Wifin’, Mommin’, Workin’ Bloggin’: How do I do it all?

I have been thinking about writing something like this for a while because a week doesn’t go by where I don’t get asked, “How do you do it all?” Between being a wife, boy mom, full time employee and blogger I sometimes get pretty frazzled but I manage to get everything done and stay pretty organized. It’s a fitting time to put this out there because a few weeks ago my husband was suddenly admitted to the ICU for several days and if it wasn’t for some of the tips I’m about to show you, I would have been in a mess.

A day in the life:

This is what a typical weekday looks like:

My first alarm goes off at 4:15, then my second alarm goes off at 4:30. I finally get up at 4:45, go do my devotion then grab my phone and start catching up on Instagram engagement (responding to and giving comments) right away from the night before. After that, I post my photo for the day in the RewardStyle App so that my IG post is shoppable, then post my photo to Instagram, then to my Telegram groups. Then, it’s time to shower, dry hair, do makeup (I’m not one of those wake up and go type), iron clothes, get Caden ready and fed, drop him off at school, then I’m headed to work. Somewhere in there I chug down a cup of coffee. I normally eat avocado toast at home or something real quick in the car. I am at work until 5:00 and I have to race to get Caden from after school care by 6:00, cook dinner, make sure Caden has a bath, does his nightly reading and hope he’s in bed at a decent time.

Pretty much seems like I have absolutely no time at all to do anything but this during the day, right? I’m going to give you some life tips that help me with the day-to-day then with what I’ve learned in my short time blogging that helps me stay on track!

I LIVE BY MY PLANNER!!! Let me say that again, I LIVE BY MY PLANNER!!! GET YOU ONE and not one from Dollar Tree, I mean a good one. I use a Happy Planner and I love it.

I plan out my bills according to pay days. This is not an extraordinary concept but something I’ve been doing for 10+ years. I mark my pay days in my planner then write down what bills need to be paid on that day so I know exactly what’s coming out and what we will have left over. I do this ONE MONTH AHEAD!
I meal plan. This is HUGE! I take to Pinterest every week and look up recipes for what meat I have in my freezer, write down what other ingredients I need and I either grab it myself at Aldi or do the Walmart grocery pickup. I write down in my planner what we will have for dinner every night so I will know what meat to unthaw and that’s one less thing for me to worry about that day. I normally meal plan on Friday so I can buy what I need that weekend for the next week.
When I get out of the shower in the morning I always throw a load of clothes in the washing machine and if I have time I’ll unload/load the dishwasher and pick up toys, dishes, things laying around, etc so I’ll come home to a tidy house. Caden is also made to make sure his room his clean and bed is made before we leave.
The weekends are usually pretty busy for me as well but Saturday morning is when I do my deep house cleaning, such as mopping, before Caden gets up. Also, I have extra quiet time to just sit and drink coffee and read. Saturday is normally Mommy and Caden time. We go grocery shopping and he normally gets a toy 🙂 or we go see my family or have lunch with Daddy but that day it’s just me and my little sidekick!
Sunday is strictly family day. My husband is off that day so we always try to go to church and plan an afternoon activity or go out for lunch. I keep social media to a minimum and normally don’t post this day.
It helps being a full time employee in a job that you love and you are appreciated. I work as a lab tech in a doctor’s office for two of the best doctors I have ever had the pleasure to meet…and I have been in the medical field for a lot of years. They both know I am a blogger and are fully supportive of me but when I am at work, my job and my patients come first.

I can’t let Todd go unnoticed because he works so hard for us and supports my shopping habit 🙂 He works 12 hour shifts, so he leaves at 6:15am and doesn’t get home until almost 7pm. He also works every Saturday, and his off day every week changes so on that day he helps me with taking Caden to and from school and cleaning if I ask. Love you, babe!

SNEAK PEAK INTO MY HAPPY PLANNER!!

DAY TO DAY

MEAL PLANNING

BLOG AND PHOTO SCHEDULE (IG FEED)

HOW DO I FIT BLOGGING INTO ALL OF THIS?

How do I fit blogging in a life where I’m already a wife, mom and full time employee? LOTS OF PLANNING!! Being a fashion blogger is not just waking up and posting a photo on Instagram and adding a catchy caption and calling it a day. There is so much more involved. Here’s how I keep it together.

I shoot all of my content on the weekend. My sweet little 7 year old is quite the photographer and loves going to the gardens to take a few pictures then playing afterwards. Then on those family Sundays, my sweet hubby will take a few photos. When a have several outfits, my mom and I will take a trip and she will do them for me.
After I have my photos, I pick out the ones I like and edit them, then plan out my Instagram feed for that week in my planner. This way, I will wake up everyday, look and my planner and know what I’m going to post.
I try to have 2-3 blog post ideas in the back of my mind at a time, so I can get my thoughts together. I normally ALWAYS get a blog post out every Friday unless there is a crisis (like Todd being in ICU) but I like to be on a schedule and four posts a month is perfect, in my opinion.
If/when I don’t have patients at work or I am slow I will start typing out my blog posts. I have my own lab area with a computer so I utilize my downtime. I also use my downtime to catch up on responding to and leaving comments on Instagram as well as reading emails or posting in my stories.
I work half days on Fridays so after work, I squeeze in everything I can while Caden is at school. If I need to do any shopping, get my nails done, get my hair cut, run kid-free errands or go to a doctors appointment for myself, I do it then. This time is so important because it’s the only “me” time I get out of the entire week…a whole 3 hours, haha!!
Basically, it boils down to TIME MANAGEMENT. If I sat around and waited until the last minute for everything, I would fail every time and there’s no way I could accomplish what I do. I’m not a procrastinator (laundry doesn’t count) and I feel like if I use my time wisely, then I can get everything done.

If you’ve made it this far, I hope this helped you in some way, especially if you feel like you don’t have the time to start something you have a passion for. I realize waking up at 4:45am is not for everyone but I am a morning person and I have the most energy at that time. I am also extremely type A and a perfectionist which feeds my desire to always wanting to be organized. I’ve always been a driven person and a go-getter and I find it hard to relax so I function better when I’m busy. Clutter gives me extreme anxiety so that’s why I try and straighten up before I leave for work, so I don’t have to come home to a messy house. Don’t get me wrong, I do get stressed and think the world is caving in on me at times but I try to always have a positive attitude about it because it won’t last forever. Blogging is so rewarding for me, not only being able to create and share what I love but I also get to meet and develop relationships with other bloggers. It is hard work but I wouldn’t trade the life I have for the world!