Work/Life “Balance” As A Blogger

My most frequently asked question is “how do I balance it all?” which is funny because most days I don’t feel balanced at all LOL

Shop this look:

Outfit details: Dress: ASOS (wearing a 6 but could have definitely gone with a 4 as well) | Heels: Steve Madden | Bag: Fossil | Earrings: Sugarfix

When I chat with ladies who are just entering into the blogging world most want to know 1) how to land paid sponsorships and 2) how to balance building your brand while working full time.

Sometimes, I feel like people are wanting some magic answer of how to effortlessly build their business but honestly the term “balance” in my life has been replaced by the term “sacrifice”.

I never really “log off” of work as a blogger or even as my daytime career as a Procurement Manager.

Although I don’t have it totally figured out, I have found what works for me so here are the things I do to help me stay somewhat sane.

1- Write a new to do list everyday:

• This keeps me accountable for things that I did not complete the day before because I keep writing it down everyday I don’t do it.
• I write a star next to everything that is priority. I know sometimes we view everything as priority but once you find yourself putting a star next to 20 things on your to do list you’ll work harder to narrowing down what is really priority that day
• Jot down how many minutes it should take you to complete that task. For example, if I write down “answer emails” I schedule my time for an hour. Set a timer if you have to. If I don’t limit my time on certain tasks like answering emails, you better believe I’ll be distracted by the latest “40% off sale at LOFT” newsletter and be online shopping before any emails are answered LOL
• Write down everything. And seriously, I mean everything. I mentioned Loft earlier. If I need new work clothes and I know the site is having a sale, I schedule time for that.

2- Communicate with your spouse or significant other:

• For the longest time Brandon and I would run errands after work separately. Since I didn’t want to “bother” him with my errands I would rush to pick up my dry cleaning after work not knowing he was going to pick his stuff up anyway. Or I would run to Walgreens to pick up something not knowing he had to make a stop there on his lunch that same day. It was basically double the work when if we had just communicated, it could have freed up someone’s time! Communicate and delegate.

3- Keep your calendar up to date:

• This goes back to number 1 as well. Write down everything. I am old school and love a good ol paper planner. I write in pencil because things are constantly changing. I write down appointments, when campaigns are due, when invoices are sent out, when payments are due, etc.

4- Put your phone away when you are working on to do lists:

• If you are like me trying to multi tasks and be on Facebook, nothing is going to get done. I’ll end up googling “how long do giraffe’s live” before I accomplish one thing.
• Put your phone away face down and set a special ring tone for your spouse, kids or family members so you know only to answer those calls during that time.

5- Hire someone or onboard an intern:

• 100% honesty, I used to hate when I went to a conference and the keynote speaker would be like “hire out”. I would be like “Girl, I ain’t got no money to pay a team”. LOL. But seriously I didn’t. I cannot stress more that once your business starts making some money, invest that money wisely like into a team member or more if you can. I promise you, if you have someone good, they will free up so much time for you to tackle other things and grow your business . Also, an intern is an option too. Reach out to a local college to seek programs where people are needing internships. I have a lot of girlfriends that have interns and they are killing it. I opted to hired people, my sisters actually, because I don’t have time for an intern to actually physically be with me. My sisters are smart, learn quickly and I can trust they are going to make respectable decisions when doing their job for The Style Lynn Life.  It’s basically a family business now LOL

And this isn’t a tip but just some truthful advice. Sacrifice is a word you should become familiar with when building your blog/brand. Balance will follow. I promise you if you keep persistent, work hard and stay true to yourself, everything in between will be worth it!

xo, Roselyn

Photos by Banavenue Photography