How do you fit blogging around everything else? #pbloggers Party 6th April 2013

There is quite a variance in how much we all blog.  Some write once or twice a month whereas others post several times a week or every day.  So how do you fit writing for your blog around everything else in your life?  Here's how you manage it:

Finding the time
Most people said they blog around family life, finding time to write whilst their children are napping, feeding (especially during the night feeds), at school or in the evenings once they're in bed. These times change as the needs of the children change. 

The general consensus was that you can't blog when your kids are around, either because you want to give them your undivided attention, you need to give them your undivided attention, or they just come and whack sticky fingers on the lap top making it impossible anyway! 

Some write on their phones snatching spare moments wherever they happen to be, whereas others prefer to sit at the computer and write in a bigger session. Days off, lunch time or other breaks at work were also sited as windows to blog.

A partner's view
The long suffering blog partners have a mixed view on this topic.  Some people have very supportive partners who encourage our writing and take delight in it.  Others are less supportive and don't like the time blogging takes.  Some reported that they get 'in trouble' if they are caught blogging or networking when there are other things that need doing and others said that they agree with this and feel guilty about it.  Some people said that they blogged when their partners fell asleep on the sofa! All this sparked a discussion about blogging in secret and keeping your blog private from friends and family, but this is a good discussion theme for the future, so I won't go into this now.

Achieving a blog/life balance 
It seems important to us all to achieve a balance between wanting to write our blogs and spending time with our loved ones so that blogging doesn't impinge too much on family life.  Here's what some of you do to achieve this:

• Make the time: Some people organise their family's routine to enable blogging time at a particular point in the week.  

• Scheduling posts: Others write several posts all at once when they have the time and schedule them to publish at more regular intervals. 

• Notes, notes, notes: Some of you fill your homes, cars and work places with notebooks that you write your blog post ideas in.  People reported having blog inspiration whilst driving, in the shower or right before going to sleep.  Notebooks seemed to be the answer to this, either in paper form or on your phones.  Apps such as Evernote (see Mum in a Hurry's post here to find out more about Evernote) and Chrome were mentioned. 

• Slow blogging: "Slow blogging has been around since 2006, and is based on the very simple idea that blogging is better for everyone involved if we all just take a deep breath, pause, and give ourselves time and space to be creative. Just as the slow food movement argues that fast food and consumer culture are spoiling our enjoyment of great food, the slow blog movement argues that daily blog posts and frantic updates are spoiling our enjoyment of blogging.  Slow Blogging is all about rejecting the idea that blogging should happen to a timescale, that you must blog a certain number of times a week, and that blogging is a pursuit that should always be “improved” and “honed”..." (Tots100, 5th April 2013).  Perhaps we could all do to slow down a bit in these high speed instantaneous times...? 

• Wait for the football season: Some people found it good to wait for a decent time to write when the family are otherwise engaged, such as during the football season or perhaps the Great British Bake Off...?

Feedback Please!
Do you have any other ways to fit blogging around family life?  If so, leave a comment and add yourself to our linky!

See you all next week!  x