Publishing articles on a regular basis can be very taxing especially if you have a million things on your to-do list. Most people just give up leaving their blogs without fresh content because they just can’t find the time to write. For websites and blogs owners, this is not a good thing. If you want to be searchable you need to be consistent in publishing fresh content on a regular basis.
There are a lot of bloggers that have made it their New Year’s resolution to write more in 2013 but; if time is an issue, here are six time management tips that we hope will benefit every content creator.
1. Have A Place To Store All Your Ideas
No matter how small or big any idea you may think of, you need to have a place to save those ideas. We usually use notes on our iPhones or iPads or store them in our Dropbox for quick reference. Even a plain old paper notebook is good. What’s important is you are able to jot things down quickly and be able to go through your notes once you are ready to write. You don’t waste time getting your thoughts organized. The biggest hurdle any writer will encounter is the writer’s block.
2. Keep A Content Calendar Ready
Writing a good article takes a lot of time and preparation. That means taking the time to do the proper research and planning as part of the writing process. In order to cut your writing time in half, I recommend you keep a content calendar. The best practice is to create an outline of what you want to publish first. Have at least three articles written and ready to publish prepared ahead of time. You can always adjust as news and conditions warrant. As you think of ideas, write it down on your calendar and add a publish date to keep yourself on track.
3. Stay Away From Distractions
Distractions are a writer’s worst enemy. You will need to set aside time each day to write and commit to it. It’s good idea to allot at least two hours a day or more depending on your capacity and skill level. Go to a place where you can focus. If you’re someone who loves talking on the phone or hanging out on your favorite social network, eliminate the temptation by silencing you phone and closing your browser. Everyone is different so check yourself and identify the things that distract you and stay away from them when you sit down to write.
4. Be Disciplined – Avoid Multi-tasking
Do one thing at a time and you will get more done. Some people think that they can solve their time problem if they do everything all at the same time. We are often tempted to check our emails, watch a video or chat using your instant messenger, or surf the web when we sit down to work on our articles. Doing your research also ahead of time and concentrating on your piece is more efficient. Discipline is important character every writer should learn to possess especially if you do it for a living. If you master disciplining yourself to stay on track then you will never miss any deadline.
5. If You Use Video On Your Articles Upload in Private Mode
If you use multi-media on your blog, one tip to save time is once you finish editing your video, upload it in private mode and watch your video again to check if it plays properly. That way you still have the opportunity to go back and fix any issues before making your video public. Once you are satisfied, then embed your video in your post and publish your article. Making all the changes before you publish will save you the headache and embarrassment of correcting once it is embedded on your blog post.
6. Edit Your Work Only After You Finish Writing
In order to be really efficient with your time and still have a well written masterpiece, I recommend you write the entire article in full before you edit. Just let your thoughts flow. After you’re done then you do all the necessary spelling and grammar checks. I would also advice you to read your article aloud and see if your statements makes sense or if the ideas flows exactly the way you want it to. This is also a good time to do your fact checks and choose the appropriate image for your material.
There you go, the six tips that can help you manage your time. Do you follow a different work flow or do you have tips that I might have missed, please share with us, i would love to hear your thoughts.
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