Posts Tagged ‘time management’

Image courtesy of laffy4k from Flickr

So many people I know want to start blogs, want to improve their blog or want to just write more for their blog. Unfortunately, most of us have days that are packed to the brim, we’re taking phone calls, tweeting, facebooking, planning our calendars, checking emails and putting together task lists on top of doing all the actual work…basically, we are insanely busy. How do I know that we’re all this busy? I see the tweets, read the emails and have the conversations about how little time we have left in our days. With days like this, things like writing, which for most are secondary, end up getting pushed to the back-burner. But, this does not have to be the case! Writing is not easy, but by taking 30 minutes every day out of your schedule to work on writing, it can be made much easier. How can you do this?

First, schedule 30 minutes in each of your day, just like you would schedule a meeting, for your writing time. Plan it out ahead, that way you can’t cancel it or avoid it. Do not let yourself skip it! Then, during that time, close all browsers, twitter applications, silence your phone, close your email, do whatever you have to do to eliminate all distractions for those 30 minutes. Once you’ve done this, start writing. Jot down notes about everything and anything that you want to talk about. Then, write down some things you don’t want to talk about (knowing the don’t want can help with the do want). Finally, go back through what you think you want to talk about and add more detailed notes on the topics that you can. Keep this as a constantly available document (either on your computer or on real paper) so that anytime you come up with a new idea, you can just jot it down and keep it for the future.

At first, it will be tough to take that 30 minutes, but when you see the results you get from concentrated writing time, you will realize how worth it 30-minutes can be.

Oh, and if you’re wondering why this post only has a one word title, read my stand against blog titles.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, this weeks post topics are all courtesy of my twitter followers and friends. Today’s question/idea came from @hagre, who asked me to share a how-to on something I do well.

In the last few months, I have shared tutorials on many things, blog management calendars, complete blog designs, improving your social media, how to be a better writer. But what I noticed was that none of these discussed the root tutorial, the “how-to” everyone needs to have in order to actually do any of the above “how-to’s”. The tutorial I was missing? How to manage your time and enable yourself to actually have a blog.

99.9% of business can benefit from a blog, but a very small percentage of those actually have a blog. Why? Because the majority will write a few times and then give it up. They won’t have the time, and won’t be willing to hire someone to do it correctly. So, the blog will fail, and the company will blame it on the blog instead of the real culprit – lack of time management and organization. A blog takes a serious time commitment, and a lot of dedication. I tell anyone who asks, a successful blog requires a minimum of 7 hours of dedicated time per week. If you have more than that to give, you will be better off, as you can really work on quality posts, and making sure every single one has the highest level of content.

Now if your wondering how I define success, I believe a successful blog is one that brings you more traffic to the site, more sign ups on your mailing list and gives you a way to converse with potential clients in an open environment. Fair enough?

Okay, so back to those 7 hours per week. Remember, this is the absolute minimum I recommend, on my own blog I spend about 10 hours a week, on a good week, it’s closer to 15.  So where do you find those hours? Trust me, they are already there, you just haven’t been capitalizing on them! The biggest part of time management is finding ways to use your hours more effectively. If you were to give 10 people the same projects and the same amount of time to do them in, no one would finish at the same time. We all have different ways we work – which is why an “exact” time management plan is difficult. So instead of a one size fits all solution, we are going to walk through a normal day, and see where we can pull out some extra time…remember, just 1 ½ hours each day and you will have enough time for your blog! Here is my average day, and how I get my blog managed. The amount of time (in pink) is the actual amount of time during that part of my day that is quality blog time.

• Morning: When I get up, the first thing I do is turn my computer on, while it boots up, I make my coffee and think about my dreams. Anything happen that make me think of a post? If so, there is a notepad next to my coffee pot. I pour my coffee, sit down at the computer and the first 30 minutes are spent with only one window open, my blog. I spend that time working on current drafts, or adding new blog posts. I don’t edit, I just write, get out as many post ideas as I can and create drafts of each one. Most will never see daylight, but some will turn into quality posts. (30 mins)
• Checking in: Once I’ve spent this 30 minutes on my blog, it’s time to focus on my day. I check emails, flagging anything important (which sometimes includes post ideas from friends who send me great articles). I open tweetdeck, the other browser windows I need for my clients and start work. I always keep my blog window open so I can add thoughts if something pops up like a good tweet, a question on a site, or an interesting link. (15 mins)
• Meat of my day: This is the section where I can focus on the most work for my clients, they are available to talk and I can get quality work finished. This time is dedicated to everything except for me. On days that my client projects are small, I use this time to look for new clients and send emails to prospectives. My goal is to not write for myself during this time, which can be hard, but I need it to be focused completely on my other agenda.
• Driving time: I have at least 30 minutes in the car almost every day…heading to meetings with clients, getting a workout at pole fitness or running, or heading to the store. During this time, I talk outloud…and my phone records me. Don’t have a recorder on the phone or need more time? You can get an inexpensive recorder from Amazon. While you are driving, press record, set it in your lap and start talking. When you get home, you can transcribe your ideas and now a 30 minute drive has a useful purpose! (15 mins)
• Evening: I love to cook, so I make dinner almost every night. While I make dinner, I have time to think back through my day, usually over a glass of wine, which helps me to loosen my thoughts and let things flow. So, I use the same notepad that is next to my coffee pot to add more ideas while I cook. Sometimes it’s just notes, other times, I will stop and write, standing in the kitchen, while dinner cooks. The hubby laughs at this one… (15-30 mins)
• Watching TV with my hubby is one of my favorite times to write, I can just sit next to him with my laptop and jot down thoughts and work on posts. I have also gotten ideas from TV shows, or things that have been said on the news. (1 hr)

Adding it up, my average day provides me with about 2 ½ hours of time where I am working on my blog. While some of it is broken time, it still counts, and still helps make my blog possible.

Where can you find more time in your day? Try going through it in sections, and see where you can pull out some time.

If you already manage a blog successfully, what is your time management schedule?