This week's open thread was actually inspired by an email from my colleague, Ana Gonzalez Ribeiro. We met at last year's ASJA conference and have been emailing ever since. Last week, she emailed me about how balancing a full-time job, a blog, and freelance assignments is really stressing her out. Boy, can I relate, because I was in Ana's position a few years ago before going full-time freelance. With her permission, I've posting her message below. I have a few suggestions, but I'd love to get more ideas from you lovely readers.
Hi Susan, I find that it's really difficult to keep writing blog posts and work on my articles at the same time (while working full-time) How do you handle all the work? Maybe you or someone can write an article about it? AnaMy two cents: I remember that being a real challenge when I worked full time. The other big challenge for me was balancing finding the work (marketing) and doing the work (writing). Depending on your long-term and short-term goals, you might prioritize paid assignments over blog posts. (And if you decide to focus on paid assignments, check out this post for some sanity-saving tips.) Or if your goal is to build a readership for your blog, I'd focus on that. Also remember that there are ways to save time with your blog. You can do shorter posts, roundup posts, invite guest bloggers to contribute (though this does take some of your time to coordinate), and so on. (This post has more suggestions in that realm.) Hope this helps! Your turn: What would you tell Ana? Are there other strategies you'd suggest? Leave a comment and let us know!