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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Building A Better Blog: Time Management

Blogging takes time and lots of it. If you’re a serious blogger, you know this. If you aren’t, then trust me. One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing a beautiful blog carefully maintained and updated by a woman who is a stay-at-home mom. All I can figure is that she either doesn’t sleep or her older kids do all of the housework, educating, and caretaking of the younger kids. Basically, if you don’t have a job that allows you time to blog or if you have young children, you’re going to have to be very careful at your time management in order to keep your blog up while still taking care of your home and family. No one’s perfect at it, but here are a few ideas to keep you going:

1) Be realistic about product reviews and giveaways. These take a huge amount of time (I figure around 3 hours per review/giveaway). If you don’t honestly have the time to put in, don’t do it. Your family is more important than reviewing everything available to you. Only choose the ones that you really need and that are worth this time.

2) Have a set time every day to write, and do it offline. Since I’m home now, I’m learning to blog while LoveBug is sleeping. I get on our computer that has no Internet access and type my posts into a word processer. Having a regular time and not being online keeps me focused and free from the distractions of my daughter, housework, and email. I’m also able to work on multiple posts at once which helps to keep the words flowing.

3) Keep a notebook handy to jot down titles of blog posts. There’s nothing worse for a blogger than to waste time at the computer because you can’t think of what to write about! I come up with some of my best posts while I’m driving (or at least I think they’re some of my best topics), so I just write down the titles then and write the post later when I have time. You’ll be surprised at how much you have to say if you do this!

4) Use a pre-written letter for product review inquiries and to notify prize winners. Simply save the letter, keep it updated, and personalize it for each contact. This will keep you from having to write a new letter every time you contact someone!

5) Organize your writings and photos into a “blog” folder on your computer. You might even go so far as to save documents by their date first and title second so you can quickly find things.

6) Upload your writings once or twice a week. Since you’re doing your writing offline, upload a bunch of them once or twice a week. Just set their “posting” dates to be spread out throughout the week so that your readers have new things to read every day or few days until you get into your blogging platform again. Uploading a bunch at once will save you time in the long run!

Want to get more hints and tips for Building a Better Blog? Visit our "Best Of" page!

3 comments:

  1. Great Post! I recently went totally off line for a week because blogging and other online activities were taking over my life. Now I just go online during nap time or other times where my kids are sleeping or at grandmas :)
    sara
    http://myfrugalfunlife.blogspot.com/

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  2. I also do my blogging while O sleeps. I also will schedule posts ahead of time for a particular day. Another thing is that I generally don't post on the evenings or weekends because I truly cherish that family time! I also take time off when needed! (I think I took three weeks off during the holidays last year!)
    I agree with the form letters for give-aways and winners (just personalize them). I also pick and choose when it comes to give-aways. I pick only quality items so I do not waste my time or anyone else's.
    Another thing I've learned is to keep my posts short and sweet. Many of them are just a few sentences these days. Many readers are mamas themselves. They don't have lost of blog-reading time to spare!
    As a SAHM, I sometimes wonder how mamas writing other blogs I read have time for it all! I do, however, try not to pass judgment and assume they are neglecting family time for the sake of blogging. All homes/families/marriages are different. Just because I don't have a ton of spare time during the day, doesn't mean other mamas haven't figured out ways to sneak in a bit of extra time for themselves. Motherhood is definitely a lesson in humility! :-)
    PS I've been wondering about you! I hope you are enjoying your time at home with your family and waiting for Baby!

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  3. Hi

    I read this post two times.

    I like it so much, please try to keep posting.

    Let me introduce other material that may be good for our community.

    Source: Time management forms

    Best regards
    Henry

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incredibly interesting comments!