How to Balance Blogging With Full-Time Work. A Collab With Blogger – Accidentally Adulting

This article was in collab with Terry-Ann, a kick-ass lawyer with a humble mindset and the amazing blogger behind Accidentally Adulting!

So why did we decide to do this collab?

Over the past few weeks I realised that social media is saturated with these beautiful photographs of people with these extravagant lifestyles, from full-time travelers to beautify influencers. And by no means do I want to discredit them for their hard work because it is not easy. However I also think that it’s super important that we shed light on bloggers who work full-time and balance that with their influencer lifestyle.

This article celebrates the average but not so average and it aims to understand how full-timers incorporate blogging into their busy schedules.

Can you tell our readers more about yourself and your blog?

My name is Terry-Ann, I am twenty-eight years old (sobs uncontrollably). During the day I negotiate corporate agreements, and on the side I run the blog and YouTube channel Accidentally Adulting!

Describe how you got into blogging/vlogging? What inspired you?

I started the blog Accidentally Adulting a few weeks after graduating from law school. It was the first time in my life that I wasn’t a full time student which left me feeling very lost and a little overwhelmed. I was trying to figure out exactly where I fit in in the “real world”. My first actual blog and vlog came about literally hours after learning I failed the bar exam (by 4 points!). I was devastated and I didn’t really know what to do with myself; so I turned on my camera and just cried and vented. I uploaded that video, totally raw and unedited to YouTube (I’ve since deleted it lol). After I got my emotions a little more in check and I was able to reflect more I wrote a blog post about it. I was essentially inspired by my own personal life and need to channel my emotions through a creative outlet.

How would you describe your blogging/vlogging style?

I hope that if someone else were to describe my style they’d say it’s authentic. There are a lot of bloggers and vloggers out there whose lives seem perpetually perfect, fun, or funny. They may make it seem as if they have the perfect relationship, or they always have a perfectly done full face of makeup. I try to use my blog and vlog as a diary. In my vlogs I occasionally capture arguments my boyfriend and I are having, and I show myself with and without makeup and with my hair in all kinds of states lol. On my website I write about personal failures as well as my successes. So I’d definitely describe my style as raw and authentic.

What is your ideal working environment when you’re blogging?

In bed with a glass of wine, a bowl of jumbo marshmallows and Netflix on in the background. Very specific, but actually necessary.

How do you manage time (along with your full-time job) to run your blog so efficiently?

IT’S HARD!! I’ve recently set a schedule and I treat that schedule as I would a work deadline for my corporate job. In addition to that I set a reminder in my phone and in my calendar the day before an upload so that I don’t make any other plans. Occasionally life gets in the way, but I’m really working on being more consistent.

What do you think is the best strategy that worked well for you to get more traffic with your blog?

The following three strategies combined really helped with growth and engagement:

1. Posting consistently
2. Ensure blog posts have 1k words or more
3. Optimize SEO for every post

What is your greatest achievement and what did you learn from it?

My greatest achievement as it relates to blogging, was being featured on a few major online platforms with for my blog post: 25 Things I Thought I’d Achieve by 25. I learned not to coast off of minor accomplishments lol. I was under the misconception that all a blogger really needed was one feature on a platform with a huge following. But that’s not necessarily the case. If anything you should work harder once you get that exposure in order to demonstrate that you consistently put out quality content.

What was your greatest failure and what did you learn from it?

My greatest failure/biggest regret is not starting sooner. I wanted to start a blog and youtube channel about 3 years prior to when I actually started. But I was nervous and a bit of a perfectionist. So instead I stood on the sidelines and watched other people do what I really wanted to be doing. What I learned is that you should always take a chance on yourself. If there’s something you really want to do then go ahead and do it! Now is always the perfect time!

How do you motivate yourself to keep your blog running?

At the end of the day blogging and vlogging is something that I truly enjoy doing. It’s personally a stress reliever for me, and it’s one of my few creative outlets. I honestly enjoy learning new ways to grow my site, to edit photos and videos, etc. I keep Accidentally Adulting going simply because I love it. And also because I think that when I’m 50 it’s going to be really cool to look back and see/read the little things that excited or stressed me out.

What is the most frustrating part of blogging? And how do you overcome it?

Growth and engagement. It is frustrating when I put a lot of time and effort into a blog post or vlog and I don’t feel that it’s being seen or appreciated in the way that it should. Then I’ll go to some famous blogger or vloggers page and see that I got 80,000 views and 700 comments on a two minute video. So a lack of visibility is definitely discouraging. But there are those who do see my posts or watch my vlogs and I’m so appreciative of every single person who takes the time to comment or reach out to me. It’s those followers who motivate me to keep pushing!

What advice would you give people who are working full-time but want to start blogging on the side as a potential side hustle?

Just start!! There will never be a perfect time! It doesn’t matter if your blog site isn’t perfect when you first launch, it will evolve with you as you grow. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a canon g7x or final cut pro. Film on your iphone edit with imovie. Just start!

How active are you on a weekly basis? How often do you communicate with your followers?

I’ve actually been on holiday for a bit so I’ve taken some time for myself. However I post to youtube twice a week. I post almost daily on Instagram, and I really try to respond to comments and messages as soon as I get them.

What does a day in your life look like?

My days are always a bit manic. It’s definitely not one of those “Morning Routine” youtube videos. I may or may not have breakfast. I’m usually rushing out of my house. Then I work in a very rigid environment (gotta love the law) for eight hours. Then I go home, make dinner, hang out with my boyfriend Brendan, and try to fit in blogging/vlogging somewhere in between all of that.

To find out more about Terry-Ann visit her site: http://www.accidentallyadulting.com/

Instagram handle: https://www.instagram.com/accidntal_adult/?hl=en