blog strategy: managing your time well
Productivity. Time Management.
Focus. Intentionality.
We all desire these things … the problem is getting there. Am I right?
As my online commitments have increased, I’ve found it more difficult to maintain the same level of content production on my personal blog as I had when it was all I did. I currently manage the social media and develop blog content here at Design by Insight. In addition, I am the Director of Social Media for The Whatever Girls Ministry and I am a contributing writer to five other sites. Yeah, that’s a lot.
When I first read Paul Meyer’s words above, I had one of those a-ha moments. Perhaps you, like me, have lost sight of the important of managing your time well in order to blog more effectively. Clarity came where chaos had been ruling in my mind {and on my calendar}. Myer offers us three keys to time management for bloggers.
Commit to Excellence
As a consultant for authors, I often tell my clients it’s better to focus on one or two areas of marketing their books and do those exceptionally than it is to spread themselves thin trying to market everywhere and landing in mediocrity. The same is true for blogging. As you build your blog, a part of your strategy must be a commitment to excellence. Make intentional decisions to be exceptional and it will pay off. Choose excellence … and realize that typically will mean choosing less.
Plan Intelligently
Remember the editorial calendar? You need one. If you are going to manage your time well, be productive as a blogger without losing your real off-the-screen life in the process, you need a plan. Your plan gives you freedom to focus on the immediate and long-range goals for your blog. Everyone’s plan will look different because we each have different goals. But you need to know your goals and build a doable plan for reaching them.
Focus Your Effort
Once you have identified the goals for your blog, you need to consider all the options for achieving them. Don’t try to do everything … instead choose a few {three, maybe} and focus on those. Invest deep, not wide. You don’t have to be involved in every social media avenue. You don’t have to participate in every linky. You don’t have to write every day. This is your blog. You are in control of it, not the other way around.
Learning to use our time well is a key factor in the long-term success of our blogs. For each of us, the daily process will look different. If you like to know how other people do things, check out How They Blog. Each week Kat interviews a blogger {some bigger, some smaller}who shares insight into his or her writing habits, offers resource recommendations, and gives social media tips.
For more insight on this topic, we recommend you check out Amy Andrews’ current series, Time Management for Bloggers. She is digging deep into this idea and you might find her thoughts helpful as you develop your time management plan.
