Finding Time For Blogging

I must not be the only person facing this: I started book blogging years ago when I was in college. As busy as I was, I always found time mid-week or on school vacations to give this blog the full love and attention it deserves.

Now I'm working full-time. Between my two jobs, I work 50+ hours a week. Not just that, but bartending is exhausting - I can practically feel all my creative juices flowing out of me!
This year has been an uphill battle to keep up with both my reading and my blogging. I by no means have this system down, but here are some tips I use to remind myself to keep blogging:

1. Emphasize E-Books

No matter how busy I get, I always keep up reading Fanfiction. I swear, I've read every AO3 story possible for The Raven Cycle, All For the Game, and Check, Please! So how do I find time for those but not for book-books? Because I take them with me everywhere! I rarely have an hour to sit down in a comfy chair to read a hardcover, so as much as I love doing that, I've found myself much more likely to read an e-book on my phone on-the-go.

2. Expand My Social Media

I used to just blog, Goodreads, Bookstagram with a few Tweets to point back at my posts. I recently joined Litsy and it's been a huge push to re-engage with the bookish community! The standard of photographs is so much less daunting than Bookstagram, and people interact and respond to each other much more often than on Goodreads. Litsy might not be for everyone, but find the platform that keeps you motivated!

3. Plan My Blog

I used to Bullet Journal which worked wonders for me, but with my workflow being entirely Google-based at work, I've had to migrate everything to technology. Wunderlist has been an absolute blessing, and I've adapted the same organization to my blog posts! When I have an idea for a post, I make a note, and within the app I can organize and schedule where I want my ideas to go.

4. Ask Myself, Who Am I Writing For?

I used to write long and incredibly detailed reviews...when I reviewed at all. Because I was setting such a high standard of review quality, I often kept putting it off until I didn't review the book period. Unless the review was a request from an author or publisher, why was I killing myself to do this? My reviews are for me, and all I want my followers to do is feel inspired to pick up the books that I loved. That doesn't need an hour and a wall of words to communicate, so relax and write the kind of reviews that you want to read.

5. Set Goals, But Be Kind to Yourself

There have been entire months that I've lapsed any reading or blogging whatsoever. Even my Bookstagram - something I used to keep up religiously - has run dry. While I wish I was posting on a schedule and keeping followers who looked out for my content every week, that just doesn't fit into my lifestyle right now. I have to let my "brand" stand on its own - keep my content consistent and post when I can. One post a month is better than no posts, and I have to remember that.

What do you do when your life gets too busy for consistent blogging? Let me know in the comments!