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What to Do When You Are Stuck on Your Blog
To be stuck can mean something different to everyone. Maybe you are stuck in your blogging journey because you have writers’ block, maybe you have no time, maybe you are lost or maybe you have no money or motivation. Like I said being stuck is different to everyone. When I first started blogging, I use to think I would get stuck because of lack of things to write about but really there are quick and easy ways to fix that. At first, I was stuck because I was lost. I didn’t know where to start or even how to start blogging. That as well is a pretty easy fix. There are a ton of amazing courses and ebooks out there to help you with that. I took this course, and it lays everything out for you!
Now, being stuck because of lack of money isn’t so easy to fix. You may know everything you want to do and you are all completely ready to start a blog but you don’t have the money to buy hosting or a domain name.
Not having motivation is an easy one to get stuck on! We all (or most of us) work and have kids so by the end of the day you are exhausted! Plus, if you are a mom you probably have to do all or most of the cooking and cleaning as well!
Not having time has been my reason for getting stuck. Well, that and lack of motivation. But then I thought about it and really is it a reason or an excuse? When people want to make a change in their life they will find a way. When we want to buy something really bad, whether it’s a good idea or not, we will find a way. Same goes for working out and eating right. We can say we have no time or money to work out and meal plan but we will spend money on dumb stuff and watch tv all night. If we really wanted to make a change we would.
Not having time is a harder one to overcome but it can be done. You have to really prioritize your day and your tasks. Map it all out and stick to it. Of course, that is much easier said than done!
Let me give you a quick rundown of why I feel I have no time or motivation anymore.
When I first started blogging I stayed at home. It was over the summer of 2017 that I started really researching how to start a blog but then once my daughter started school I officially launched it. She went to school all day and I had a quiet house to myself to blog. Then in January, I started working as a lead teacher at a Christian Preschool. Now, this is how my day goes.
I wake up at 6/6:30 and I get myself and my daughter ready for school and work. I get her on the bus and then I go to work until 3:30. Once I get home I have a few minutes to start supper and clean up before I have to get her off the bus. Once she is on the bus it is cleaning, cooking, homework, etc. We start bath at 7:30/8:00 and then I try and have her in bed by 8:30/9:00. It never goes all smoothly but that is the rundown of the schedule I try to stick to. After I get home from work I am tired but I still have a list of mommy duties I have to do. Just like everyone else. Also, we have gymnastics one night a week so that pushes everything back on that day.
So, like most people from 6am-9pm I have daily stuff I have to do. That leaves random times I find time in between there and nights and weekends. But, also like most people I have more to do than just that. I have to do the budget and pay bills, meal plan and grocery shop, if I am being ambitious then I also try and meal prep for the week as well. Then I have to do all the cleaning, which let’s be honest it’s never-ending. Alos, I am the Lead Teacher in my classroom so I have to do lessons plans and newsletters every week as well.
Again, just like everyone else we constantly have things going on and I don’t feel there are enough hours in the day. I only have one child too, so moms/dads out there with multiple children I don’t know how you get it all done!
So, for me not having time or motivation after working all day was more of an excuse in my eyes but yet it won most of the time. After working all day and coming home to a messy house I had to clean, supper I had to cook, laundry I had to wash and fold…mentally I was exhausted. It was hard for me to get into the blogging zone. Many people do it though! My husband is one of those people. He can get up at anywhere from 2-5am and work until 8-9pm….every single day. He is just a very hard worker and very self-motivated. I use to think “oh, well, he only has to focus on his job”. Not like us moms who have to wear 20 different hats, but I was wrong. He is great at that as too. He runs a lawn care business on the side of his normal job (managing and growing a trucking company).
When we go out on the boat he will have two phones and be answering emails, taking phone calls, shooting quotes, all while docking the boat. We have gone to Disney and he did the same thing in between rides! He amazes me!
There are so many mothers out there that work full-time jobs, take care of multiple children, run the household, and still have successful blogs! It can be done! #goals
Here is an overview of what may cause you to get stuck in your blogging journey or life in general and here are some quick solutions.
I thought about all the things that could cause you to get stuck. Different obstacles I have faced and overcame myself!
Problems
- No time
- No money
- No motivation
- Writer’s block
- Lost – Don’t know how
Solutions
- Schedule, plan, prep, multitask, don’t worry about being perfect
- Do what you can that is free first, budget and find extra money, sell some stuff, work side job first to get started
- Sleep, Spark, eat right, dream board, goals, dig deep
- Step away, research on Pinterest, Google or Answer The Public, check out same niches blogs, or go back through your notes
- Find a blogger that teaches you how to blog, or that teaches more on your niche, or again do some Pinterest or Google research
Where there is a will, there is a way!
When I stop and think about everything I have to do during the day I think there is no way I have time to work on my blog too. Then I think back to if there is a will there is a way. If I REALLY wanted to, I could get up earlier each day. That doesn’t sound fun what so ever for me because I am more of a night owl than an early bird. If I do get up I love it! But it’s the actually getting up out of bed part that is the hardest for me. Plus, I am one of those people who needs more than 8 hours of sleep to feel rested. My husband can go strong on 5 hours of sleep. I need 10. I wish so badly that I didn’t but when I push and go with no sleep I feel miserable and no amount of Spark will help.
There is no replacement for sleep and unfortunately, my body needs more than the average Joe. I usually get 8 hours of sleep a night but it feels like 6. On the weekends we have so much going on I rarely get to sleep in and get caught up. When I do though, I feel unstoppable. So if I were to actually sleep more I would probably get more done in the day even though it seems like I wouldn’t because I would have less time because I slept more.
What I end up doing instead of getting up early or sleeping longer is I end up staying up later (night owl) and trying to get caught up on laundry or prep for the next crazy morning of rushing to get to the bus stop and off to work. Sometimes, I stay up late and work on my blog but most of the time it is housework.
Another way to find time to work on my blog is if I would let the housework go a little bit. We all know that it is going to need to be cleaned again whether I do it all now or later. There will still be more to clean and the mess will still be there (because no one else will do it) so why not wait and make more time for my blog, right?
I am not saying to completely stop cleaning your house and let it get all crazy, I’m saying that I may clean too much when the mess will still be there when I’m done working on my blog.
I think one of my biggest time wasters and I hate to even say this but I know I am not alone so I will, is Facebook. If I find a few minutes to myself I find myself getting on Facebook and then all of a sudden 30+ minutes has gone by and for what? I achieved nothing and I really didn’t have the time to waste as it was! Sadly, I catch myself doing it all the time too! I don’t want to delete Facebook so I need to really get a grip on the amount of time I end up wasting on there.
Learning to be more efficient with your time is another way that would help me. When I do sit down and plan out the monthly meals that saves me time every day not trying to figure out every night what to cook. That also helps out the grocery budget too.
Get some help!
If you have the money to spend on a housekeeper or a babysitter than do that! Having someone help clean the house would save a bunch of time for me or if someone could watch your kids so you could blog that would work as well! You may be thinking well I don’t have the money for a housekeeper. Don’t worry neither do I but that is one of my goals! The less time I spend on cleaning (even if I pay someone) the more time I have to blog and make more money. It is delegating those chores out and making you capable of making more money than if you were to save the money and do it yourself. If you have kids old enough to help make them!
Luckily, my sister lives down the street and my daughter loves to go over there. This gives me quite time to get some things done. Since it is on the weekend it doesn’t gain me any extra time but does give me some quiet time where I could be more productive and achieve more at least.
The same goes for her though, her kids will come over here and play to give her quiet time. We just trade off. It is awesome having the help regardless though!
Reach out for help for any of these problems. Again, there are so many resources out there for each of these issues. Here are a few!
- 4 Easy Ways to Find Time to Blog
- 10 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Organized
- Bullet Journal to plan and organize
- Learn to budget and pay off debt
- This may not seem like it but my Fitbit (which now I have an Apple Watch) helps motivate me! I watch my step count and I try to reach my goal every day so that motivates me to keep moving. Also, it tracks your sleep you so make sure you are getting enough rest!
- Great courses on Blogging – Blog By Number Course, Mom Blogging Mentor, and Make Money Blogging at Any Level.
You can, of course, check out my FREE resource on starting and growing your own blog!
