We are always advised to work hard for our blog. Blogging requires a lot of hard work and we need to commit hours and hours for our blog. But now the time to work smart but not hard has come. For people who hold a full time job like me, we can probably work 1 or few hours for our blog every day. To be frank, it is not enough. In order to make full use of our blogging time, we need to work smarter.
How do we do that?
1. Focus on task that promise the maximum result
If your time is short, you need to focus on your most important task. Take a look at where you are now. Decide on what you want to achieve. If your blog readership is low, you may want to focus on your content, guest posting, commenting on other blogs or other methods that can bring you more traffic. Do not use your time to tweak your design or even thinking ways to monetize your blog.
If your blog has a decent readership, you may be focusing on how to grow it bigger or start monetizing it. You may decide to write your own ebook and give it out for free. Take a look at your own blog, focus on task that will promise you results instead of wasting your time to do other meaningless task.
2. Learn to outsource
Outsourcing is a good way to reduce your workload. There are plenty of task you can outsource include custom graphics, content, editing of your post, moderating your comments and others you can think of. Why do people outsource? It’s because of point #1, they want to focus on task that are more important to them. They probably can/can not do this themselves. If they can’t, yes they can learn but it takes time. They simply need to focus on more important task at the moment.
My friend Adam Paudyal from Endeavor-Online.com had written a very good post on outsourcing to blog smarter. Give it a read to fully understand why outsourcing can help us to become a smarter blogger.
How To Outsource And Become Smarter Than An Average Blogger
3. Use a to-do list
A to-do list is a very good technique to ensure you following the flow of the list and complete it within a time frame. It can also increase your productivity. The key is not about the to-do list itself but more on cultivating our habits of using it, adding and reviewing the list time to time. It helps to make sure the most important project gets the require attention from us at all time.
4. No distractions during work
Distractions can greatly reduce your productivity. Don’t let anything/anyone distract you. If you can’t finish your task on the allocate time for your blog, you will have to postpone it to other day and this will disrupt your schedule. For bloggers who have a young kid like me, they are a big distraction. If you are unable to work at home, find a quiet place which allows you to focus on completing the task.
Though it’s important to organize your working place, it’s also important to organize your files in your computer. You wouldn’t want to spend time to look for a graphics or a image for your post or any other purposes which can reduce your productivity.
5. Good is good enough
I learnt this term from Murray who contributed in my last post. How true! We can’t be doing things perfect all the times and we need to realize “good is good enough”.By spending our time chasing perfectionism, we are just stressing ourselves. Nothing is perfect in this world. You will be more happier stopping being a perfectionist. Tristan Higbee from BloggingBookshelf had written a very good post touching on this.
Are You a Perfectionist Blogger?
6. Avoid getting your hands full
If you have a hard time maintaining your blog, delay your thought of starting another project. Unless you are making use of outsource, there is no way you can juggle a few projects at a time. Avoid on getting your hands full. Sure you have lots of idea to start a new project but it will do you harm rather than good if it affects your original project.
What do you think of the tips above?
Do you have other tips which help you to blog smarter?
Please leave a comment to share with us.
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I think i’m going to start jumping into out sourcing much more and at most all i’ve been doing is getting the graphics done.
It offers huge potential and although i would never out source my content, a custom theme design is certainly on the list
I tweak to much, so it’s always great to have someone else do it for you.
Peter J recently posted..Let’s win this thing! For the second time around at least
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Hi Peter,
Outsourcing helps in freeing your time for other important task. No matter how good the other writer is, it’s never your own voice. It’s better to write your own content which reflects your personality.
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Lye
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Michele Welch, Findmyblogway. Findmyblogway said: How to Increase Your Productivity by Blogging Smarter http://tinyurl.com/4p7k44g [...]
Love that ‘good is good enough’! It’s quite a stumbling block for lots of peoples…took me awhile to get over it meself.
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach recently posted..Google Secrets 2 – Make Dynamic Viral Photo Galleries That Your Delighted Readers Crave To Share
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Hi Barbara,
That’s a great one from Murray and it really make sense. We simple can’t be perfect right?
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
This is all god advice, none of which I actually follow. Well, except for good is good enough. I force myself to let imperfections slide.
Dino Dogan recently posted..What Makes People Buy- Rejection
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Hi Dino,
Probably i find time hard to come by, that’s why i need to make full use of time i have for blogging.
It’s good when you know good is good enough, that should be enough for you.
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
Twitter: AdamPaudyal
Lye, what a fantastic post brother.
Murray really hit the bullseye when he said that good is good enough mindset is important. This couldn’t be more valid for bloggers like me who tend to be a perfectionist. Oftentimes I have to literally remind myself to stop being a perfectionist, which I often struggle with.
I haven’t read Tristan’s post on this but I sure will after this comment. And Lye, really appreciate the mention.
Rock on brother!
Adam Paudyal recently posted..Time Or Commitment- What Is Stopping You From Taking Action
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Hi Adam,
Precisely, i love the phrase. Nothing can be perfect. We need to realize that to prevent ourselves for staying too long for certain task.
I believe you will like Tristan’s post after reading it.
You are welcome brother. That’s a well written post by you.
Thanks for dropping by and the support.
Lye
[...] How To Increase Your Productivity By Blogging Smarter – Find My Blog Way [...]
Hey lye,
Thanks for the awesome post!
I totally agree with every point you have listed here. You are right on focus with every Point also. I have a full time job and many night I work all the way till 1am. After work I am drained, but many times I stay up anyways because I have that drive where I want better for myself. I think we must all find ways to work smarter and as you mentioned that all starts by figuring out what is most important at that time.
Thanks again!
God bless,
William Veasley
William Tha Great recently posted..Learning the Meaning of Progression
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Hi William,
For people who hold a full time job like us, we need to make good use of our time. We wouldn’t want to spend time on some task that is meaningless.
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Lye
Hi Lye,
It is very true that blogging smarter is very benefical, it brings you a lot of benefits both for you and your readers, the latest tip I’ve applied to my case is – ‘no distractions during work’ – I tend to be multitasking and do a lot of stuff simultaneously. It is very important to avoid distractions during work, you must keep focused and keep your mind consumed only with the work, that’s the best way to do your work good and smart. Also, I’m working at the ‘use a to-do list’ part, I’m trying to follow this path of using a to-do list but it is hard, especially because of the lack of time sometimes. Great tips mentioned, I really enjoyed reading everything about them, I’m sure these tips will help a lot of people becoming better persons and webmasters. Thank you very much for sharing this great article!
Best regards,
Maria
Maria Pavel recently posted..Certified Nursing Assistant Training Courses
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Hi Maria,
So glad you like this post. By avoiding distractions and make use of a to-do list, you are already saving time to focus on the important task. It is very important if we want to keep our productivity on a high.
Thanks for the awesome support as always.
Lye
Hi Lye
I have not been blogging for long but I already see the huge potential a blog has, for building relationships, driving content, and just basically watching your content go viral all over the internet!
Distractions were by far my own worst personal mistake, but now I have removed most of them, everything is clicking into place!
I am seeing more traffic, more interaction, more optins, more conversions just more of everything really.
I now get so much more done in the same amount of time, it’s amazing, Alex.
Alex Neill recently posted..Monetize Your Blog And Get Free Targeted Traffic – Part 2
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Hi Alex,
I can sense your passion towards blogging now. I always think blogging is harder than my full time job. We need to take care a lot of things in blogging.
Distractions is definitely one that will ruin our concentration. We need to be fully focus to build a successful blog.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
Lye
Good post!
What I like to do is to write a blog post or an article before going to work. Although it means that I have to wake up earlier (05:45AM) in order to do that, at least I have done something for my blog.
Also, I try to group certain activities to certain days. Like writing a blog post one day, doing promotion another day, writing a guest post some other day … by this way I have a schedule for my week and it helps me to concentrate better to what I’m doing.
Timo Kiander recently posted..4 reasons why you should appreciate your day job – even if you hate it
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Hi Timo,
Follow strictly to the schedule definitely helps in increasing the productivity. It sets a time frame and you need to complete it within a certain time.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
Lye
Hello Lye,
Time management is so vital, you have covered some good points.
You need to understand where you are going and what you are trying to achieve. When you know this you can build around it.
Concentrate on the important stuff and outsource the rest.
pete
Pete Carr recently posted..5 Pillars Of Blogging
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Hi Pete,
Yes indeed, without proper and effective time management will see us not making full use of our free time.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Lye
Great tips. I currently don’t do any outsourcing but should look into it.
Jay Philips recently posted..The Ultimate Roundup of RSS Directories to Promote Your RSS Feeds To For Free
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Hi Jay,
Outsource some of your task will surely help you to focus on your other important tasks.
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Lye
Super tips Lye. Like you, I’ve got a busy work schedule beyond that of ‘my blog’, and so getting the most out of my time is critical. I am doing everything you mentioned above and can attest to their effectiveness, but the one thing I’ve not done up to this point is outsource, and so that’s where I’m headed next. It’s all about creating more time, ya know?
Thanks for the great post Lye.
Marcus
Marcus Sheridan-The Sales Lion recently posted..Why ‘Being Right’ Ain’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be
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Hi Marcus,
That’s why it is very important for us to get the most of our time. Outsourcing is one good way to create more time for us.
Thanks for taking the time to visit and comment.
Lye
Hey Lye,
Great advice, especially number 6 because if you don’t have that much time you don’t want to be juggling too many projects. Trying to take on more than you can handle will cause your entire operation to run ineffectively.
It’s much better to just focus on one project at a time because you’ll be much more effective that way. Thanks for sharing your insights Lye.
John recently posted..How To Remove Moles From Your Face Naturally Using Cheap Household Items
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Hi John,
It is tough to manage a few projects at a time but we can seek for the help of some virtual assistants.
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
Outsourcing is a double edged sword. if you can find a good freelancer, great! Your problems will be cut down.
However, find a bad one and boom, your business may get cut down!
Ishan recently posted..Do You Want To Stay A “Nobody” Or Become A Real Blogger
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Hi Ishan,
You have a great point. We need to research when we need a virtual assistant to prevent the above scenario.
Thanks for the added point.
Lye
Hello Lye!
I just found your blog and I can say that you have very interesting and helpful posts!
These last days I found very important your tip #3; the TO-DO List! It is a must to create a To-Do List daily! Everything is about strategy! Better time management gives better results!
Thanks for sharing,
John
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi John,
Nice to meet you. A to-do list provides a system and we will have better focus on different task if we follow it.
Thanks for the kind words and visit.
Lye
I’m a glutton for punishment so I kick #6 on your list aside! But seriously, all of the points you bring up support each other. Turn off the distractions, focus on the most important task, get it finished as good as it can be, and keep going. That’s been working for me.
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Robert,
It definitely works better if we can combine all the points together. It seems you already have a system working great for you and that’s great.
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
With the point you made on Good Is Good Enough, I’d say that that’s true sometimes, but may not be as true in other situations. I read blog posts all the time that I think to myself, “why didn’t they spend more time on this post?” For sure you don’t want to be disabled by perfectionism, but you also don’t want to put out a shoddy product. Don’t you think?
TJ McDowell recently posted..Make Money With Photography By Cutting Costs
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Hi TJ,
I agree with you at certain situations. For people who had published, i believe most of them have done their very best. Sometimes they just can’t see what their post is lacking. For readers like us, we have our own opinion and probably feel it will be better if they add this/that.
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
Lye
I had to raise my hand on this one. I’ve got a 6 month-old here at home with me, and tasks which once took five minutes for me now take hours. Being a Type A personality, this is murder on my self-esteem. But sometimes I’m able to get away to the library for a few hours, and I’m so productive there I feel like a champ again.
Thank you for the link to the post about perfectionist blogging! That one helped a lot, too!
Delena
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Hi Delena,
I have a three year old kid so i fully understand how time can be so precious. That’s why we need to make full use of our time by applying the above.
The post by Tristan is a great one. Glad you like it.
Thanks for dropping by.
Lye
thanks for this post. they are all crucial points. Outsourcing is the way to go, except for the hobbyist who blog for fun. For those of us who blog for living, outsourcing is a key factor to increase productivity. If we focus on clutter rather than on strategic decisions, we ‘ve lost the game.
steven papas recently posted..What Is The Risk Of Free Antivirus Software
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Hi Steven,
Nice to meet you. Indeed, outsourcing can help us in many ways. In fact, there are a lot of task we can seek for help. It will depend on areas you are poor on or need extra time to complete.
Thanks for dropping by and the comments.
Lye
Great tips here, very applicable to anyone who blogs. Personally, I do know some people who outsource blogging, but I am not a huge fan. I think readers enjoy hearing about your personal viewpoint on a subject and getting to know you over time. A good writer can really express their true personality in their blog and will be able to better connect with people ( in my opinion ). Being smart and efficient with your time but writing all the content yourself makes a lot of sense, at least for me. Thanks for the post.
Hi There! Lately I’ve been thinking a LOT about productivity, especially being a “creative-type” and all. However, the tip I use the most for keeping me on track is #3, Keeping a To Do list. It’s absolutely essential in knowing what needs to be done. I also think that having an organization system is paramount to remaining productive and wrote further about it on my blog http://aishaquinece.com/?p=410
Aisha Quinece recently posted..Being Productive in an ADHD World
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Hi Aisha,
A to do list not only hold accountable and we know we are organize and work according to schedule. It’s a real help to have a to do list.
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Lye
Great tips Lye, it is very helpful to me because I am new to blog and I’m still in the process of learning and learning more about blogging.
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