How to Fit Blogging Into Your Life
Marketing activities don’t come easy to many, just like what you do probably wouldn’t come easy to me!
If it’s hard, it’s not fun.
There’s paying work to do and tasks you enjoy more. Writing is one of the harder marketing activities, too. However, if you believe in the benefits of blogging, you know it helps get more paying work and tasks you enjoy. Make time with a few tricks: start by jotting down a bunch of topic ideas, schedule specific time to do it, and set digestible goals (i.e.: not chaining yourself to your desk until one is drafted, proofed and posted).
Focus on Ideas Separately
If you sit down to write and don’t even know what your topic is, you can spend a lot of time just figuring that out. There are so many possible sources for ideas. By the time you actually start a post, you’ll be tired already, maybe frustrated and unlikely to accomplish as much as you’d hoped. A great way to combat that is to schedule a session just for brainstorming topics. There’s no ‘wrong’ in brainstorming, just let the ideas flow and sort out what’ll work later. If you think of points for an outline, jot them down too, but focus on the big ideas. Once you start, you may find yourself coming up with ideas at odd times, so have a list going on your phone. Add the idea right away – you’ll forget later. When you sit down to write with a topic already decided, it will flow easier and be done faster.
Schedule Time for Writing
When a personal trainer friend of mine gave a talk at a networking event, someone asked her when the best time of day to work out was, probably thinking about full vs empty stomach, sleep or energy levels. Her answer was, “When you are most likely to do it.” Same answer here! Identify the best time of day or situation that is most conducive for you. When do you feel the freshest, most creative, best able to focus and not get sidetracked? You can even dictate it on your phone while out for a walk. Everyone responsible for sales must schedule time for marketing and business development. This is part of that. Put it in your calendar and let other people know you are not available. Commit to it like you would a juicy project or your child’s school play.
By the way, you don’t have to do a whole post in one sitting.
Give Yourself a Break by Breaking it Up
While you are scheduling writing time, think about breaking it down into chunks so it’s easier to manage for both time and mental bandwidth. Session one: write an outline for the topic de jour, then use it to set a plan. Check! Think about breaking it into two or three sessions for the first draft, another to review and edit, and a final to publish and share. You can go from a 90-minute torture session full of guilt and distractions to five 15-minute sessions. My very first post, many moons ago, was accomplished by a fellow marketer asking me one question a day about brand design by email. I answered each before really starting my day, and it barely hurt at all. Then he fed all my answers back to me in one place and said, “Your first post. You’re welcome.”
Ask Yourself to Find the Time, Not to Love it
If writing is not your favourite activity and you find it daunting, you aren’t likely to learn to love it. As the lovely and talented Deanne Kelleher from Kaos Group says, we always do the things we enjoy first and delay the things we don’t. That is absolutely fine, just recognize it and plan around it. Recruiting a friend or colleague to brainstorm ideas is a great way to get going (it also helps uncover what people want to read). Unless you are profoundly inspired, writing an entire post in one go not only takes a lot of time but piles on the pressure. You can make blogging easier to accomplish with a bit of planning and realism. Break it down, recruit help to get creative juices flowing, schedule it for a realistic time, and spread it over many sessions.