Finding Balance: Liz from Here's to Handy Andy

So far I am loving all of these posts that my awesome guest bloggers have to say.  I feel like I am learning a lot of helpful new tips, as well as reinforcing what I already know but have a hard time doing.  We'll continue the fun today with my friend Liz!


Hey All! I’m Liz and I blog about crafts and such over at Here’s to Handy Andy. Kristen was my first bloggy friend, and I’m so happy I can guest post over here at her lovely blog!

I started blogging less than a year ago, and I had no idea what I was doing. So, being the nerd that I am, I scoured the internet for advice on successful blogging. There are so many articles and opinions out there, so I was pretty much instantly overwhelmed when I started working through all of the information.

Finding a balance is super hard for me because I work full-time at a publishing company, travel on and off for work, have a house to maintain, other commitments to keep up; oh yeah, and a husband who would prefer not to be ignored all day while I sit in my PJs, crafting and blogging [weird, right?!].

Anyway, so as I have fumbled through my first several months of blogging, this is what I have found to be helpful:

• Establish a Schedule – I am definitely not the authority on blogging best practices, but for me the most important part in finding a balance is finding a schedule that works for you. I post twice a week. There’s no way I could post more than that. Figure out a schedule that won’t kill you, then do your best to stick to it.

• Maintain Your Schedule – I [generally] use the weekends to get projects done and take pictures. Then I write and schedule my posts so I don’t have to worry about them during the week. If there is a week where I am traveling, I try to plan ahead and get a project done early to schedule, or get a friend to guest post. And the truth is, sometimes life just happens and things fall through the cracks because something else is more important, and you just have to let it go.

• Warning – The possible hazard for me with my schedule is getting so tied to it that I feel panicked when I haven’t had time to get anything together over the weekend. It’s so tempting to slap just anything up on the blog just to get something up there. But, I really try to post projects or recipes I enjoy or things I will actually use or give to someone, and not make up something that I’m just going to throw away just to keep to the schedule. I always have a list of projects or recipes I want to try, in varying levels of difficulty, so that when I’m in a pinch I can get a quick project together that I actually care about.

I know I just floored you with my blogging wisdom. So, I’ll just leave you to bask in the light of my awesomeness.

Thanks, Kristen, for having me!

Happy to have you Liz!  You can catch up with Liz on her blog, or follow along with her on Twitter.