“Where do you find the time?”
Is a question I get a lot so I thought I’d answer it in the form of a blog post so that more than a few individuals can benefit.
I also thought it would be interesting to see if I can write this with a two-year-old around.
With a few exceptions, you can expect a blog post from me almost every day. Is it an obligation? Nope. No one is making me blog and I don’t feel obligated to do so. I actually just enjoy blogging and although we have a long way to go, I like what this blog has become so far. I like the groove I’ve settled into here and the community I’ve built thus far. But, I am also an author and I do have a life outside this medium. I have a career, a husband, and other things to dedicate my attention to.
Me: “I’m almost finished baby.”
“Huh?”
Me: “I’m almost finished.”
“Huh?”
Me: “Nevermind.”
So, when do I find the time to blog? How do I maintain a consistently updated blog, publish books and not neglect my family?
80 / 20 Rule
I don’t know if it’s because I am getting older or if I’ve learned to love myself more (combination of both?) but I don’t overwork myself anymore. I’m still disciplined but I no longer feel obligated to overdo it like I used to years ago. It’s not necessary. A few hours a day is really all it takes (I am working on removing actually and really from my vocabulary…though I actually like using these crutch words. Work with me here people). Instead, I am always thinking about the 80 / 20 rule and strive to incorporate it into my everyday life.
From Wikipedia:
“The principle was suggested by management thinker Joseph M. Juran. It was named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of income in Italy was received by 20% of the Italian population. The assumption is that most of the results in any situation are determined by a small number of causes.”
This means that with just 20% effort, one can achieve 80% results or 80% of outcomes can be attributed to 20% of the causes. (…and my phone rings. Ignore that and keep writing. Ignoring stuff, that’s another point but we’ll get to that another time).
One way I balance blogging and writing are to dedicate at least 20% of my time toward blogging or 20% toward writing and then get on with my life.
Example: 8:00a – 10:00a = 25% of time Blogging
I found this really neat chart HERE. It calculates how much time you spend toward an 8-hour work day. Based on this chart, two hours of work in an 8-hour workday is already 25% of my day. Pretty neat.
My time can now be spent writing, washing dishes, or doing laundry. (1-2hrs is about the time it takes me to polish a decent sized blog post, that’s only about 25-30% of my day.)
“TT…”
“Yes?”
“I wanna take a bath.”
“OK.”
Scheduling Blog Posts
One of the most valuable time savers of mine is scheduling blog posts to go out. I write my blog posts early and if I can’t finish it in a couple hours I leave it alone and go do something else. In the evenings I come back, use Grammarly to edit them (because I’m not rich enough to hire someone to edit my every blog post) and then schedule the post to publish midnight my time (12:00 or later Central Standard Time). This means I may be asleep when it publishes which does two things:
“TT…?”
(1) Helps those outside the U.S. to catch the post early their time.
“TT…?
(2) Keeps my blog active throughout the day as people are tuning in under different time zones.
“Yes, love?”
“Where mommy?”
The only thing I am doing when I wake up and throughout the day is responding to the commentary, reading and re-blogging articles I like, liking and commenting on other people’s blogs and sharing them online. I may also publish other random thought posts but those don’t take as much time as say a post like this one.
Special Blog Segments
Another way that I balance my blogging and writing time is by introducing special segments. A Special Blog Segment is somethi…
“BJ Nooo!”
A blog segment is something I made up to mean blog posts that have a specific theme and is published weekly. I have several:
Monday – Author Interviews
Wednesday – No Whining Wednesday / Writer’s Wednesday
Thursday – Throwback Thursday Jams
Friday – Black History Fun Fact Friday / Movie Night Friday
Though I missed you all last week, I use these themes to keep this blog consistent with valuable content.
Re-spin Old Blog Posts
I’m a little obsessed with this because of how much value I get from it. I have to remind myself not to overdo it. Re-spinning blog posts is an amazing way to update the blog in as little time possible. Every now and again I re-publish (re-spin) old blog articles or poems that have proven valuable over the years. This gives new followers an opportunity to read the content, share it and offer their feedback too. But most time worthy, it gives me the chance to update my blog by not having to write anything new. This only takes a few minutes of my time.
- Use WP app to access my WP dashboard
- Go to posts > all posts > scroll through old posts (to pick a specific category go to All Categories > choose category)
- Choose a post I like, preferably a high value one (or one I think should be high value but didn’t get much attention)
- Find one and click edit
- Schedule it for a future date
For those who have already seen the post, they may not get new email notifications (it will show in the reader again but I will double check if you will get it again in your emails) for those who are new to my blog, they will definitely get a notification of the post as if it was brand new. It will be like I just wrote it and attract new views. (I’d recommend waiting at least a year before re-spinning posts so you have enough content so readers are not like “wait, didn’t she / he just post that tho?”)
By focusing a small amount of effort toward one task at a time, scheduling blog posts, re-blogging, creating special themed posts, downloading apps that make things easier and re-spinning old posts, you can cut down on your blog time too and use it to write your next book.
Note: How to Blog with a two-year-old: Lock the office door, put non-working electronics in front of him so he thinks he’s typing too, and keep looking back every 3 seconds. Draft your post, save it, give him a bath and put him to bed. Come back later, edit the post, schedule it to go out.
This post calls out to those of you that are authors. I’m trying to open a dialogue and share my experiences in an effort to see if we have a commonality in our goals and how we get there. I am always torn on this blog to identify as an author who is selling books. That’s why I started it, but it has evolved into something much more.
The PBS Blog 