It’s Friday night, you just got done running your daughter to the movie theatre, you go to grab your laptop, but your son is playing Minecraft, and your wife is using her computer – and oh yeah, you need to publish a blog post ASAP. Finding time to blog is hard enough, but trying to find time to blog from home when you’ve got to juggle a family and household chores makes it even tougher. By following a few simple rules, however, you can blog from home successfully.
Get Your Own Gadgets
If you’re the kind of family that has two or three computers to share with you, your spouse, and your kids, I would suggest pronouncing one computer for “Kid Use”, one for “Wife Use” and one for yourself. This will help save hassle when you’re running around trying to find a computer to use. Simply buying a computer specifically for your kids will keep them from wanting to use yours, which means you’ll get more computer time.
Don’t Be a Couch Potato
I don’t know how people do it, but I can’t lay or even sit on the couch and do any kind of work. I need to be sitting in a chair at a desk or table or I can’t concentrate properly. Sitting up straight (verses slouching on the couch) will help oxygen get to your brain, which will ultimately lead to better results in your writing. I would suggest sitting at either the kitchen table or a desk for the best results.
Turn The Spare Room Into An Office
If you have a spare room in the house (or one that is barely used, such as a den), you should consider turning it into a home office. All you need is a desk, a chair, and maybe even a bookshelf or something to fill the room. Having somewhere to go that is specifically for blogging or other work will help you stay on task.
Go Somewhere Quiet
If you have kids that like to watch TV in the living room, talk loudly, and cause distractions, then you should consider going somewhere quiet for a few hours while you work. You could try going to a bedroom and closing the door, creating an office like I mentioned above, going to the basement, or even going out to the back porch. If you have too many loud distractions in the room, you’ll never get anything done.
Face It: Maybe Blogging Isn’t For You
Blogging requires a ton of time, effort, and motivation, especially if you’re new. New blogs don’t often bring in income until about six months after they launch (if you know what you’re doing). Omega Web has only been around since May 2012, and in July 2012 I only made $12. Yes, that’s income, but that’s for hours and hours of research, work, writing, and effort. If you already have a busy life, I would suggest trying something new. Even if you don’t have time to run an entire blog yourself, you can always guest blog (I allow guest posting) on other, established websites.
We have a room dedicated to a home office that my husband and I share but we also have an empty room upstairs. I’ve toyed with the idea of making that room my Blog Office. When I go upstairs (with my laptop in tow), it will be blogging time. Not paying bills, not filing, not surfing the net, not switching the laundry – but blogging time. I thought maybe having a dedicated space would make it easier to focus. I haven’t taken the plunge, though. Not sure if it would work or if I’d feel isolated. It definitely wouldn’t be as convenient as being on the main floor.
Blogging is definitely hard work with not much return at first. I’ve been blogging for just over a year. It’s a lot more work than I expected.
Great article. I always like reading about how other bloggers function.
I’m still in high school and living with my parents (it sounds so lame when you say it like that), so I just blog from my desk in my room. It’s actually pretty successful for the most part, but I would love to have a separate “blogging room” in the house.