There is no doubt in my mind; I have my dream job. Not only do I love getting to share my passion, home, with all of you every week, but I absolutely love the opportunities that blogging has opened up for my family. I have the ability to decide my own work hours and the flexibility to change those hours if ever needed (like this month...packing a house with a 1-year-old "helper" is no joke, guys!). And I'm such a nerd about blogging; I love learning new things about it and honing my skills as much as possible! It doesn't at all feel like work most of the time.

But, let's look past all of my bragging and acknowledge that it is, in fact, a responsibility. I constantly have to remind myself that this is, in essence (and in name technically), a business...and it has to be treated like one. And there are certain maintenance and growth tasks that have to be done (usually every week) to ensure it remains a thriving business.

what does a blogging work week look like - an hour by hour breakdown of a blogger\'s work week.

No two blogging weeks look alike, so it was kind of hard to nail down even an estimate of what I do. That's one of the things I love about blogging - it's always changing! But, below, you can find kind of an estimate of what I do every week. So, next time you bloggers have somebody roll your eyes when you tell them your job, you can refer them over to this post. 😉 (And no, I don't currently use a virtual assistant...nothing wrong with those bloggers who go that route, I just haven't taken the plunge yet! So this is all me.)

Affiliate links used in this post. Read more information about my link usage here.

4-8 Hours Per Week: Post Creation

This is so much more than just sitting down to write the post. Post creation involves photography and editing, research, writing and proofing content, fact checking, SEO structure, and social share setup. Because many of my posts are recipes, this includes initial recipe creation, cooking, photographing and editing, and final copy. For printable posts, you usually need to budget an hour or two for printable editing and formatting and another hour of two everything else mentioned above.

2-3 Hours Per Week: Social Media Content Scheduling

Yep, the cat's out of the bag; I schedule the vast majority of my social media content. If you see a post pop up on my Facebook page or Twitter, chances are that it was a scheduled post I put in my Hootsuite que sometime last week. I also use Tailwind to schedule 20-30 pins on Pinterest per day (even though I try to pop in for a few minutes each morning and night to "live pin" on Pinterest to help my viewability). Scheduling pins via Tailwind ensures that my content is shared over a long period of time at preset intervals. And the majority of my Instagram posts are scheduled as well, sort of...Instagram doesn't allow all-out scheduling, but Hootsuite has a great feature that lets you go on and decide your photo/text and sends an alert to your phone when it's time to post.

1-2 Hour Per Week: Live Social Media Post Promotion

I have a few groups on Facebook where I promote my posts and run my own Instant Pot Freezer Meal Community where I love talking to other IP users! I also have to respond to Facebook/Instagram comments and reply/retweet on Twitter. This is spread out in a lot of 5-10 minute chunks throughout the week.

1-2 Hours Per Week: Newsletter Writing

I am a huge believer in email marketing...not only is it an amazing source of sales when I release a new product, but it's a great way to really connect with readers through my weekly newsletter. I usually spend an hour or two on this per week...it includes a little snippet about my weekly posts, and sales that I've found recently, highlights a few older post favorites, and gives a sneak peek of next week's posts. There's a little bit of crossover between the newsletter archive posts and my social media scheduling - I use the same posts in my newsletter favorites as I highlight on my social media for the next week. This kind of kills two birds with one stone and really pushes that seasonal content when needed.

There is a little bit of email list maintenance involved every week, but it's usually only a few minutes...Convertkit is my email provider and they have such a great "set it and forget it" approach to blogger email marketing! It's highly recommended if you're a blogger and are looking for an email provider.

1 Hour Per Week: Sponsored Post Applications

I don't always have a time set aside for this (although I probably need to)...I usually just apply for sponsored campaigns when my content agencies email me about them. These companies typically send out a summary of their new campaigns once per week, and as I see a fit for my blog, I apply.

2-6 Hours Per Week: Product Creation and Maintenance

It's kind of hard to nail down a specific amount of time per week I spend on this; it varies so much. Some weeks simply consist of testing recipes (something that doesn't take much time at all, since it just involves cooking dinner and tweaking the ingredients/cook time a little); but on product launch weeks, I'd estimate I spend closer to 10-12 hours on this part of the job. It not only consists of creating product files, but of setting up Gumroad sales pages, product landing pages (you can see examples here and here), testing file printability and readability, proofing and revising, promotion, and emailing customers.

1 Hour Per Week: Post Maintenance

A good chunk of my traffic is actually visiting older posts (via google or Pinterest), so it's important to maintain those older posts too. Most of this involves updating old information or fixing broken links. I also try to add social media-friendly graphics if there are none and add in social media share suggestions when needed. Again, I don't necessarily have a time set aside for this...I really just do it as I see an old post that needs something. It usually requires a little more time around holidays (due to the success of my stocking stuffer and Easter basket posts, which require a lot of link checking before the holidays hit).

30 Minutes Per Week: Website Maintenance

This is usually a very small portion of my week...I rarely have to do any maintenance to my host or server. You guys know I love Siteground for hosting...they make it so easy! This also includes updating plugins, tweaking design (which I don't do very much these days), and troubleshooting website loading issues.

30 Minutes Per Day: Email and Comment Maintenance

This is something I try to do every day (or it will get completely out of control). I get a lot of questions about Journey to Clean and Freezer Meal Boot Camps via email, so the majority of my emails are responses to those questions. Sometimes people have issues with signing up for my email list, so I usually respond to a few of those per day too. I also have to moderate comments (there's a lot of spam out there!) and respond to advertiser emails that are interested in doing sponsored content. I get an absolute ton of emails about partnerships a day (I'd estimate 20-30 a day on average). Most are spammy or not relevant at all and just get deleted, but there are usually a couple a day that fit my content. I respond to those and, occasionally, work out a sponsored deal with those companies. I'll occasionally pitch to a company if I see a relevant opportunity, but I honestly don't do that very often.

15-20 Minutes Per Day: Link Parties

This isn't something I do every week (I'd say maybe half the time)...I participate in a lot of link parties that help promote my newer content. This typically doesn't take very long each night, but does need to be done a few minutes every morning and night to ensure that your content is visible in the link party.

1-2 Hours Per Month: Bookkeeping

I honestly probably spend more time on this than a couple of hours a month, but most of the work of our bookkeeping is marking expenses in my Mint account (something I do for our personal finances anyway). At the end of the month, I make sure I have receipts for any expenses and total up my income and expenses for the month on one big spread sheet. I've probably over-simplified the process (so please don't take accounting advice from me), but it's the easiest and most effective way I've found to track my blog income. Actually closing out a month only usually takes an hour or two and is really kind of fun...I'm a numbers person and love seeing how the blog has done!

So, all said and told, I'd consider this a part-time schedule.  It can often stretch into a full-time job schedule on those busy weeks (like launch weeks), but can be cut down to as little as a few hours a week during those hectic times of life. And I can always work ahead a little bit if I do need a week off.

So, when do I get this work done?  On a good, productive day, most of this is done during naptime! Jackson usually gives me around 2 hours that is used as my lunch break and work time. I usually also have to work an hour or two after the kids go to bed at night. During busy weeks, my husband is great about giving me a few hours to go to Starbucks and work after he leaves work (but that's usually only a couple of times a month). And, even though I try to keep this to a minimum, I usually have a few 5-10 minute chunks throughout the day when the kids are working/playing independently that I can check in on everything.

It can be a busy schedule, but I love it! It's always different and never gets boring. I wouldn't change it for anything (now could somebody remind me of that when I'm editing printables at midnight next time? 😉 ).

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28 Comments

  1. Edith Meyer says:

    This was so helpful. Thank you! I have yet to dive into the bloggers world. I have been researching all the how to's and trying to wrap my brain around what amount of time is involved. I currently work from home for a corporate health care company (auditing physician contracts) Exciting!!! Although, my salary is great, I am so bored and dream of doing something that would be more rewarding and offer me a way to be creative. I have also been busy making lists of blog posts and drafting on a few ideas.
    Do you make money off your printables or is mainly used to drive readers? Where would you say your blog could be the most successful in monetizing?

    1. You can do it...promise! It's totally worth a try if you think you have a topic you're passionate about. The ebooks are just one part of how I make money blogging. I try to keep my income diversified between all of those revenue streams...I don't want one aspect to tank and completely lose the business, and this strategy has worked out really for me for years.

  2. Gail M Akeman says:

    I always do a little here and little here with cleaning and everything else hard to judge time.

  3. Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says:

    Wow, when you break down all that you do for a blog in a week it's a lot! I should do that just to see how I spend my time but I feel like my day is so fragmented with the kids and all that comes with taking care of a family. Visiting from Wonderful Wednesday party.

  4. Catherine says:

    What a great summary, thanks so much for sharing! I love to know how long blogging tasks take others, so this was very insightful. It also highlights what o should probably be doing!
    Visiting from Party in your PJs

  5. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing!

  6. Love this. Thanks for keeping it real. I'm still trying to improve in the realm of social media, promotion, and figuring out monetizing my blog. It's been a s-l-o-w learning curve for me. I like to read how other bloggers make it work!

  7. Leslie - thank you so much for sharing this; it is insightful, informative and very helpful! A year into my blogging life, and i have come to realize it is much like learning to swim. You can be taught everything about it on the side of the pool; strokes, kicking, breathing. But it's not into you actually get into the water that you realize exactly what to do. This overview helps with keeping all tasks on my radar, and not over-focusing on one or another.

  8. Amber Harrop says:

    It is amazing how much work we put into our blogs really I must write out what I do one week and add it up - but love reading how other bloggers do it 🙂

  9. I personally spend way more time on posts and social media. I am working on trying to streamline it. Great ideas here. Pinning.

  10. Christina Makri says:

    Very interesting! I have to read it and read it all over again... Thank you for sharing at Sweet Inspiration Link Party 🙂

    1. I stumbled across this on Pinterest and I swear, this is the article or he lp I have been looking for, for ages! Iam struggling in overwhelm and overflow or ideas projects tasks etc and this REALLY helps put into perspective how I can schedule my day.

      Appreciate it 🙂

  11. Laura Nielsen says:

    Oh wow, thank you so much for writing this post! I have been blogging on and off for a year or two but am just now beginning to take it seriously and this post helped me wrap my mind around all of the tasks that are needed (and how often to do the tasks). There were a few I didn't think much about, such as updating old posts. I too use and LOVE mint for finances. 🙂 Again, thank you for this valuable information!!! Love it!

    1. You are so welcome, Laura! 🙂

  12. This just popped up on my Pinterest feed and I love that it gives me an idea of how to manage my time to work on my blog, thanks you!

    1. You are very welcome! I hope it helps structure your days.

  13. Thanks, Leslie, for the helpful look at your schedule. It’s encouraging to see how other busy moms manage a great blog even with very fragmented days! 😅

  14. My blogging week was horrible before, I was unproductive almost every. I uses to stuck on creating pins and pinning manual.im happy to find this post.
    I think scheduling your week help

  15. There are so many blogs, courses, ebooks, etc., etc. to learn blogging from. Is there any one place in particular you learned your blogging skills/knowledge from? A great learn-to-blog book even? Or was it from many "places"? Thank you!

    1. Leslie Lambert says:

      All over the place! And I'm still learning every day. There's a lot of trial and error in blogging - even though there are books/ecourses out there that help, there's nothing like actually trying ideas and kind of seeing what sticks.

  16. This is the best blogging information I have seen yet. As of yet, I haven't started but I will certainly use your suggestions.

  17. Your post has been really helpful because I have decided to start my own lifestyle blog, which I am still working on it so that I can launch it sometime soon. I am totally new and doing all of this blogging stuff, but I like that it keeps me busy and actually gives me something to do that I love. If you have any tips for me being new to this, you can email me.

    1. Leslie Lambert says:

      Best of luck to you, Ashley!

  18. This is so awesome 🙂 Thank you for this post. I’m just starting out as a food blogger! And it’s taking way more time than I thought haha!

    1. Leslie Lambert says:

      Haha, no kidding! 🙂 One recommendation (that I just started doing recently): download an app like Toggl on your phone and actually "clock in" when you're working. I also make a note of what I'm working on when I clock in (social media, posts, pictures, video, etc.). That helps me know exactly how much time I'm actually using for different jobs each week. It also helps me focus - knowing I'm on the clock means I can't play on Facebook, do chores, etc. It's really helpful!

  19. Thank you! I’ve literally just posted my first two posts. All a bit daunting but your post was reassuring.

  20. Thank you for this information! It is very helpful. There is so much to learn when first starting blogging and it’s hard to know where to focus my time, especially on weeks when I am short on time. This was a very helpful post to see areas where I should maybe spend a little more time.