Strategies For Blogging With the Noisy Kids Around All Day

The getting your work done and caring for the kids juggling act

Those who work the 9 to 5 job, don't have any earthly idea how difficult is to earn a living from home with 2 small children to tend to all day long.

Understand one obvious thing

Kids are to a point, high maintenance noisy little buggers.

Ever try to find yourself a few solid hours to write with a 7 year old who wants to get his way every minute of the day, and a 11 year old who knows exactly how to get under the 7 year old's skin?

Luckily with my little guy starting Kindergarten, he's now out of the house 8 hours a day, this has been a welcome reprieve for my own well being, and ability to get some quality work done.

It won't be long though, the long hot summer will return,  and the parent/writing at the same time juggling act will as well.

I don't get as much work done as I would like when the Kids are home. Mainly the interruptions of my train of thought are the toughest.

You know, you get on a roll, and then suddenly WWII breaks out in the next room?

The siren sounds, and you hear the screaming and crying get closer to you as the youngest one runs down the hallway to your office screaming "daddy daddy daddy, bubby won't let me play the game." After the fifth time of that you're pretty much shot for the rest of the evening as far as writing goes.

Before my son started school, but still during the summer and winter/spring breaks, I spent 9 hours everyday taking care of the kids as my first order of business

In the evenings and most weekends I'd get very little reprieve.

Mommy works all day too and has office stress, and those politics weighing on her mind, so I feel guilty about whining about my situation.

This is the life I chose, so it is my responsibility to make it work the best I can.

How do I do it? 

Some of my tricks to steal writing time

Get up a few hours early

This is a strategy that has worked well over the last 5 years to guarantee a few hours of uninterrupted work time. You might want to just crash after you get the kids to bed however, so you can get up early.

I actually get some of my best work done in the few hours before the kids get up. They're older now, and not as high maintenance, but this strategy works well during spring, winter, and summer break very well.

You'll at least know that you get a few quality hours any day you want this way.

Try noise cancelling headphones

I keep my kids in the same room me in sight so I can see what's going on in case one tries to choke the other.

This helps me focus on the task at hand, kids screaming or arguing over minutia is not conducive to article writing. You could of course do this in another room, if your partner is there watching the kids.

Tablets and or video games are a must

Usually I could steal and hour or 2 a day with my son's use of a tablet or iPod touch, or an old iPhone without the sim-card I use as a glorified iPod. Anything to keep him occupied.

Do make sure you have the tablet set to not allow in app purchases, and might be a good idea to have a block on the internet.

 Also, YouTube has a lot of inappropriate stuff that pops up that is targeted to adults, that any red blooded kid will be drawn to, so be forewarned. Luckily a mix of quality educational games, and a few they pick out via the X-Box seems to do the trick these days.

You have to get creative with the things you can get them to do by themselves or each other. The Kindle Fire for kids cost lest than 100 dollars now.

So when do you get your break from the noise? Make time for it!

During high-stress times, I go for a walk immediately after mommy gets home for 2 hours sometimes, just to not have to hear the kid-chatter, this will be an issue I promise you.

I usually listen to podcasts or something constructive, but sometimes you just need no noise at all, just a walk along the river or a bike path with the sounds of nature can do me a world of good.

Talk it out with your partner, make sure they know that you need a break for a little while too.

Again, if you have selfish partner...one that is myopic and self absorbed, it's going to be a never ending struggle and quite probably going to end badly one way or another.

You can hope for change, or make your own change..tough but brutally honest. At some point you'll likely reach your breaking point. Either you stop blogging, and be the obeying partner... or you break away and look for a more supportive situation.

Make every effort to communicate your needs, and try to find some common ground. When Kids are involved you sacrifice for them as much as possible, but if you are not fulfilled, eventually you will be so miserable that nobody wins.

Working Weekends?

Perhaps work it out so you get one weekend day of 8 solid hours of work time? This was something that worked well for me, I would spend one of the weekend days with the family, usually all day and evening.

I would stay away completely from writing. Being focused on only the kids makes the stress much less, though I must admit after 5 days of that work/parenting stress, I sometimes have asked that I get the Saturday away from the kids as the work day, and not have to wait until Sunday.

I can get a lot of work done on the one work day, sometimes I would work 12 hours! Usually the Kids would be out and about shopping with mom or visiting the in laws that day, so it worked out for me within our family structure.

Oh, by the way, during my days with the kids, I do plenty of shopping, laundry, fix lunches, go to parks to play, blah blah blah. So yes, you are Daddy or Mommy first, and the writing is sprinkled in as you can.

Motivate Yourself By Earning That First Blogging Dollar

When you earn that first dollar doing what you love to do, it has a psychological effect.

Proving that you can earn something from Blogging, no matter how small, can make a huge difference in your motivation.

After all, up to that point for me it had only been a dream, and I heard over and over again from family and friends it couldn't be done.

My first payment for writing online was $6.24 on February 10, 2010. I distinctly remember the satisfying feeling of actually accomplishing what I was told couldn't be done.

Yeah, it wasn't much, and it took me nearly 18 months to earn that first dollar. Now understand, at this point I had only dipped my toe into the waters of freelance writing. I had no real strategy, had only learned a few very basic tenants of the business.

From that point on I was fueled, a burning desire to learn as much as I could, and spend the lion-share of my free time toward the pursuit of earning income online.

From manual laborer to easy money?

One of the biggest misconceptions I had was thinking I could just push a button and sit back and relax while the income rolled in.

Now, their is some truth to this when considering passive income.

You build a niche site, or build a niche on third party sites that you spend a portion of time on, and then after that initial hard work, you sit back and watch the income roll in off of affiliate products or affiliate links from places like Amazon, eBay, or Commission Junction.

For you to earn meaningful income it will not be easy. You need to have the tools to do it, the community helping you, and the passion to build your own brand.

Just start writing about things you are passionate about, and start learning...
The foreign will eventually become familiar, and before you know it, you'll be earning something.

First, you need a blog. Blogger.com is a fine place to start.

You can sign up for Google Adsense. If you don't already have a Google account, you really do need one. You can have one account for easy signing in and out, you can use a whole menu of tools like Adsense, Blogger, Webmaster Tools and GMail. Just take action!

3 Essential Quick-Tips for Newbie Bloggers

Newbie bloggers shouldn't obsess about Search Engine Optimization

I rarely do keyword research: Admittedly though, I did get a few tips and hints early on about using common sense, and walking in a information consumers shoes. I never fell victim to the keyword-stuffing back-link Svengali types out there.

You can get bogged down with all the technical beat the search engine stuff, you're better to just write and get learning.

If you come at this from a quality-information-meets-consumer-needs philosophy, I believe you will get rewarded over time.

Just make sure your titles and subtitles have the target keywords for the reader you are going after.

Sites like Twitter and Facebook are also pay to play, and honestly I think you'd be better off just creating good informative content, and not worrying about social media too much. You can build your own little tribe of followers just by creating heart felt information.

Develop a what you are known for

This is also known as developing a niche. If you have a particular expertise about something, this should be something you write about. After a period of time you can become a go-to expert on the topic.

Understand this however: You can't really develop working only a few hours a week, blogging involves writing articles, and participating on social media, forums, and other networks inside the community you want to reach.

Think 90% writing and creating your blogs or sites and 10% social media and other stuff, probably 99.99% actually just writing and building.

After a year or so of daily work, writing, and participating a little in groups and forums you should see some success.

Don't forget about responding to people who comment on your blog.


Hang out with people inside the niche you want to write about

The old adage, "birds of a feather flock together" is very true. If you hang out in forums and on sites with people you want to be like, you are bound to learn a few things. You can learn the things you should avoid as well, to save you a lot of trouble and time.

You will also learn of new places to write through forums and help sites, not to mention all the valuable tips from those more experienced bloggers.

This might be sobering for you, but I work 8-12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week minimum writing and learning. I also juggle an eBay business as well, so my time is filled. Oh yeah I am also a stay at home dad, thank God for caffeine, and a stiff adult beverage now and then for sure

The biggest reward for me personally has been not having to do the typical manual labor jobs I did until I was nearly 37 years old, at 46 I am now doing what I enjoy, you can too.

Bonus Tips:

Sign up for the Amazon.com affiliate program:

Amazon pays up to 10% (as of Jan. 2017) commission rates. If you develop a presence inside a popular niche, Amazon can be a big windfall for you.

You can promote products through your honest and info packed sites. Think about your passions, and then write about those topics. Don't just regurgitate ad-copy like product specs though. That will get you penalized by the search engines so fast your head will spin.


Sign up with VigLink affiliate Program:

You can choose from a multitude of different retailers and earn commissions.  Plus earn bonuses for referring others to the program. You can also use eBay and Amazon through VigLink.


Personally if you plan on focusing on Amazon product reviews for instance, I would just go directly through Amazon's affiliate program.

The 5 Most Important Things Blogger Entrepreneurs Do to Achieve Success

If you're just starting out with the idea of earning a living writing online, you should think of it as a marathon and not a sprint.

 If you want to reach the level of a the big bloggers, it won't be easy, but if you build a little community of followers and stick to it, you just might break through yourself.

 Success means different things to different people. Perhaps, just earning a living writing is what you want? Depending on your living expenses, that can be a larger or small goal.

The following 5 things are the most important things to focus on, some easier than others of course, and some require initial success to get to the others.

1. Take Action

Of course any goal-setting aficionado knows, without taking positive action toward your goals, you have zero chance to achieve anything. Even lottery winners buy a ticket first.

Some of your first action steps could be to start a free Blogger blog like this one. You could also pay for your own domain, and host a WordPress site, with paid theme if you want.

 It's not nearly as expensive as you think, but extra costs like setting it up, and support for those things can add up. A few hundred dollars a year is a good bet. If you simply can't afford that type of overhead yet, Blogger is a great entry point.

Take effective action: 

I highly suggest you consider the viability and income potential of writing within the niche you'll enter. Ideally an extensive background in the topic would help with authority, though you can learn and build authority as you go.

Straight traditional blogging for income seems to be very difficult unless you're in the self-improvement or blogging help area. Social Media blogging and financial blogs also do well from what I have learned.

I know blogging about a specific music for instance is nearly impossible to do well income wise. Niche sites though, that offer tips about collecting vintage music, or collecting vinyl records can do well, but the amount of people looking for this info is very small.


2. A Passion That Shines Brightly

If these Bloggers didn't wear their passion on their sleeves, I wouldn't want to follow them. Why do I subscribe to Darren Rowse's podcast, or follow Pat Flynn on Twitter, or Read Jon Morrow's blog posts over and over? They are ON FIRE! Passionate about what they do, and I feel they genuinely want to help people.

This is my first stab at the self-improvement blogging help space, but I have used many of the things I have learned over the years into my little modest niches over the years, and they have helped me find my voice in those niches...all be it with tremendous ups and downs. You know, like any other business or career?

I feel, and you could too, like I could do what they do, because I have absorbed so much information over the past 8 years, it has almost become second nature to me, some of their teachings. It's just about having the capital and enough passion to make it happen.


3. Hang around like minded people

One of things I have noticed in my journey writing the past few years is how much cross pollination goes on. Other bloggers do tend to help each other out too, at least the smart ones do.

Don't be afraid to share the things you've learned from the experts. You might get noticed by them, and perhaps get  one of your articles linked to, which will help you rank better with the search engines and build authority.

These people don't have time for negative people though, they are achievers moving ahead, and they like to surround themselves with people who think like them on a basic level...Positive vibes go much further than the negative.

 Not that they don't value constructive criticism, especially from their readers, which is you and me by the way; but snarky, petty attitudes tend to get left in the dust.


4. Reinvestment of Capital

This one is the biggie!  All of the monster bloggers seize the opportunity when it comes, they put money "capital" they earn, back into their ever expanding business.

Their brains work that way too, scanning the landscape ready to pounce when the notion strikes. Of course if you're just starting out with a zero bank account, this can be a problem. But again, don't let lack of money prohibit you from writing that first word.

These men and woman not only blog, but have expanded into live webinars, videos, audio pod-casting, and all types of e-books, affiliate services, and some like Jon Morrow offer entirely overpriced for me, but useful high-quality services. Yes they are passionate about what they do.

To get as big as these people, you need to be able to hire help. This could be as simple as hiring people to design logos for you, run your social media accounts, edit your work, and I am sure at their level, accounting specialists  are hired to manage their tax and investment situations.


5. Give Back to the Blogging Community

Hard to fake genuine caring for your fellow man. If you follow the best of the best, you'll quickly realize, they practically give away the store to their loyal following.

Darren Rowse's podcast is practically everything you need to know in how to be a successful blogger. I eagerly get up in the morning and refresh the iTunes podcast player in hopes another podcast is available.

It's more than just the info, I like the guy. His laid back, yet business like approach agrees with me. His tone of voice works for me, if he sounded like some high pitched used car salesmen I doubt I would have stayed with him.

The point is, these are FREE information loaded podcasts,  with just a brief mention of an affiliate product of some sort. They do indeed give away the store. Pat Flynn's podcasts are also very entertaining as well as informative.

They realize the reality of giving back. They give, and you apply the knowledge, and become a disciple of them so to speak.