Time Management Tips For Bloggers
You may not think that time management tips are important for you, but if you are serious about having a successful blog, then you need to give some thought as to how best use your time.
Regardless of the area of work you are in, you will often hear the same old cry “There are just not enough hours in the day”. Does it sound familiar?
I know that I am certainly guilty of this!
Managing your time has become so important in achieving tasks and blogging is no different. It is therefore crucial that you have some form of time management tips for your blogging career before you get in too deep.
Before we get too far into this, lets look at a definition of what time management is.
“Time management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.” (Wikepedia)
(Image courtesy of iosphere / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
Now, answer these two questions:
- Does it feel that some people just always seem to get more done in a day than you?
- Do you wonder how some bloggers seem to establish more with their blog than you do?
At the end of the day we all have the same amount of hours in our day, would you agree?
Granted, some people have to undertake a day job as well as their blogging, some have to care for children, some care for elderly parents etc. There are thousands of excuses as to why WE are busier than the next person.
However, what separates those from having the ‘time’ to complete tasks and those that don’t is simple….it’s time management!
Time management can be easy to some and for other’s it can seem like a huge uphill battle.
Today, we shall look at sometime management tips that will help improve your blog’s productivity.
Time Management Tips #1: Plan!
If you are serious about getting the most out of your day, then you need to plan it!
What are you hoping to achieve today, tonight, this week, this month? If you have no clue how to answer this question, then how on earth do you expect to be productive?
The number 1 thing that will encompass all the other time management tips is is having a PLAN!
Once you know what it is you want to achieve, you can set your tasks accordingly.
Be realistic with this though. If you know it takes you around 2 hours to write one post, don’t say you will produce 10 posts in one day. Are you going to function on 4 hours sleep with no breaks? I don’t think so!
Take note of what kind of person you are when setting your plan.
Are you someone who is more productive in the morning’s or the evenings?
Allocate the tasks that you find more difficult to the times of the day that you function better. This may sound like common sense, but it is amazing how common sense can disappear when you are trying to do 101 things!
Time Management Tips #2 Monitor your time
If you are really unsure about how long tasks take you, or how often you become consumed in social media, it may be a good idea to track your time for a week.
In that week make a record of how long it is taking you to undertake certain activities. This may highlight where areas of time can be gained and where you may be wasting time.
A lot of work places require employees to keep statistics of how they manage their day. My ‘part time job’ is a social worker, and we have to account for every 5 minutes of the working day! It may sound crazy, but it’s true!
I’m certainly not saying to break it down that far, but you get the idea.
- Are you spending 1 hour in the morning on social media, or is it turning into 3?
- Are you intending on spending 4 hours a day writing content for your blog, but it is actually ending up to be 2?
Take a good look at what you are doing NOW so you know where you want to make changes.
Don’t beat yourself up about having breaks either. You are far more productive if you take short breaks than if you plough through for hours on end. Time management tips are designed to help you, not make you feel like a work horse!
Take the time to refresh yourself, refresh your mind and also your motivation!
Stick to a schedule that is comfortable for you and your lifestyle, but also keeping to the commitments you have set for yourself.
Time Management Tips #3: Avoid Interruptions
Are you someone that can easily become distracted by email and social media notifications? If yes, then you really need to turn these off and focus!
(Image courtesy of Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
If you are sitting down to write a blog post, then write that blog post!
Each and every time you flick screens to just check on that one notification or another you are wasting time. It may not feel like wasting time as that interaction was also ‘part of your business’, but it is the distraction that is holding you back.
You will be surprised at just how much you can get done, when you avoid those interruptions for an hour!
Time Management Tips #4: Work on your business, not IN your business
Perhaps at the end of the day you need to look at outsourcing some of your tasks. Have you heard the saying “work on your business and not in your business”?
To be in control of your business means that you need to take a step back sometimes. Would you be more effective outsourcing some keyword research, logo design, or even content creation?
What causes you the most stress on your blog? These are usually the things that eat up the most time! If you could outsource those tasks, what kind of time would this free up for you to be able to be more productive in other areas?
Fiverr is a great site for outsourcing small tasks, and it only costs….$5! You can literally pay people to do anything for you, make a You Tube video, write an Ezine article, comment on blogs for you.
All you need to do is think about those tasks that you would like help with, and find someone suitable to do them for you.
Outsourcing is a great way of keeping up your motivation, because all of a sudden you are getting two or three times as much done. That surely has to be good for keeping on top of your blog and keeping those smiling faces!
Of course, you may feel that you don’t have the funds to outsource and this is something that you personally need to weigh up. It may be a good idea to spend your first blog earnings on outsourcing and plough your investment straight back into your business. This is however only something that you can decide on.
At the end of the day, all successful bloggers will have conquered their time management.
There is no way you can run a successful business if you can not manage your day to day tasks.
Whether you do that yourself or you outsource someone to help with the load, you MUST have a plan of not only what you want to achieve, but how you are going to achieve it and it what timeframe.
Is time management something that you struggle with, or something you have under control?
Do you have any time management tips that you find useful?
Please share your thoughts with us below.
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Written by Catherine Holt
Catherine Holt is the founder of Blogging Tips 101. She has been an internet marketer since 2012. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Google and Pinterest.
Hi Catherine,
I agree with you that good time management is essential for bloggers. I’m always looking for ways to improve my process and get more out of my time. One thing I have been trying to do recently is to get rid of tasks/duties that aren’t producing. It’s easy to get in the habit of doing certain things and just continue to do them out of habit. If you take a step back and look at how you’re using your time and what results you are getting from the specific things you’re doing, it’s likely that there are some things you could eliminate without much impact on your results.
I agree Marc, we can often waste a lot of time without realizing it. What we think is actually time efficient is often time wasting if we step back and really analyze what we are doing. Good time management is about constant reflection and not being afraid to change if things are not working well.
We all have the same amount of time in the day and we need to work out how to best utilize the time available for it’s best purpose. Thanks for providing your feedback
[…] A successful blogger needs to focus on time management tips. This will ensure you plan, remain distracted from interruptions and focus on the task. […]
Hey Catherine,
An eye opening post there. I totally agree with you, Time management is the most important thing in blogging. If you don’t utilize the time correctly then you are likely going to fail. Time is the factor which decides a blogger’s future. You mentioned it right there ” We all have the same number of hours ” It depends upon us that how we utilize it. We gotta utilize it the best way possible to get appropriate results.
And again, If you don’t have plans and goals then you can’t even imagine success. Without plans one is likely going to waste the whole day without knowing. A great effort by you. I appreciate the way you’ve written.
Cheers!
- Rohit
Thanks Rohit, I appreciate your comment.
It’s amazing how time can literally just slip through our fingers if we don’t keep a close eye on it. If your working and working towards goals, then you really do need to focus. Otherwise the day/week can easily pass and you don’t hvae a lot to show for it.
Hello Catherine !!
You have a point there, I fact is that time is one of the priceless resources money can not buy, but with strategy the only option is to manage it to our advantage, it is the only thing that all men have equal , no more no less. It takes discipline to manage time to our efficient use and it is needed in every aspect of life !! Thanks for the share !!
Regards,
Dok Simon, Blogging Engage
You got that right DOK Simon. We all have the same amount of time and it is up to us how we manage that time. If we can be disciplined and have a plan, then it is going to be of benefit in the long run.
Thanks for sharing your feedback
Hey Catherine
Greetings on writing such a wonderful post on time management without any sermoning on importance of time. You simply gave very valuable tips to save time and achieve your targets.
The era of hard work has gone. Now this is an age of smart work which means doing quality work in minimum of time.
You advice to work on business and not in business is really awesome. It shows how deeply you researched on the topic before creating this awesome post.
Thanks a lot for sharing another wonderful post that does have lot of value for those who want to deliver in limited time maximum value.
“Smart work” is a great way of putting it Mi Muba. We need to be assessing the best way of acheiving an outcome without necessarily working harder and all hours of the day, but in fact smarter. There is only so long that you can work longer and longer hours without becoming exhausted. We need to work out how to manage the hours we have available to achieve results.
Thanks for your comment
Hi Catherine,
time is the most precious good that we have, because it just passes without any effort on our part. The decision is up to us how we use it, if we waste it or spend it to our benefit.
As you said, we all have the same amount of time in a day. But there are always some people who seem to have a bit more time on their hands. This is because they know and appreciate the value of time and use proper time management to get the most out of it.
The basics of time management are to have a goal, to make a plan and to break it down in small tasks that you need to achieve. Once this is done it is necessary to stay focused without any distractions and interruptions.
Have a wonderful day and make the most out of it,
Torsten
It’s so true Torsten, some people really do seem to have twice as many hours in their day. But unless they are a time traveler, they really do have the same amount of time as everyone else. The skill is knowing how to manage your time and maximize those precious hours. Failing to do so is only doing yourself a dis-service.
Thanks for taking the time to leave your thoughts
Hi Catherine,
Super helpful thoughts here!
As you you’ve noticed, I’ve written a few times about “scheduling” and bloggers, too.
It’s something we all struggle with from time to time, and it’s nice to have helpful reads like yours to get us back on track!
The great thing about time management Kevin is that we can always get back on track if we stray off the path. It’s just a case of reassessing the direction and getting back to basics. Every once in a while it is a good idea to assess the path your on to make sure you are going over as much ground as you possible can.
Thanks for your feedback
I love your advice about monitoring how you are really spending your time. I need to do this! In fact, I just set a reminder on my phone that I will see early tomorrow morning so I will actually do this. I will document where I am spending my time so I have a better idea of how I can better allocate my time.
Sounds like a great idea Dawn and it would be interesting to hear your results. Wouldn’t it be awesome if this actually freed up time for you each week! Good luck with the task
Hey Catherine,
This is a great list. I really need to work more on #3 and #4.
I have set things I want to get accomplished but sometimes I get lost in one task. I need to plan a time frame and stick to it for sure.
#4 is difficult because I have kids that don’t always make it easy to get things done. It can be difficult when your focus is constantly being interrupted.
I take it more as a challenge than a distraction.
Have a good one Catherine!
Ah, distractions can certainly be our downfall can’t they Steven. If you are aware that this is an issue that’s a start at least! We can’t be perfect, but just aim to be better with your time management than you were yesterday! Every little bit helps
[…] Time management is a biggie for me. Running two blogs, as well as a part time job and having a young child means I have to stay focused. I have to have great time management. A tool I use is my own personal tool and that’s my PLAN! Every blogger should have a plan and this will look different for everyone. Unless you have that plan, you are going to struggle! […]