I have been, or can be if you click on a link and make a purchase, compensated via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value for writing this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my full Affiliate Disclosure for more information.
Guest post by Megan Anderson of Overthinker’s Notebook
High productivity for bloggers is essential to staying on track and being successful.
What few people realize before they get into blogging is how much work goes into it. I mean, it’s not just writing posts. You have to come up with content, proofread, format, take and edit photos, brand yourself, promote yourself on social media, build your email list — it can all be so daunting!
With so much on our plates and so little structure or outside pressure to get things done, it can be hard to keep ourselves productive. I’ve had my fair share of struggles with motivation, but there are a number of solutions I’ve found that increase my productivity on a weekly basis.
Create a Daily Schedule
I can’t stress enough how important it is to create a schedule for yourself as a blogger. After all, the lack of structure is what causes so many people to end up putting off their work!
Think about it — in a normal job, you go to work at a certain time, and you know that while you’re there, it’s time to put away distractions and be productive. Why not set aside a similar time for your blog?
When creating a schedule for yourself, be sure to take into account when you focus best. Last summer at my internship, I struggled to find the motivation to work on my blog after work. Then one morning I woke up and couldn’t fall back to sleep, so I decided to get out of bed and work on my blog.
I immediately discovered that working in the morning made me ten times more motivated! If your current routine isn’t working for you, try switching things up and see if you can figure out something better. It’s worth a shot!
Set Goals
Sometimes with blogging, it feels like we’re treading water. We’re focusing on so many different things, but we feel like we don’t see much growth overall. What can we do to make sure we’re actually making progress?
The key is to set goals. Not only do goals give us a clear image of success to work towards, but they also give us something specific to focus on. Know you need to grow your email list? Maybe your goal is to gain your first 50 subscribers in the next three months.
Want to improve engagement on Instagram? Try to write a question in every caption you post this week. When you finally reach your goal, you’ll feel like you’re making real progress on your blog, rather than wasting your time working without direction.
Have a Plan
In the same vein, it’s easy to get pulled into a lot of different directions unless you have some sort of plan in place. When you develop a strategy for how to go about reaching your goals and improving your blog, you’ll feel you’re using your work time more productively and effectively.
If you’re new to strategic planning for your blog, I suggest picking two or three different things to focus on for the next 90 days. Depending on where you are in your blogging journey and what you want to prioritize, these could include any of the following:
- Writing more posts
- Creating an opt-in
- Promoting your opt-ins
- Improving your relationship with your email list
- Creating a product
When in doubt, start with fewer things so you know you can give them the proper attention, then add more when you become comfortable.
Use Productivity Tools to Increase Efficiency
From there, you can actually create a plan for how you’re going to blog each week; I use Trello for this. Creating an editorial calendar can save time knowing in advance what I’m going to write each week. And, I also plan any launches as well as what’s going to be in my email newsletters.
Planning all of this out in advance means you can just plow through everything down the road without much decision-making (which is a big cause of procrastination!).
Related: Why You Need a Blogging Routine (& How to Create One)
Stay Organized
I can’t stress enough how important it is to stay organized as a blogger. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by everything you have to do on a weekly basis unless you have a system in place. That’s why I suggest having some sort of weekly list of tasks to do.
I have certain tasks that I do on certain days of the week. For example, on Saturday I write a rough draft of a blog post, and on Thursday I crank out my email newsletter. However, you don’t need to be as specific as this if you don’t want to.
I suggest having some sort of way of organizing your tasks. Whether you have certain days of the week designated to certain things, a recurring weekly to-do list that incorporates your priorities, or a bunch of deadlines in your planner. This way, you always know what you’re supposed to be working on, and you can make sure nothing gets overlooked.
Self-reflect
If you’re still having trouble with productivity, it may be time for some self-reflection. What’s causing you to put off your work? Are you afraid of putting yourself out there? Is blogging not what you expected it to be? Are you falling into the comparison trap?
I put off my current launch for two months because I was afraid it was going to fail as badly as my first one did. I made the excuse to myself that my email list wasn’t big enough to launch the product.
But you know what? Now that I realized my fear, I’m getting out there and doing it anyway. Sometimes all it takes is some introspection to realize what’s getting in the way of your productivity and stop it in its tracks.
Related: Affirmations and Visualizations for Bloggers (to Build Confidence!)
Conclusion
If you were feeling a little overwhelmed by your blog and unsure how to nail down your productivity, hopefully, you gained some helpful tips from this post. The key to making real progress with your blog is knowing what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it.
If you enjoyed this, you’ll probably enjoy 19 Quick Time Management Tips — click here to check it out! Happy blogging!
Bio:
I’m Megan, a new college grad who majored in music and with a minor in arts management; I’m a composer, oboist, and lover of coffee and tea. I went to school in the Midwest, but I’ve lived in a number of places for internships, and who knows where I’ll end up when I get a job!
My goal with Overthinker’s Notebook is to help other girl bosses balance their side hustle with full-time work or school. With (almost) a year of maintaining my blog throughout both music school and my 9-5 summer job, I’ve experienced the ups and downs and gotten this whole thing figured out. My existing time management skills helped, of course!
There are so many blogs about there about turning your blog into your full-time job, but I want both, you know? I’m ambitious, and if you are too, my blog is for you! If you enjoy reading, check out my blog at overthinkersnotebook.com!
Links: Website: http://overthinkersnotebook.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ov_notebook
These are excellent productivity tips for bloggers! I struggle all the time with how to get things done and be more productive as a blogger and freelancer. Prioritizing and using lists to stay on-task are huge!
Thank you for the comments , Rebecca! You and I both! I’m a perfectionist and a procrastinator. Two things that throw my productivity out the window lol.
These are wonderful tips and ideas, that I will definitely be putting to use!
Thank you, Shayla! I’m so glad that you found these productivity tips handy for your own blog!
What a great post! I wholeheartedly agree that as bloggers we need specific goals and action plan, otherwise we’ll be lost and unproductive. I really enjoyed this post. Thank you!
Thank you, Mariam! I would be completely lost if it weren’t for my schedules and planners. I would be all over the place and terribly unproductive. Thanks for sharing your comments!
Being a working at home mom blogger productivity is super important for me. Thanks for those tips!!
Absolutely, Natacha! I’m so glad that you found these productivity tips helpful!
These are all great tips! Thank you for sharing them with us!
Thank you, Anna! I’m so glad that this article was helpful for you.
Saving this! Need it bad lol thanks for sharing
Hi, Sarah! I’m so glad that this post could help you out!
Oh, I’ve been wanting to get up early to work on the blog but I’ve been so tired (the dogs wake me at 4:30-5 am) and then go back to sleep until I MUST get up for work. The note about being more motivated when you get up early makes me want to try harder! All of these are super tips!! Great post!!
Thanks, Lisa! I also get up crazy early to blog because I find that it’s my most productive time of the day. If you struggle with mornings, see if you have another time of the day that you are really productive. Maybe you’re better off at night after the dogs have gone to sleep lol! Then focus your major energy on those times and hammer out stuff then.
Hi Megan,
Great tips! I really liked that you used “first 50 subscribers in the next 3 months” as an example of a goal for a new blogger. It really reminds us all that 3 months (which seems like a long time) is a reasonable time frame for how long it takes to get your first 50 subscribers (which seems like a small number). It really puts things into perspective and reminds us to be patient because the world often isn’t actually as fast-paced as we think it is.
Also, it’s great to meet a fellow online musician. I will be heading over to your blog from here! 🙂
Absolutely right, Rebecca! Sometimes it’s so hard to gauge what is reasonable because everyone’s journey is different and Megan is great at showing that. I’m so glad that you enjoyed the post and that you connected with a fellow musician and blogger! 🙂
Also, (and this question is for anyone who has insight, lol), what’s the general blogging etiquette for commenting on guest posts? Do we direct comments to the guest poster, or to the owner of the blog?
Great question! Either or works… If you have a specific question for the writer, you can address them. I encourage all my guest contributors to check in on the comments as well. 🙂
This is such a timely article for me! Fabulous!!
I’m so glad this came at a good time for you, Jen! Thank you for the comment. 🙂
Self-reflection is critical for a blogger. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in all the things that we have to do as a blogger that we lose the sight of why we actually started blogging in first place. Slowing down and looking at things from a distance is the way to go.
Absolutely, Nadia! It’s so easy to get lost in all the big stuff.. It’s so great to step back every once in a while and re-group.
I definitely need something to help with productivity. I try to set out a weekly plan of what I want to do. I think maybe I need to apply certain jobs to certain days.
That’s a great idea, Ali! I found that blocking off certain days and times when I have the most flexibility and scheduling in my most time-sensitive or big commitments really helped.
I enjoyed this post. Despite not yet making a living from my blog I do already see it as a business, because I want to get to the point where I’m officially self employed due to my blog…
What I don’t do however, is hide my phone away somewhere whilst I’m trying to get things done.. Or I’ll get distracted with yet another household task and lose my flow. These things were never an issue when I worked for someone else, because my phone was in a locker, that dirty pile of dishes wasn’t in view.
I think I’m going to start leaving my phone in another room and giving myself little bursts of planned time to get bits done in the house, so that I can use it as a mini break to refresh my mind, but that way if I note down what needs doing as it comes to me whilst saving it for my next little time slot I won’t be wasting so much time getting constantly distracted!
Davis | http://www.everythingstartswithtea.co.uk
Thank you, Davis! Yes, you are so right about the phone thing at an outside job. It’s not an option so it can’t be a distraction. I often find my phone distracts me as well so putting it into another room is a great idea!
I’m currently emerging from a year long burn out, so I really needed this post. It’s so hard to develop a productive schedule but I’m determined to become productive again.
Welcome back, Tia! I’m glad this post could help you out. Burnout in business is such a real thing and it can so easily happen to anyone. Give yourself some room to breathe and take each step one at a time. You got this!
I bookmarked this list! Excellent suggestions.