I have a confession: I recently took 2 weeks off of blogging. I felt like I had so much to do that I just could not sit down and devote my whole hearted attention to my blog. I’ll be honest, I felt super guilty and crappy about it. My blog is still new and I do not have many people reading it, so it wasn’t like people were knocking down my door to get new content. But I knew that I was not pursuing my dreams and I felt like I was letting myself down. My biggest dream and goal is to monetize this blogging & YouTube thing and I have been feeling pretty discouraged recently.
I wanted to get back to it and share some tips on how to find the time, patience and energy to devote to my passions and creating new content as a working mom.
#1 – Remember WHY you started!
When I first started bogging 7 months ago, I was so excited to start my journey and share my content. As time went on and things were very slow to progress, I got discouraged. To be honest, I am still not where I want to be, but I am not giving up! It is important to remember that giddy feeling about when you first got started and WHY you want to continue. For me, I started because I needed a creative outlet and a way to document the changes that I was making in my life. Blogging keeps me accountable because it forces me to record aspects of my life and be more creative with my hair, makeup and lifestyle. I also started because I eventually would like to earn a significant income from my blog and have more money to travel and put towards our upcoming wedding!
#2 – Communicate your goals with your support system
I think this is SUPER important! In order to pursue your passion, you first need to let people know what excites you. Whether it is your mom, husband, sister, BFF or work wife – tell them about what makes you tick and how you plan on taking over the world! You are more likely to achieve your goals if you actually write them down, and even more so if you have someone else holding you accountable. Also, if you are in a relationship and you want to spend more time on your passion, then it can be helpful to talk to your significant other about your plans.
#3 – Create realistic goals
In order to pursue your passions without getting burnt out, it is important to be realistic about your goals. Do you want to make money from your passion, or do you just want to feel more fulfilled in life? Create goals that fall in line with what you want to achieve and do your best to stick to them. Life happens, so be sure to factor in holidays, busy season at work and kids activities. The worst feeling is setting unattainable goals and missing them because you put too many things on your plate. Being a mom is a huge job, so don’t put too much on yourself. You got this, mama!
#4 – Maximize your weekends and time off
Weekends and nights are your best friend. I repeat, weekends and nights are your best friend! Make the most out of your time by planning out your day and finding pockets of time to work on your content or hobby. I like to use my daughter’s nap time to write my blog posts and then night time for editing my YouTube videos. I also take a day or two off per month to reset and create more content. This is definitely a luxury that most people do not have, but I am fortunate to have a lot of vacation time and very few vacation plans. Ask your significant other to take the kids to the park, so you can keep that passion alive!
#5 – Get enough sleep
Ok ok, I am still struggling with this one. I KNOW that I need 7 hours of sleep at night to be a functioning adult. Do I really get 7 hours every night? No, ma’am, I do not. I know I would be unstoppable if I went to bed a t 10pm every night and woke up at 5. I am going to use October as a month to steadily get up earlier and earlier until I get to my goal of 5:30am. I have noticed that I am so much more balanced and energetic when I get enough sleep and I am properly hydrated. To give the most of myself to my family and my passion, I have to get enough sleep! If I don’t, then I feel like I am playing catch-up for the rest of the week.
#6 – Give yourself some slack
This is important, y’all. Be easy on yourself! If you have had a whirlwind week and everything is going on, give yourself some grace and breathe. If that means that dinner is a frozen pizza and that little Susie’s laundry is not perfectly ironed before school, you will survive. I always tell my fellow mom friends to stop being so hard on themselves! Parenting is hard. Let’s not make it harder by being too critical on ourselves. With hard work and dedication, we can follow our passions and move closer towards happiness.
Don’t give up, no matter what! If you want to pursue your passions, then you need an ironclad will and a plan to get there. If it doesn’t happen overnight, that is fine! Don’t compare yourself to others and follow your joy, just for you! Keep your energy high and remember that the end goal is be more fulfilled in life.
Thank you so much for stopping by! Can you tell me some tips that you have for following your passions?
xo,
Simone
