terribly disappointed if little comes of it. You feel more attached to results and therefore, more likely to decide your marketing efforts don’t work before you’ve really given them a chance.

With small chunks of time, you send an email to your list, and forget about it. That’s because you’re busy with your next action item. Without time to overthink it, you’re more likely to stay consistent and keep sending those newsletters. And it’s precisely that consistency that will create results.

Avoid Keeping Busy Just to Feel Productive

New bloggers with too much free time try to feel productive by doing busywork. However, successful bloggers focus on creating content and staying consistent with their marketing.

Don’t Go Crazy with Blogging Courses

One way to feel busy is by signing up for course after course. Taking courses makes you feel productive, but often it’s just busywork.

Courses can be great, and there are some I strongly recommend. It’s important to be highly selective before you enroll in a course when you have limited time.

I’ve compiled the Best Free Online Courses for Bloggers Who Want to Succeed for you. Choose one or two that will move your blogging business forward.

To start with, don’t take every course you hear about. You shouldn’t take a course when you don’t have time to implement the learning. Any course you consider should align with your specific goals, fit your budget and move your blog forward. Choose wisely by reading reviews and asking questions, to be sure the course is right for you.

Be careful not to get sucked into doing things because everyone else is doing it.

Read Stop Comparing Yourself If You Want to Be Successful

Use Social Media Strategically

While social media marketing is an important part of growing your blog, hanging out there will suck up precious hours. If not done with purpose, social media is a huge time waster.

To avoid the many distractions social media has to offer, you can schedule your content. And to engage with your community, block out social media time in your calendar. Then, use a timer to help you know when to stop.

Visiting one or two Facebook groups for support can be beneficial, within your scheduled social media block. But, groups can also be ripe with distractions. They often generate more questions for you than answers.

Share threads can bring some traffic to your site and up your social numbers. They are also a nice way to get to know other bloggers in your niche. However, they can also be a huge waste of your time, especially if you’re in too many of them.

Read Best Social Media for Bloggers to Grow Traffic and Make Money

With limited time, private one-on-one coaching will be more effective than taking courses and scrolling social media for answers. Working with a blogging coach can get you focused and moving forward with recommendations tailored specifically to your goals. Learn how to Work with Me.

When you start a blog with a full time job, you have less time to devote to it, so use every block of time constructively.

Read How to Stay Focused as a New Blogger

Weekly Checklist for New Bloggers

Outsource Whatever You Can

It takes dedication and excellent time management, but you can start a blog and build a business with a full time job.

As a single mom blogger with a full time job, you absolutely have your hands full! It is OK, and possibly essential, that you ask for help. There are lots of ways to outsource, or at least make life more convenient while saving you time, both in your home life and professional life.

• Hire a sitter or mother’s helper, or swap childcare with a mom friend
• Get help to take care of keeping your home clean
• Take advantage of a meal kit subscription, order takeout or get an Instant Pot
• Find a virtual assistant to handle website maintenance or social media
• Use a scheduling tool like SocialBee, Buffer or CoSchedule to get social media done quickly
• Invite other bloggers to guest post on your blog
• Order grocery pickup or delivery and save hours in the grocery aisles

What are some other ways you save time?

What’s Your Big Why?

The best advice I can give you on how to start a blog with a full time job, and a full time life, is to have a clear, specific Big Why. If you haven’t yet, grab a piece of paper or open up a new doc, and start writing. Dig deep, ask yourself the Big Why questions I outlined above and get super clear on why you’re doing this.

Put it in writing or create a vision board. And take a minute to share it with me in a comment below and in the private Mom Bloggers and Business Builders Community. Putting it out there makes it real, holds you accountable and allows us all to celebrate with you!

Tell me! I’m a big supporter of every mom living the life of her dreams. I know you can do it. Leave a comment below and tell me your Big Why.

More Posts You’ll Love

• How to Stay Focused as a New Blogger + Free Checklist
• Set Clear Blogging Goals to Make Your Year a Success
• 5 Real Moms Share 10 Best Tips to Successfully Work at Home with Kids
• Start a Blog the Right Way: Easy 7 Step Guide
• Easy Guide to Choosing a Blogging Niche + Free Workbook
• Best Free Online Courses for Bloggers Who Want to Succeed