Blogging on a Time Budget with Diana Rice

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Do you want to start a blog, but you’re not sure how to fit it into your schedule? This episode is for you! Today on The Ultimate Blog Podcast, we’re thrilled to chat with Diana Rice, a licensed mental health counselor and a blogger – so she understands the challenge of balancing blogging with a full schedule firsthand. Diana’s here to share how she manages blogging alongside her counseling practice, and give you real, practical ways that you can blog on a time budget.

Meet Diana Rice

Diana S. Rice, LMHC, CIMHP, CTP, QS, is a licensed mental health counselor, holistic practitioner, and creator of Liberation Lunes, a blog series for individuals seeking emotional wellness, personal growth, and spiritual clarity. Through her faith-centered guidance, Diana empowers readers to embrace change and resilience, providing practical tools to navigate life’s transitions with purpose. She is also the host of the Holistic Counselor Podcast.

From Therapist to Blogger: Diana Rice’s Journey

Diana’s career as a mental health counselor began in 2007, but writing has always been a creative outlet for her. In 2023, Diana transitioned to providing therapy exclusively online. While she valued her work, the isolation and limited capacity to see clients left her wanting a way to reach more people.

Inspired by The Ultimate Blog Podcast, Diana decided to start a blog as a way to share her insights with a wider audience. She said that she wasn’t a writer, but she loved the creative process (especially designing visuals in Canva). Her goal with her blog was to help people wrestle with challenges like anxiety and trauma while breaking stigmas. By January 2024, Diana published her first blog post and later launched her podcast, The Holistic Counselor.

Finding Your “Why” for Blogging

For Diana, blogging was always about authenticity and intention. Her advice for bloggers is to identify your purpose before diving into the details of your new blog. If your goal is just to rank on Google or make money, you’ll lose sight of who you are – but by staying true to your mission, you can stay authentic and connect with your audience.

Blogging on a Time Budget

Diana is on a time budget – and if you’re here, you probably are, too. Here are Diana’s top tips for blogging on a time budget:

1. Analyze Your Time

Diana recommends starting with a time audit. Look at your daily habits and routines to identify where you can carve out time for blogging. Maybe it’s during client breaks or dedicated blocks of time. However it works for your schedule, find consistent opportunities to work on your blog.

2. Start with an Outline

To create her blogs, Diana starts by jotting down ideas and drafting outlines. This helps her organize her thoughts and saves time when she sits down to write. Tools like ChatGPT can assist in structuring her content and generating ideas.

3. Batch Your Work

Diana batches her tasks, like writing blog posts and creating visuals in Canva, to make the most of her time. By focusing on one type of task at a time, she stays productive and reduces the mental load of switching between activities.

4. Focus on Quality Over Quantity

We get it – it’s tempting to constantly check your metrics, like page views and follower counts. Diana reminds bloggers to focus on the impact they’re making – and that even if you’re reaching a small audience, you’re making a difference.

5.  Repurpose Your Content 

When you’re on a time budget, a great way to continue to create content and reach more people is by repurposing content across platforms. Content that resonates with readers on one platform can often be adapted for another. For example, Diana’s post about anxiety might be reframed for her coaching audience with a focus on mindset strategies. 

Advice for Bloggers on a Time Budget

If you’re thinking about starting a blog or adding one to your service-based business, here’s Diana’s advice:

Accountability: Whether it’s hiring a coach, finding a mentor, or listening to The Ultimate Blog Podcast, having someone to guide you can make all the difference. Remember that we need community. If you are looking for community, we’d love to support you in The Ultimate Blog Roadmap!

Own Your Story: Remember that you have a story to be told. You have gifts and talents that need to be shared with the world.

In this episode, we covered: 

• Diana’s journey of being both a blogger and a mental health counselor
• Diana’s purpose for blogging
• How Diana analyzed her time to identify where she could carve out time for blogging
• What tools Diana uses to outline content
• How Diana batches her work to stay productive
• What Diana chooses to focus on instead of metrics and quantity of content
• How Diana repurposes her content to reach more people
• Diana’s best advice for bloggers on a time budget

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Connect with Diana Rice on her website, Instagram, and Facebook
• Ikigai Worksheet and Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
• Listen to The Holistic Counselor Podcast
• Join The Ultimate Blog Roadmap
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Check out last week’s episode

We hope you loved this episode with Diana Rice for this conversation on blogging on a time budget! What did you think of this episode? Please leave us a comment and let us know your biggest takeaway from this episode!