How I Balance My Full-Time PR Career + Blogging

 I was recently asked how I balance my full time career as a senior account executive and blogging (and the additional freelance work I take on.) The truth is, there isn’t much balance but read on for my time management tips, what I prioritize and what I give up to chase all my dreams.

My Career and a Little Background

I work full time for PR agency Martin Waymire. I’ve worked here for five years which has helped me understand the busy seasons (or busy years: hello, election year), my client load and expectations and what fluidity and flexibility I have. I have a lot of flexibility and fluidity which I’m eternally grateful which makes the balance that much easier or seamless rather.

Before COVID, I scheduled photography after 5 p.m. or on weekends and worked typically over the weekend to write and schedule three blog posts for Monday, Wednesday and Friday which is my usual cadence. In the morning before work, I try to schedule my Facebook posts to promote the blog posts and a couple good sales or recent items I purchased or fun photos I’ve taken. Instagram is all in real time so I might share stories in the morning, post Instagram during my work day and check DMs throughout the day. I try to hop on Pinterest each day and schedule out my own posts every Friday night (usually for Friday through the following week sharing all my recent blog posts.)

With COVID, I’m not working out at lunch everyday and I have a lot more flexibility at home and I’ll take 15 minutes here and there to film stories, snap some photos of myself with a tripod at home and share on social media throughout the day. I find that I post less on my feed that’s curated and planned in advance and more in the moment on Instagram stories. Overall, I have more time to share more right now.

It’s also important to note that since I’m not a food blogger or another blogger-type that requires a lot of time to cook, DIY, craft–this does make it easier for me. I can snap an outfit pic or photograph my home or travels quickly and I’m a prolific writer and I’m not a perfectionist so I can turn shit around QUICK.

Project Management and Time Management is KEY

As you can tell, it takes a lot of planning and time management to fit it all in, but I love project management and I’m Type A so not doing it isn’t an option. Here are a few tips that have helped me:

Tip 1: I block off time on my calendar so I’m held accountable. I do this for blog post promotion on all social channels and divvy up specific times to schedule content on Facebook and Pinterest. And that time that’s scheduled–I think of it as an event I must attend so there’s usually no scheduling over this time or putting it off. I try to take care of it when I get the calendar reminder.

Tip 2: Build out a monthly content calendar. This system of a monthly content calendar in an excel sheet works for me, but you can use different platforms like Hootsuite, Coschedule and more to plan and schedule content. I’m usually old school preferring an excel sheet template or a word doc for all my blog content strategy and planning. I’ve incorporated more and more monthly themes and posts so that also makes it easier to plan month to month–and you give readers something to look forward to! For example, I started Top Target Finds last year and it’s so fun and comes naturally to share my latest finds and it’s something readers can expect to find each and every month.

Tip 3: Set weekly goals and take time to reflect on the prior week’s accomplishments and areas of opportunity. I find this helpful with a journal and one that’s created that helps guide you through your weekly, monthly and yearly goals and reflecting upon them along with jotting down ideas and your calendar. I use Passion Planner! I rely on my Google Calendar for weekly calendar planning, but use this to sketch out my week, write weekly goals, reflect on the goals and ideas of the week before and reset/re-energize!

The Reality: I Don’t Have Much Time For Much Else

The reality of working full time, blogging as much as I do and taking on freelance work affects my social life. My friendships and relationships have suffered because I don’t have much balance and I know I’m a workaholic so I’m not the best example to follow but I do think I’m incredibly efficient with my time.

Doing a little less would solve that problem if you’re like me and sticking to a schedule, carving out specific times to finish projects and defining your boundaries (and sticking to them) will also help with balance.

To find some balance, perhaps you post less-maybe once or twice a week tops! And schedule content on social, but stay off a little more. Find the balance that works for you and decide what’s important to you. I’m not married and I don’t have children so it makes it easy to prioritize me and my career first for everything and may not be the same for you and that’s okay!

What questions do you have? Feel free to comment them here or email me at kerbuski@gmail.com!

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