Adulting & Blogging at the Same Damn Time

I have recently started working full time for a job I love, and as much fun as I’m having and as excited as I am about starting this chapter of my life, I haven’t had nearly as much time to write as I like. Obviously, my job takes priority, not only because it is my primary source of income, but because the work I do is so much more important than my blog, and has so much more of an impact than a viral article ever will. Conservatives need to keep creating content and actively take back our culture- a culture that is categorically dominated by leftist thought from Hollywood to Buzzfeed to Twitter and Facebook. That being said, no think piece or “hot take” is going to single handedly make a significant impact on American politics or culture. What I cherish most about my job is that while so many sit at desks and in front of screens analyzing and editorializing, my job makes actual, tangible change. And we need more people in conservative politics that are more concerned with changing the game than hearing themselves talk or how many likes, shares or retweets they received.

That being said, writing is important to me, and so is my blog. So I need to learn how to balance my goals for myself as a blogger with my duties at my new job, and my goals for advancement within the company.

It seems straightforward enough; make time to write blog posts and schedule them ahead of time. But when you start your big girl job, you’re tired. As much as I love my job, it exhausts me. The last thing I want to do after a long day of work is use my brain. All I want to do is shove grease and alcohol down my gullet, binge watch Netflix and pass out. So how do I find the discipline and motivation to bust out a few articles instead of my preferred ritual of booze, Bob’s Burgers and bed?

Find time to write in your daily routine. Whether that’s on your lunch break, waking up a half hour early, or while you’re riding the train to work, make sure that you’re finding (or making) space in your daily routine to write.

Treat Netflix as a reward, not a habit. You shouldn’t be bingewatching Grey’s or starting the new series your friends won’t shut up about if you haven’t fulfilled all of your responsibilities- and that’s not just blog writing; that’s making time to exercise, keep up with your beauty and hygiene routine, fulfill any professional obligations, make any appointments or calls you need to, respond to your emails, etc. It’s hard, but we both know you can do it.

Make your off-days productive. There’s bound to be one day in most of your weeks where you have less work than usual to do, and you’re going to want to relax and have fun- and you absolutely should. You’ve earned it. But before you make brunch plans or hit up that concert, you should make sure that you have content scheduled on your blog for at least the next two weeks.