Time Savers and Sanity Preservers for Bloggers

I do a lot of work online, but I want to do a lot of living off line.

That’s why I don’t allow myself more than 6 hours online each day - unless I’m working on a project, then I’ll go up to 8. If I’m trying to get something done for someone, I’ll just let some of my own sites (14) or blogs (12) slide for a few days.

The reason I had to get so strict with myself and the time limits is this: When we were first getting our online businesses going, I spent (out of necessity and eagerness) around 12 hours a day sitting right where I am now. I stopped doing things that I normally enjoyed, stopped exercising, didn’t clean house as much. Needless to say, my weight crept up, the house looked like a family of rowdy racoons had visited, and I just didn’t feel like myself.

So, I set a limit on the time I’d spend at the computer - freeing up more time for the other necessities and enjoyments in life. I mean, I have a family that I cherish and I don’t want the only thing they ever see of me to be the back of my head!
I’ve learned that you don’t have to work longer, you just have to work smarter.

The deal maker comes wrapped in one word - efficiency (”The production of the desired effects or results with minimum waste of time, effort, or skill.”) I’m not saying I’m the greatest blogger, web publisher, graphic artist, dreamologist….okay, maybe I am the greatest dreamologist…. but I’ve found a few things that work for me and my situation and I thought I’d share them.

1. Be less finicky and fussy about details. I have literally agonized over an image before for 10 minutes…..and that’s half the time I sometimes spend trying to find just the right adjective or adverb. This is one I struggle with. (Case in point, I just went back and replaced choose with find. Choose was a perfectly fine choice!) I’ll continue to work on this one.
2. Keep pen and paper handy ALL THE TIME. I keep a little memo pad and several pens in my purse, another notebook and pen in the kitchen, a set in the living room, near my chair, and several on my computer desk. You never know when an idea will come into your mind, but you can usually count on them coming when you haven’t sent for them! Paper and pen make sure they don’t slip away unnoticed, like little phantoms. Hate that.
3. If any of your epuipment isn’t working as smoothly as they could, stop delaying the inevitable and replace them. If your keyboard is tempermental, divorce it and find one you can get along with. If your internet connection, mouse, chair, desk, software, keyboard, chair pad……okay, anything isn’t a joy to work with, replace it. In the long run, it’s more than worth it.
4. This one certainly wouldn’t work for all circumstances, but I’d suggest not signing onto AIM while blogging. Talk about a thought-buster! If I’m going to be writing, I can’t possibly sign on - I get too easily distracted. But I’ve seen my husband actually write a post while simultaneously responding to an e-mail and holding up his end of TWO AIM conversations. He does that regularly. My youngest daughter is the same way, she can be working on a hot graphic, coding a page, sipping a coke, and carrying on 6 (I’ve counted before!) IMs.
5. Have fun! This is one of the funnest things to come along in two forevers - don’t allow it to become something overly-political or uptight. Blogs are all about relationships. They aren’t one-sided affairs and should never strive to have just one voice. If they were, they’d be websites - without e-mail features…..and hopefully without a “Welcome,” because no one truly is!

Oddly enough, I’ve found that I don’t get the same amount done as I did before - I actually get more done.

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” ~Michael Altshuler  

Joi

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