Happy Friday y’all! I hope everyone has had a great week. I wanted to introduce another series to the blog that focuses mainly on lifestyle (specifically NYC lifestyle): Top 5. I’ve really wanted to share more about my life in New York, but it’s so hard to figure out where to start. I had so much great feedback on my “Top 5 Places to go out in NYC,” post that it donned on me that I could do Top 5’s for everything in my life. I plan to share everything from the Top 5 struggles moving to NYC to the Top 5 pizza places here, so if there’s anything you want to personally see please let me know or shoot me an email at (kayleighsklosetblog@gmail.com).

For today’s Top 5 I wanted to touch on a subject that is a part of my everyday life, and something I’m trying to work on everyday. One of the most frequently asked questions that I get is “how do you blog and work full time?” In college I blogged, was a full time student, active in my sorority, interned remotely and worked retail for the last three years of college. I’m used to always being constantly busy, but I never realized how hard it would be to blog and work full time, especially working entry level. The daily hours are long, you’re constantly working on thing pertaining to work, and some days can be so mentally exhausting that you have to pick between getting that extra hour of sleep or washing your hair. For a little bit of a background refresher on me: I work full time in luxury fashion/accessories public relations in NYC. I work on a small team and contribute to eight different clients. I’m here Monday through Friday and occasionally weekends during Fashion Month, and can say that it’s a huge culture shock to go from a full time student to full time employee. Here are my Top 5 tips to blogging and working entry level based on trial and error over the past eight months:

1. Plan your content ahead of time. This is HUGE in the world of blogging and working full time. Before fashion week, I knew I would be spread thin at work so I tried to shoot as much content ahead of time as I could. I try to mass shoot looks, and take mirror selfies/flat lays in the morning before work. I’ll lay everything out the night before so I’ll I have to do is snap a photo when the sun comes up. Typically with social media I utilize apps like Hootsuite and other planners through affiliate programs to have my daily posts laid out, then I’m left without worrying/scrambling last minute to post anything. Ideally, I would like to have all of my posts set up the Sunday before the week but that’s something we’re still working on.

2. Utilize local photographers. I think this is a controversial topic because some people think that they can do it themselves, but I’ll say firsthand that I have a camera and Lightroom and all of the materials and it’s just not the same. I’ve used a photographer predominately since my junior year of college when I started with Melanie. Using a photographer saves you so much time because you don’t have to edit your images, don’t have to pick out the “blooper” images with your eyes closed or a funny face, and you have a set time scheduled to take photos. When I have a set date to shoot with Caitee or Lauren I plan out my outfits, pack my duffel bag and head out. It takes about 2 hours of my time at most, and it’s like ripping off a band-aid; once it’s done it’s done, AND you now have content.

3. Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice. This is probably one of the biggest aspects that I struggle with and haven’t really gotten down. If you want to have content for the week, you most likely have to sacrifice a day of brunching to shoot looks. If you want to get that Friday post up, you probably have to sacrifice drinks with friends on Thursdays. I find myself in a bind too often because I didn’t spend enough time planning content on the weekends for the week. On the other end, I have to sacrifice press days, events, and tons of opportunities for blogging because I’m working and would rather save my days off to go back to Texas/Oklahoma to see my family (especially since I learned it’s a tough trip for a short trip). The worst part is when you’re invited to partake in a huge opportunity with a magazine/website/brand and the dates they want you to do things for them fall on a weekday. It can be frustrating but it’s important to focus on the bigger picture of what is important at the time.

My first event at New York Fashion Week on the other side, wearing my “PR Black.”

4. Keep the two separate. This is big (especially in PR) because there’s usually a ton of rules circling around it. Being a blogger, I have some unique insight to offer my team, however, I have to remember to keep my “blogger mind” separated from my work mind. When I’m at the office I’m a PR individual, I try not to check my blog emails or work on posts. When at home I’m a blogger, I don’t check my work e-mails or work on other work related things. It’s nice this way because you come home to e-mails and opportunities that are exciting and fun, especially if your day was long or stressful. I try to not talk about blogging with my co-workers (at least obsessively) and vice versa with my blogging friends. Sometimes I feel like as a blogger we can get so wrapped up in “blogger land,” and in the office I like to be perceived as the PR assistant I am. It’s very important not to feel like you know it all just because you have a first-hand glance to the other side of things. I’ve learned SO much about blogging and working with brands in the last 7 months working in PR than I did in my 3.5 years of blogging.

5. Don’t neglect your blog and don’t neglect your job. In reality, your job should be your main priority if it’s where the majority of your income is coming from (or if you’re fresh out of college and just beginning the career that you studied four years to have), but if you’re wanting to eventually blog full time then you can’t put your blog off because you were “too busy with work.” The balancing act can get so tricky, and when I’m so defeated by a rough week at work I have no desire to post anything on social/my blog. What works for me is when work gets busy I choose one platform to post on (whether it’s my blog or Instagram), and stick with that. When work gets slower I’m able to post on my blog, twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and everything all at once. Don’t neglect blog post deadlines if you have content that has to be up by a certain time, and learn to negotiate timings that work with your work schedule so that you don’t end up neglecting it. If you know you won’t be able to shoot content and have it posted within three days, don’t accept a deadline saying that you can. On the other hand, don’t neglect work that’s due and day-to-day duties of your job. If I need to schedule an Instagram post or link a photo through liketoknow.it I typically step out of the office for ten minutes so that it doesn’t interfere with my work and my coworkers doesn’t see me glued to my phone. I find that when I start neglecting my job and focusing on my blog is when I start to make silly mistakes- it’s all about balance!

So there you have it! My Top 5 tips to blogging and working entry level full time. Do you have any other tips/tricks that you’ve used to work full time (entry level or not)? I’d love to hear them in the comments below! Have a great day y’all and thanks for reading!

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