7 ways to reduce your blogging time
By: Marcia Francois
I entered the world of blogging in February 2006. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that although blogging is wonderful for many reasons, it sure does take up a lot of time.
Here are some ways I keep my blogging time from taking over my life!
1. Use a RSS reader
Set up a Google Reader or Bloglines account to catch up on your blog reading. It takes some time initially to add all your feeds but so does anything that saves you time in the long run. However, once set up, it will save you hours every week – hours you can better spend with your family, working on your business, on self-care.
Decide on an amount of time you’re prepared to read blogs every day, say an hour, and stick to it. If ever you feel overwhelmed, delete some blogs from your RSS reader until it’s manageable again.
2. Set up folders
Within your RSS reader account, set up folders so that if you’re pressed for time, you can go directly to the ones you absolutely have to read and still feel like you haven’t missed much if you don’t get around to the others. I have folders called Business Resources, Creative, Friends, Organising, Still Deciding and so on. So I always read the posts in the Friends folder and I read the others when I have more time.
3. Use blogging as a reward
Don’t get on the computer and start blogging away. We all know it’s addictive so reward yourself by catching up on some blogs. I typically will reply to about 10 emails before I start blogging. Or send out a mail to my subscribers and then get onto Google Reader.
4. Post to your own blog before reading other blogs
This is another version of rewarding yourself. We all know that reading is easier and a lot more fun (sometimes) than creating your own post. So do your own post first before you go off visiting all round the blogosphere. At least you’ll have the comfort of knowing that once you start surfing, the important things are done.
5. Plan your posts
Albert Einstein said that if he had 60 minutes to save the world, he’d spend 55 minutes planning and 5 minutes doing. That’s all I’m saying. If you know what you want to say and have a rough outline of pictures to use, posting is much quicker than if you’re thinking as you’re typing. Also, compress your pictures beforehand to save you time.
6. Use a timer
If I have lots of blogs to visit, for example from a meme like Menu Plan Monday, I allow myself a specific amount of time, let’s say 20 minutes. So I set my timer and start visiting and commenting. When the timer goes off, I need to move on.
I usually set myself a goal to visit 10 new blogs (other than those in my Google Reader because I’ll have seen those posts anyway). Of course, if I’m done with everything I wanted to do and I still have a bit of time, I go visit some more.
This has really helped me because in the beginning I used to spend hours trawling through each and every blog. Now I still do a lot of that because I’m so curious and can’t bear to miss out on anything. The difference is that now I schedule the time and when I find a good new blog, it doesn’t throw me off track very much. And of course, I add it to my Still Deciding folder on Google Reader.
7. Stay focused
I use my Eat the frog form to keep me focussed when I’m on the computer. You can download a copy here. Before I even go online, I write a list of everything I need to do.
A typical list will say Reply to emails, Send out mailing, Post x recipe on Take Charge blog, Post organising tip on Organising Queen blog, Pay R2000 into credit card & update budget. I number them in terms of priority. Most days it will look like this: 6) Reply to emails, 3) Send out mailing, 4/5) Post recipe on Take Charge blog, 4/5) Post tips on Organising Queen blog, 1) Pay R2000 into credit card & 2) Update budget.
Why? Well, I’m ALWAYS on top of my finances. Then a mailing to my subscribers is always top priority. Posting to my blogs is next and the emails I will typically do while waiting for Blogger to upload photos.
So these are my 7 ways that I use to limit my blogging time.
© 2007 Marcia Francois
About the Author
Marcia Francois is a time management and organising coach who teaches small business owners and other busy people how to get at least 5 extra hours every week. Visit http://organiseyourbusiness.com for a free copy of Marcia’s book, 100 Surefire Ways to Organise your Busy Life.
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