Bloggers have the luxury of working whenever they want, wherever they want; this can also be their downfall. Without a set schedule and no boss looking over your shoulder to make sure things get done, the way you spend your time is crucial to the success of your blog. You can choose to be productive and spend time wisely. Or you can get distracted with the internet and look back at your day and wonder why you got zero work done. I’ve been struggling with this and it has taken years to finally be able to get things done and it feels great! Below are my tips to get things done in order to be a successful Blogger/Webmaster.
Wake Up Earlier
Waking up earlier has been the most important aspect in improving my work ethic. I used to wake up right before I had to go to work. This caused me to rush out of bed very disorganized. Now, I wake up at 5:30, get some work done on my sites with some coffee and setup my day to get things done. I still work a 9 to 5 so after an hour of working on my sites I leave the house. It took me incremental changes to be able to wake up early. My advice is to set your alarm clock for 10 minutes earlier and keep making small changes until you feel comfortable with the time you wake up at.
Write a To-Do List
A to-do list allows you to get things done that are important. When you know exactly what needs to get done you’re less likely to get distracted. It feels good to cross out what you got done. Make sure that they can be accomplished in an hour or less. If not, I would break your task down into further to-do’s. I write a to-do list in the morning (another benefit of waking up early), some people prefer to write it at night. Be careful not to overload your list, I would say 3 to 5 important tasks should suffice. For example, here is my to-do list today:
2/24/10 To-Do’s
- Write Get Things Done post for Theme Today
- Comment on 10 blogs
- Rough draft of new blogging service
Stop Checking Stats
This was one of the killers for me. I would check my Analytics and Adsense accounts every hour. Got 10 more visitors, yay! Made 10 cents this hour, yay! Really? I think we got bigger to fish to fry here. Checking stats isn’t nearly as important as writing great content. There is no point in analyzing traffic or income on an hourly basis, you’ll just make yourself crazy. Now, I limit myself to once a day, I even think this might be excessive. To get a better picture, checking stats weekly or monthly would be more beneficial.
Set Time Limits
Block time off where you just work, nothing else. It’s like having set hours at work where you have to be there only difference is you want to be there. Set a time limit where you be productive, I like setting one hour intervals. Its more of a psychology aspect for yourself. One hour is not a lot of time to work but in that hour, if you work continuously, you will get alot done, I promise.
Turn Internet Off
Working online can be a bit distracting, who am I kidding? It’s very distracting! There are so many sites that catch our attention for a long period of time. We browse and browse and browse until there is no more browsing to do, then its on to the next site. In order to be disciplined and get things done, you need to do you. Don’t get distracted by endless sites that don’t make your blog better. If you have the internet browsing bug, then shut off your internet connection and write some posts on a Notepad.
Change Scenery
If working at home is distracting and you find yourself watching TV while you work then my suggestion is to leave. One of the best things about being a Blogger is that you are mobile. You can grab your stuff and go to the local coffee shop or park. I love working at coffee shops, the environment is usually relaxing and others are doing work also.
Know When You Work Best
You should know when you work best, maybe it’s at 6:00am or maybe 11:00pm. Whatever time it may be, you should work during that time. For me, I love working when no one is awake. This goes hand in hand with waking up early. During the time I’m awake there is no one else in my family that can distract me. It’s just me crossing out tasks and conquering the day.
Have Boundaries
Know when and where to work and when and where not to work, I still struggle with this. You should have a set place in your home where all your work is conducted, preferably away from where you are most. Currently, I live in an apartment so my work space is in the living room. I work for an hour or two, spend time with my family and if I’m walking to the kitchen, I’ll open up the laptop and check my site. So its like I’m always accessible to work and it effects my personal life.
Another boundary you should set is time. Like I said before, its very important to set time limits. After you get your to-do list done and your time limit has ended you should close up shop until you set another block of time for yourself. In the meantime, don’t turn on your computer. Step away from your blog because you have life to enjoy.
One Task at a Time
My girlfriend pointed out that when I was working I tended to drift off to another task without finishing what I was previously working on. This caused me to work on 10 things at once without ever getting any of them done. Now, I choose one task and work on it until its done. If something comes up that I need to do, I just jot it down in my notebook. I’m able to put all of my time into one task which results in quality work that I’m able to leave behind completely when it’s done.
In no means am I an expert in getting things done, but the above action steps have gotten me to become more productive. If you want further and more extensive advice I suggest visiting these sites:
Mon, Mar 1, 2010
Web Development