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Project Blog Full Time: My Master Plan

  August 5

This post may contain affiliate links.

Project Blog Full TimeGood morning, blog peeps! (and Happy Birthday to my Mom!) Ever notice how Monday seems to come faster than any other day of the week? Can’t be just me… Anyway, I want to talk about my big project, which you already know about! I’m dubbing it “Project Blog Full Time” because, my friends, it’s time to get dooooown to business!

First things first, I really need to get organized. I truly love organization. It makes me feel so focused.  My co-workers would probably tell you I’m a little psyco about it. I really like to have everything neat and planned out.

That being said, it makes sense that I’ve been getting a bit uneasy that I haven’t come up with a solid plan for the next 5 months so here it is! Hopefully, if I keep up with the goals below, I can confidently become a full time blogger in January instead of going into job search overtime.

Keep in mind that I still work 40 hours a week, so anything I do with the site has to be achieved outside of work. So, here are some of my thoughts (and my apologies in advance to some of my non-blogger readers because I’m asking for some technical advice from my bloggy friends in some of the content below!)

Overall Goals for Project Blog Full Time

Wake Up at 6 AM

I’ve been trying to wake up and write posts at this time, but my brain is too fried. I am not a morning person. I can barely force myself to sit up at that time, and the past few days I’ve been letting myself sleep until 7 instead. Then I get mad at myself for not keeping with this goal. I’m thinking that leaving and answering comments and writing e-mails takes less brain power than writing a 500 word post for a client, so I might do the former instead of the latter in the morning. I just moved all my subscriptions over to Blog Lovin’ so if you noticed that I unsubscribed from your e-mail, it’s not because I don’t love you. It’s because I’m loving you all the more because your blog is organized on my Blog Lovin page. 😀 This should help me with my commenting. P.S. Thanks to those who mentioned this tip a few weeks ago!

Write Down 3 Important Goals to Conquer Every Day

One of these goals will likely include writing a post for someone else and also trying to get things accomplished on this blog as well. I don’t know if you are like this, but I can absolutely work until my eyeballs fall out. Seriously, yesterday I went to get ice cream with my friends, and they mentioned how bloodshot my eyes were. Well, it’s because I stared at a computer screen for about 10 hours straight on Saturday. Not the healthiest thing in the world. I realize I push myself too hard because I’m terrified of failing. I do need to realize that everything will happen on its own time. I can’t add hours in the day. I need to just accomplish three big things every day, not twenty, and learn to be happy with that. This is going to be the biggest challenge of all for me.

Increase Affiliate Sales

I’ve been talking to some other bloggers about my lack of affiliate income. Seeing as I have almost 500 posts and my blog is over 3 years old, I should have a very strong affiliate income, but it’s just a trickle. This is something I really want to improve, so if you have any advice, please send it my way, and I will forever be your BFF.

Clean Up Old Posts

There’s some weird stuff on my blog, y’all, soooooo many posts from my baby blogger days that make no sense. I have to go through each post that I currently have and optimize it and delete the ones that are not very strong or relevant. This will absolutely take up some time.

Fix Broken Links

I’ve been at a PR3 for way too long. It makes me sad, and I know it’s in large part to a ton of broken links. I have to fix these asap so that I can have a fighting chance at a PR4. It’s just very time consuming. Any other advice for moving up in page rank?

Not Freak Out

What I’m trying to do here, work entirely for myself, really freaks me out. On one hand, I’m beyond excited about it because blogging is the perfect job for me. On the other hand, I’m terrified I won’t be able to provide for my family. So, I’ll be adding to my $2,000 emergency fund over the next 5 months so that we have a nice emergency egg to rely on if the Internet decides to break again like it did last Friday.

So, those are some of my goals and a tentative plan for moving forward with this thing. Any advice? Thoughts? Things I missed? Oh, and truly, thanks for reading. This wouldn’t be possible without you. {squishy blog hug}

Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

65 responses to “Project Blog Full Time: My Master Plan

  1. I think you’re right on with many of your goals Cat. I have quite a few of them myself in fact. 🙂 I like to be organized as well as we just have too many things going on that it pays to be organized. I’d hate to see what things would look like if I wasn’t organized. 😉

  2. Congrats on having a plan in place! I definitely want to put more time into my blog but I work full time as well and it’s difficult to find the time. I’m not a morning person either so what I’ve resorted to is staying up later to get everything done. Not the best idea as I’m so tired during the day.

  3. Blogging can get so messy so quick. We are trying to do some things begin the scenes to make the site better (and easier for us to manage), but it can be so frustrating when organizing a blog and cleaning it up can feel like a process that’d never actually done!

  4. Thanks for the updates. I think you should chronicle your journey even once you are self-employed. More motivation for the rest of us! I like the goal of building in a bigger cushion. I think having a LARGE emergency fund is key to making the leap. Also, some might call is OCD, but your organization is what is going to make you successful, especially in the online world.

    On the edge of my seat, excited for your upcoming life change!

  5. This is a great list! I really need to go through and fix my older posts as well. Some of them are very scary!

  6. Fear of failure can be a great motivator or a great hindrance to success – tough to walk that tightrope.

  7. Hi Cat,

    I love your idea about accomplishing three important things every day. Instead of the minutia of my endless to-do lists that seem to only grow, I think accomplishing three things that matter would actually get more truly done. I’m going to steal the idea, if that’s cool.

    I can only imagine how it feels to move to blogging full time, but you have a good handle on it and, with a plan & the willingness to act on it, there isn’t a whole lot we can’t accomplish. Good luck with the leap, not that you’ll need it!

  8. Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out =)

    I simply cannot write freelance articles in the morning either. My peak concentration time is 9am-1pm so I try to do anything serious during that time. I typically comment from 7-8 am when I am not quite awake yet.

  9. Looks like you’ve got a great plan in place. I get up early but it’s to get in my morning workout. I am not good without my exercise. I definitely don’t think my brain would function well enough to write coherent posts! Like Holly said, it’s partly find your rhythm and what works best for you.

    1. Wow, points to Shannon. That’s impressive. I hate working out too much to do that. I usually do 30-45 minutes of blogilates every other night, just me & YouTube. 😀

  10. Happy birthday to your mom!

    Regarding your plans, everything sounds really nice, minus the 10 hours spent per day in front of the computer. I did something similar when I started blogging and that resulted in me now having big problems with my back. So watch out – health is very important too because the pain can really put you out of “writing mood”. 🙂

  11. I used to teach a workshop called “work smarter, not harder” and was going to suggest that you work with what your brain/body tells you vs. fighting it, but I think you’ve realized that. I know personally I would NEVER get up at 6am, but I could easily stay up and be productive until 1am or later.

    I’m so jealous of you for doing this!! Best of luck!

    1. I think that is an awesome point, Amanda; I’m the same way! I will stay up until 2 or 3 working on papers for school, just because I think more clearly after the day is over. Obviously when you work early in the morning this doesn’t help, but once you make the transition to full-time blogging it will be easier to create your own schedule.

      1. That sounds like a great workshop Amanda!! I could easily be productive until 1AM and I totally was back in the day, but the hubs is not appreciative of my late night working haha. And Alexandra, it’s funny you say that. I tend to agree, while others say they like waking up early because the weight of the day and the day’s issues have not affected them yet!

  12. It sounds like you’ve got a great plan in place. I definitely agree with writing down three things to accomplish every day… I do this, and it has made me infinitely more productive! It’s so exciting that you’re doing this – very inspiring, and I can’t wait to ready about your journey!

  13. Good luck, Cat! I think it’s funny that you chose to add “Not Freak Out” to your list, and super important! It seems like you’re already getting organized, and will have a lot of success when you make the transition to full-time blogger. I wish I had more to offer than just well wishes, but I haven’t been in the blogging scene long enough to have any success stories to share!

  14. Great goals, Cat. You are so driven and I’m sure you’ll be able to meet these goals and switch to blogging by January – it’ll be here before we know it!

  15. I think the break down on your tasks/goals to be achieved is super smart. I’m wondering, do you have a date in mind? Or will you take the leap on January 1st?

  16. Check out the plugin broken link checker. Works like a charm! Just install and run it on sat night when traffic is low as it may big down your site. Then deactivate.

  17. Well Cat, I read your entire post and it sounds to me like you know where you want to go but you just need to find the time to get it all done. Blogging takes up lots of my time nevermind that I don’t advertise or make money in any way so I can imagine how much more work is added to your plate. You’re a strong woman I can tell and you’ll be able to get it done, focus and organization is your friend. Good luck mate.

  18. Great post, Cat! I am not a morning person but try to get to work by 7am to avoid the 5pm rush hour (I try to leave work by 4:30pm). This requires getting up for sure by 5:30am, because I like to get some blog work done. If I was a full-time blogger I would probably still get up fairly early and get work done, but would probably schedule an hour or two nap in the middle of the day 😉

    My affiliate income is almost non-existent and I would really like to learn more about it and figure out how I can build that revenue stream.

  19. I think organization gives us the power to be 100% more productive. I have a very demanding job so whenever I am not working I try to rela and spend as little time as possible doing housework bills etc. staying organized will really help you on your self employment journey I’m sure!

  20. This is a seriously awesome goal, Cat, and you should be so proud of yourself for pursuing it. Some great advice I was given when I decided to move toward freelancing fulltime: Set one big goal for each month. August I’m going to clean up my old posts. September I’m going to research and improve my affiliate marketing, etc. It makes it so much easier to get through a big to-do list and keeps you from running in too many different directions and not getting anything done!

  21. I wake up at 6:30 in the morning to comment on blogs. I am not a morning person either so at this early in the morning they only work I am capable of is reading posts and leading comments. I have found a lot of benefit in doing this though. I want to be able to write/blog full time in less than a year. I am super excited to follow along and see how everything goes for you. Maybe I could learn a thing or two 😉

  22. No need to be so hard on yourself for waking up late BB, just sleep late. I think the key is finding that prime time, which is different for everybody. I thought it was late night for me, but it turns out I write better in the early morning. As much as I hate getting up that early, knowing how I’m going to miss-out on those golden hours gets me up. Plus, that morning coffee does something to my brain and my body that I’m not able to articulate. I’m looking forward to tomorrow morning just for that. Great post.

    1. So true! I used to beat myself up for not being productive enough in the afternoon, but I’m really just no good at work between about 2pm and 6pm – I get way too brain dead and tired.. So now I work mornings, take time after lunch to relax or run errands, and get an hour or two more of work in after dinner. You get a lot more done when you listen to what you’re body is telling you!

  23. I can’t go until my eyeballs fall out. I actually just cut back some stuff to give myself more breathing room, but I also have a fall back freelance gig as a video editor, so I understand why you’re doing it. I too wonder how I can make more with affiliates. I have a PR 4 but that doesn’t seem to make any difference. For me it’s traffic I think. I don’t know how to incase it. I think your goals are great ones though and hope you figure everything out. And if you do let me know how you did it. 🙂

  24. Those are some great goals to help you achieve Project Full Time Blog Cat! You have a passion for this blogging thing and people with a passion don’t fail. You will be a great full time blogger Cat – I just know it 🙂

  25. You could get a VA so you can spend your time making your blog grow and writing more for you or others. There is a plugin for broken links that can take care of it, you can delete or edit them. Good luck!

  26. I have adopted the writing down my “3 Most Important Things” strategy that you refer to each morning.
    I think I heard about this originally from Leo over at Zen Habits.

    It really helps me keep the focus to know that I am knocking out my most important tasks before the distractions start to kick in.

  27. So glad I found this post! Blogging/writing for a living is something I would absolutely love to be able to do full-time, and I’ve just gotten started on making that dream a reality. Reading this was really inspiring – I’m going to take some time to write out my own list of goals that I need to achieve to be successful. “Not freak out” is going on my list, too 🙂

  28. Sounds like a great plan and like you know exactly what you need to do to make your dream of blogging full time come true. I especially love your goal to wake up earlier. Definitely don’t fret if writing isn’t your strong suit in the morning. I think it’s smart to get your other tasks done then and save the writing for when you’re alert and raring to go.

  29. Looks like you’ve got a solid plan there Cat – hopefully getting up at 6am will become habit and allow you to be awake enough to write some early morning blog posts!

  30. Hi Cat we share the same dream! If you find out about revving up your affiliate income please share the secret. I have found your blog recently through Budgets are Sexy and have really enjoyed reading it. I am a lover of DIY too and have done couple of projects recently including a garden makeover and a chest of drawers. I wish you all the best on your journey, sometimes it feels so much harder than a normal 9-5 job but hopefully over time it makes it all worthwhile.
    EJ

    1. Yahoo! Glad you found your way over to Budget Blonde! I’d love to chat more about this crazy journey to self employment. E-mail anytime! I wish you all the best of luck on yours!

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