At the beginning of the year, I decided to take the plunge and do blogging full-time. I’ve been focusing so much time on blogging the past year that I’ve decided to move on and put my jewelry on the back seat for a while. Plus, on top of blogging, I’ve decided to take on freelance blogging projects as well (helping clients with WordPress, web hosts, etc) so I’ve been quite the busy bee.

Some of you have asked me how I spend my days and I thought I’d share that with you today. I’m sure you’ve read how other bloggers’ days works and that there’s no fixed daily schedule. It’s true. I don’t have one either. I could be working on the blog all day without even leaving the house at all or out all day for meetings, events and/or more writing. Before you go “wahh she gets to attend so many events!“, let me clarify that that’s not true. In Melbourne, I get the opportunity to attend a media event once every 2-3 weeks. We’ll be lucky to have one once a month! 🙂

For the days that I am home, I do try to keep to a schedule if I can as I’m more productive with one. When there’s no structure being self-employed, one has to create the structure as best as he/she can and that’s what I do.

7.30 – 8.30am

• Wake up, brush my teeth, have breakfast with Tim
• Catch up on the news on TV and the Internet

8.30 – 10.30am

• Review my to-do list of the day (I’m a list addict. I probably have lists for my lists).
• Write and reply emails.
• Plan and review my blog content for the day and week.
• Photograph products or myself if I need to show the makeup on the face (this is the best time to take photographs for me because I get enough light through my window but not as strong as the noon light)

10.30am – 12.30pm

• This is my best time for writing. Once the photos are done, I’m ready to write. I like to get images out of the way first before tackling the words.
• Post new blog updates on Twitter and Facebook at about noon (this is when most of my traffic is having lunch)

12.30pm – 1.30pm

• Have lunch. I normally cook my lunch and seldom do takeaways. I used to live next to and opposite lots of takeaways. I had so much takeaway lunches back then that it’s no wonder I gained so much weight! Now that I don’t live near any takeaways (pizza joints don’t count since I’m not a fan and won’t eat it unless I have no choice), I like to cook my own lunch.
• Catch up on Twitter and Facebook. I don’t have social media switched on unless it’s to reply tweets or comments on Facebook. I do cheat from time to time, which is why you might see me on Twitter or Facebook earlier 😛

1.30 – 3.00pm

• Write and reply emails to bloggers, brands, potential advertisers, etc.
• Go through my blog comments and reply them.
• Continue with blog writing and editing of images if those aren’t completed.

3.00pm – 5.30pm

• Work on client’s blogs. My writing juices are usually out by this time so it’s a good time for me to remove my creative hat and put on my technical one. This is when I’ll need more coffee. 😛
• If there are no projects for me to work on, I take photos if the sun is still out (even on sunny days, I get an overcast through the home office window that is perfect for photos. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work during winter months when the days are shorter and the sun sets at 5pm).

5.30pm – 8.30pm

• If there’s an event, I usually leave for one by this time as it takes me about an hour to get to the city by bus and train. As our household only has 1 car, I rely heavily on public transportation (have for over 5 years now). I’m usually back in time for a takeaway dinner.
• If there isn’t an event on that day, then I continue with client work till 6pm, which is when I catch up on the evening news and start preparing our dinner.

Thursdays are usually my going-out days (excluding any events, appointments or errands to run) so I’ll usually be at my favourite cafe with my iPad and writing. I find that I’m a lot more productive and write better when I’m not always at home. People-watching and window-shopping (well, most of the time, it’s just the window :P) have planted a lot of inspiration and content that you see on the blog. You know the “A Beauty Blogger’s Media Kit” ebook? Wrote that in 1.5 hours at Coffee Bean. 😛

Fridays are mail pickup days. Most of my blogging-related mail, magazine subscriptions and so on go to my PO box. I don’t give my home address away unless I’ve worked with the brand long enough to trust that they won’t give my details away or rob me. Plus people steal my mail. Oh yeah, I’ve had that a number of times.

I don’t blog on weekends unless it’s necessary. Weekends are for me to “live” :P. It’s also a good time for me to tidy up the home office because throughout the week, the place will look like it’s been hit with a hurricane. Yikes.

That’s my rough daily and weekly schedule and how my days as a beauty blogger work. Not very interesting at all and definitely not glamourous as some people might think. In fact, it can be a lot less glam than regular office work because most of the time, I’ll be at home in front of the computer in my pyjamas! (the posties can attest to that) 😛

I hope you’ve enjoyed an insight to what my days are like. What’s yours like?