Editorial Team
This article was written by Kristen N. Hubbard.
Working Mom Bloggers: Where’s The Time?
To restate the obvious, working moms are busy. They’re running a household. They’re tutoring their kids. More often than not they’re responsible for the chores. And on top of the massive pile of expectations working moms face, they are still expected to be successful breadwinners. Working moms hardly have time for anything. Whether employed or self employed, they are expected to help a business run smoothly in some way, shape or form. But there are certain things which, more often than not, they might be unable to find the time for. For instance, the lucrative business practice of blogging. Working mom bloggers are just as busy if not busier than any working mom. A successful blog takes time and energy. And proper blogging is a boon to business.
Working Mom Bloggers: Why It Matters
According to WordPress, over 409 million people view over 20 billion pages worth of blog posts every month. These numbers mean that blogging serves as an often integral part of marketing. Blogging is a method of public outreach, helping to strengthen the brand by drawing in new customers. Blogging helps keep current customers informed about news and upcoming releases. And blogging allows businesses to better understand and fulfill their customers needs through feedback, reviews and analytics. Blogging, when done right, is good for business. But how are working moms supposed to be able to blog consistently when they barely have time in the day?
Working Mom Bloggers and What Stops Them From Blogging
There are a number of problems working moms tend to run into when trying to complete a task. For starters, women are often called upon to take on extra work, even when they don’t have the time. Corporate psychologist Patricia Thompson was interviewed for Market Watch. Thompson stated that women often feel the need to take on extra work. This is likely because women, especially moms, continue to face sexist discrimination in the workplace. This forces them to do more in order to try and be respected. And to make matters worse, they often get assigned extra work that may have nothing to do with their actual job. The working mom’s constant struggle to finish more than she actually can stresses her out, making her more prone to anxiety disorders. For these reasons, working moms should practice the art of saying no.
How Working Mom Bloggers Can Say No
Rebecca Knight of Harvard Business Review offers some great advice on how to say no at work without sounding combative. Knight suggests being straightforward when refusing. Empathize with the person who is being turned down, acknowledge that their time is valuable as well. Be firm but polite and remember that not everyone can be pleased. Anachronistic, blatant sexism means that working moms have little to no free time. And yet they are still expected to be capable of doing everything. But working moms are not super women. Their time is strained enough and they need to practice self care like everybody else. That sometimes means turning down the extra assignment.
But saying no can’t be restricted to just work. Working moms need to say no more often at home as well. A Gallup Poll from 2020 proves that women are still doing most of the household chores. And in spite of the pandemic forcing many husbands to stay home, that trend has not changed. To fight this imbalance, working moms must turn down calls for them to take on so many domestic responsibilities.
Marriage and Family therapists Antonia Di Leo and Shira Etzion were interviewed for Apartment Therapy on how to get roommates and family to help out with chores without starting a fight. They expound upon the virtues and effectiveness of not pointing fingers, being measurable with expectations and creating a sense of camaraderie amongst other bits of valuable advice for negotiating housework. Saying no more often at work and at home will better allow working moms to have the time necessary to blog.
Avoid Multitasking
Next, multitasking is counterproductive and needs to be avoided. Even though multitasking often forces itself on people, especially working moms, they will get a lot more done if they resist the urge to try to juggle three things at once. No multitasking also means no rapidly jumping from one task after having finished another. Doing so will likewise result in a lack of productivity. Working moms must also take adequate breaks between tasks to ‘reset; their brains and be capable of properly focusing on upcoming tasks. The longer the break, the better they will be able to properly focus on what comes next.
Get More Sleep
This next point might seem counterintuitive, but it is essential not just to having time to blog, but to living a healthy life. Working moms who want to get more done, need to get more sleep. Studies have proven that sleep deprivation contributes to a decline in attention and working memory. This also means that working moms shouldn’t stay up late in the hopes of getting ahead the next day. Adequate rest is essential to maximizing productivity during the available time.
Don’t Try To Do So Much
Next, working moms who want to find the time to blog should consider setting aside other tasks. No one can get something for nothing and when all else fails, setting aside other work might be the only way to get the proper time in. Does the kitchen have to be cleaned immediately? Could the kids buy lunch for a few days instead of eating a home made one? Is takeout an option? A few small changes can free up the chunks of time working moms need to sit down and blog.
Working Mom Bloggers Need Help Too
Lastly, a working mom should ask for help running her blog. Such an idea might make a working mom cringe. Working moms might be adverse to asking for help because they don’t want to appear weak in the workplace. Or maybe a working mom is a firm believer in the motto, ‘If you want something done right, do it yourself.’ But there is so much riding on a working mom’s shoulders, asking for assistance can be pivotal.
Working moms with blogs to run should consider gaining assistance by recruiting interns. They might try hiring an editor and or getting somebody on board who can run the blog in their stead. Should the working mom be working for someone else, she might consider asking the higher ups if there are any employees who can help out as well. When working moms ask for help, they can alleviate some of the stress in their lives.
In Conclusion
There is no shame in asking for help. The average working mom is putting in a total of 98 hours of work both at home and in the workplace. This is the equivalent of having two full times jobs. Any sane person might feel a bit stressed and overextended in such a situation. With this in mind, working moms should feel no shame in putting something aside. And they should never be ashamed of bringing in family, friends, coworkers or employees in order to help them find time to blog consistently.
Hopefully you enjoyed this article about how working moms can find time to blog.
