No Time To Blog?
Sorry for the silence. I have just started working on a big fulltime project that will take me through the next few months. I shan’t go into details but it’s the busiest I have been this year on a single project, and as a result I definitely have less time for blogging.
Which means it is kind of crunch time. The ‘easy’ option is always to simply stop blogging, but I don’t want to do that. I enjoy it, plus I’ve worked for months building my blog and building relationships (albeit mostly long-distance) with fellow bloggers. I would really rather not join the millions of dead blogs floating around the interweb.
So I need to think of ways to motivate myself.
- Keep posting, but post less often. If I don’t put myself under pressure to blog daily, maybe it won’t be so hard.
- Write more ‘reserve’ posts and lists of ideas. I have a few of these but could build up some more.
- Reward myself. When I post, I get ice cream. Positive reinforcement.
- Put the blog on autopilot. Hire a chipmunk with good typing skills to blog daily in my place - who would know?
No!!! I would never do that. Although it would be pretty cute.
Busy bloggers, tell me: how do you keep it up, so to speak?
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Posted
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Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 8:10 pm
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Ya I was wondering what happened to your daily posts. Ah well… really life steps in now and then! Blogging daily is hard work, especially if you want to keep the quality pretty high. If I wasn’t able to blog on the sly at work I’d be screwed.
I don’t think you’re blog will suffer too much if you don’t post every day. I’ll still read! Although the thought of a chipmunk posting is interesting. I wonder what goes on in their furry little heads?
September 21st, 2007 at 9:26 pmWhy don’t you put out a call for some guest bloggers? You could even contact a few reputable bloggers and ask them to write one or two posts for you.
That should lessen your writing load, though you may have to proofread first, and take some of the pressure off.
September 21st, 2007 at 11:11 pmFive seconds after I wrote the comment above, I saw this on Problogger… http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/09/20/handing-the-problogger-keys-over-to-guest-bloggers/
September 21st, 2007 at 11:13 pmI’ve missed the Rich Minx. I’ve had some trouble lately, too, with school in full swing and all. I’m with Stropp, guest bloggers are awesome. I’ve done this a few times and the results have been great. Other than that, on the weekends I’ll hammer out as many first drafts for a post as I can. Then throughout the week, I’ll spend 30 minutes a day refining them and then posting them.
September 22nd, 2007 at 12:23 amguest bloggers would be an idea to think about, i keep reminding myself that sometime soon, if i keep posting the blog will finally make money, and if not, i am blogging to provide information that people might not come across or understand. helping other people understand technology is why i started and until everyone understands it, i will keep blogging
September 22nd, 2007 at 4:26 amProblogger also just did a post by Tim Ferris who says it is more beneficial to post 2-4 times a week, than daily.
I don’t know if this is really true, but the lazy person in me likes the sound of it. You could easily slip in 2 or 3 posts a week and not feel guilty.
Plus with such a low goal of posting you would probably post more anyhow, because all of the pressure would be off. Just something to think about, Emma
September 22nd, 2007 at 10:04 amThanks guys for the suggestions. Emma, I read that too. I guess if those 2-3 posts are substantial (in terms of quality) then that could work. I agree with Tim that you can get RSS Fatigue if a blog you subscribe to is posting too often.
September 22nd, 2007 at 10:12 amI am not “keeping up”, for what it is worth. My job is kicking my butt right now. I have been posting twice a week, and have gained about 50 new RSS subscribers. Perhaps people like it when I don’t talk so much, lol.
September 22nd, 2007 at 11:03 amI read the guest post by Karen about excuses hurting your blog after reading Tim’s post at problogger and thought I haven’t been able to post regularly either and I feel guilty but there are no excuses except I’ve been busy as hell with other things and blog ends up suffering… but like Michelle I’m surprised I gained a couple of dozen subscribers even when I didn’t post! go figure!
September 22nd, 2007 at 3:17 pmI guess less is more… I hope so!
September 22nd, 2007 at 3:48 pmThe chipmunk. Definitely.
I’d say post less often. The people who are GENUINELY interested in your site will check up on you - that’s what I believe.
I mean, I’m here, aren’t I?
September 24th, 2007 at 1:55 amQuit the job
September 25th, 2007 at 5:09 amAh, Jon… it’s only been a few days!
Tata, I have recruited the chipmunk to do some guest blogging. I’m not sure how well he’ll follow instructions, though.
September 25th, 2007 at 8:56 pmIt definitely helps to jot down notes of a good topic when you’re out and about. I love to sit down and see how many posts I can crank out in a day to save for later publishing dates. Don’t quit!
I just found your site!
September 27th, 2007 at 7:07 amthis isnt actually my problem. ive gots lot of time but i run out of ideas to write about.
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:15 amHi,
October 7th, 2007 at 10:22 amI really understand what is blogging under busy times… (see http://www.fabnetrevenue.com/wordpress/adapting-my-lifestyle-for-blogging).
If I really had trouble to find time for blogging, I would probably go for your point no1 which is blogging less often : 30 minutes every 4 or 5 days is hopefully feasible for you…
Finding time to blog is a bit of a mission for me. I have to deal with work and I have a baby girl who will be 4 months old on Sunday (14 Oct) and I love spending as much time as I can her and her mother. If she keeps me up until midnite or 1am or 2am and get her to fall asleep I find it hard to sleep and I might try and do something then.
October 10th, 2007 at 7:49 am