A Day in the Life of a Full-Time Content Creator
Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a full-time content creator? (Think blogger, author, YouTuber, TikTok, etc.) Well I am here to give you a snapshot of what a day in the life of a full time content creator looks like.
The other day my daughter asked me if I ever get a day off. I told her not really, because I am trying to put something new out there every day, so that I will stay relevant. She's six though, so I said it in a more kid-friendly way.
The biggest thing about being self-employed is that you also have to be self-motivated. You have to be at least somewhat regimented in what you do, so that you don't start slacking off and just scrolling through your socials all day to find it is 5pm and you have gotten nothing done at all.
My Routine
Since I am a mom, I have to fit work in throughout the day as a stay-at-home mom with my six year old. Although she goes to Kindergarten now, she is only gone for 6 hours a day, so I have to make the best use of my time possible.
This means, there are different blocks throughout the day that I am working and different times that I am doing "mom stuff" and taking care of the housework.
Usually, I wake up between 5am and 6am. Then, I do yoga, make some coffee and write out my Affirmations. Using affirmations is a great way to start the day off with a positive mindset, and you will notice that I post daily affirmations here on the blog too!
After I do my affirmations, I shower and get my daughter up about 6:30 am. We spend an hour getting her ready for school, and then we are out the door for her school by 7:30.
When I drop her off, sometimes I will run to the bakery for a nice breakfast, or I will run some other errands while I am in town.
Usually, I get home again by 8:30 or 9am. After that, I put away my groceries, make some more coffee, and sit down to do some work.
I will spend a couple of hours working on my writing. This includes writing a new article, researching, editing, and publishing. While writing my articles, I will sometimes need to download or create custom images. I use Canva for this, it is an online software that allows you to make beautiful graphics that are unique to you for social media.
After I publish my articles, I post them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Promoting your work is super important, because this is how you get people interested in what you are doing.
I am also an editor for a publication on Medium, so I will publish other writer's articles as well.
Then, I work on my video content for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. I am so excited that I have discovered TikTok, because the platform lets you edit and make unique videos with a variety of sounds and songs. You can also record your own audio and make unique videos.
I usually make 2-3 videos every day and upload them to all three platforms.
After this, usually around 11 or 12, I will take a break and do some housework for a little while.
Then, I will go back and check all of my social medias, and spend some time replying to comments. This allows me to engage with all of my followers and spend some time looking at what they are doing as well.
Spending time on social media can be a time sink if you spend too much time, but it is also an important part of your day as a creator. You don't want to just drop your content and run. You want to spend at least 10-15 minutes on the platform commenting and such right after you post.
At 1:30pm I need to leave to pick up my daughter from Kindergarten. Sometimes, I will run additional errands then, if I need to go to shops that weren't open earlier in the day.
Then, we get home and spend some time playing together or doing a craft project. This is the time I mainly take away from work to enjoy time with my daughter.
My partner gets home around 4 or 4:30pm, and then I am back to work for a couple of more hours. Usually, I start off with some journaling. I will write out any restless thoughts in my mind. Then, I write out my affirmations again, do a gratitude journal, and write out my Law of Attraction goals.
This helps me to get into a mindset to be able to do my work with an open mind. So, I have all of my daily issues out of my head and I can focus on some work.
At night, typically I will write one more blog post. Then, I work on my more long-term projects like my books or my online courses. This is my quiet, focused work time.
After I am through with work, usually we will curl up with a movie for a little while before bed.
Around 8pm we will start my daughter's bedtime routine. This includes getting into pajamas, tidying up the room, and brushing her teeth before bed.
When I go to bed, I do a meditation right before I go to sleep. During this time I will either listen to OM chants, or chanting silently to myself. After the OM chants, I will recite all of my Law of Attraction affirmations again. This is because the subconscious mind is more active when you are close to sleep, so it can help to reprogram my mind more easily.
Then, I go to bed myself, and typically am in bed by 8:30 or 9pm.
Key Things to Remember
Having a partner who is supportive of you as a creative is key if you want to have enough time to get work done when your kids are at home. Having my partner take time with my daughter for a couple of hours at night really allows me to have enough time to work.
He is a creative person too, so he understands the amount of time that I need to be able to do my work during the day. All in all, I usually spend 10-12 hours working during the day, with a 2 hour break in between when I play with my daughter after her pick up from Kindergarten.
When you are starting off new as a creative, you aren't going to only be working 2 hours a day and sitting on the beach the rest of the time. People who you see on Instagram doing that have been creating a lot longer, and have a bigger following than I do.
It takes time and effort to build your following. You need to really listen to other people and form connections with them. If you just post your content without paying attention to anyone else's, you aren't building genuine relationships with people. It is those relationships that allow you to be successful in the long-term.
It takes a while to monetize your content. The only platforms (that I know of) that will pay you to post something are YouTube, Instagram (for reels), Medium, Patreon and Substack. Most of the social media channels are just used to promote your work.
The work you promote can be a blog, book, printables, courses or other products that you have for sale on your webpage. You can also offer coaching in your field, or life coaching the way that have just begun to offer. Anything that you offer should provide value to your clients.
Are you interested in becoming a creator full-time?
If so, what interests you? What kind of products do you want to offer for your clients? What kind of questions do you have for me? Let me know in the comments!
