Guest post by Kharim Tomlinson from WebMaster-Success.com.
People who work 9-5 jobs often find themselves saying, “I have so much work to do, when will I ever have time for myself!”
As a blogger do you ever find yourself saying something similar? “There’s so much to blog about, when will I ever have time for myself?” Well if that’s the case then this article is specifically for you.
I’m a blogger but I like to have blog-free weekends to do whatever I want, even if all I’m going to do is write an extra blog article to donate as a guest post (like this one).
I can’t understand why some people say that they have nothing to blog about. Weeks might pass without them even making a single blog post. In my opinion, there is so much to blog about in every niche – so much to write, but too little time. So much so, that you can’t honestly say you have nothing to blog about. All you have to do is try and cover every inch of a topic as possible as it is related to your niche. Do tutorial posts, interviews, follow up posts – the list goes on and on.
Here are some tips to help you keep blogging and still have lots of time for yourself to do whatever you want.
Create A Blogging Schedule
In order for you to enjoy your free time and still be an excellent blogger, you have to create a schedule that works for you. Creating a schedule or time table will allow you to make blogging easier and less hectic.
Working from a schedule makes it easier for you to get things done and this is the best way to make blogging work for you. This is something that is normally over-looked and that’s also another factor for why many fail at blogging. Make a time table and stick to it.
For example, on Mondays and Tuesdays you can write your blog posts, and then on Wednesdays you read other blogs and make blog comments, then reply to comments left on your blog. You may also have time to check up on your blog stats to see how your traffic is going.
Write Ahead Of Time
If you want free weekends, all you have to do is write ahead of time and remember point number 1, create a schedule and stick to it. Depending on how your week goes, at the start of the week you can write for the entire week ahead of time and write as much as possible.
Writing 3 articles on Monday and 2 articles on Tuesday is a great way to go. At the end of the week that’s 5 articles. If you normally publish 3-4 times per week that means you have an extra article to donate as a guest post.
If you keep up this type of writing schedule, at the end of each year (which is 52 weeks in a year) that means you would have up to 52 guest post in one year which is really great.
Accept Guest Bloggers
Another way to find time for yourself is if you accept guest bloggers to guest post on your blog. Having guest bloggers make you have time to also make your weekend free. This also gives you much time to write some well developed post full of details.
If you receive at least 3 guest post per month that means it’s 3 post less for you for that month, which also means you can guest post on 3 different blogs for that month (including this one). And we all know that guest blogging is one of the best ways to get traffic and also to build backlinks, that’s why guest blogging is a part of my new year’s resolution list along with many other things.
Choose A Day To Make Comments
Your blog’s traffic generally determines how many comments you receive on your articles. So you should set aside a day to you reply to your comments.
Another thing you can do is get out and read other blogs and make comments. Have a list of blogs that you like to visit and read, then leave comments on the latest articles of interest to you.
It’s a must that you reply to comments and leave blog comments because it’s a great way of building up relationships with other bloggers and your blog readers. This is also a great way of networking and building backlinks which helps in getting traffic to to your blog.
Conclusion And Discussion
Not making a blogging schedule can make blogging seem pretty hard and frustrating. This frustration can cause you to skip writing blog post that interest to your readers and they’ll just end up leaving your blog. So follow these steps and then blogging can become a piece of cake, giving you all the free time that you need.
So how has blogging been working out for you? Is it too time consuming? Or do you manage your blogging and still have free time for yourself?
Kharim Tomlinson blogs at WebMaster-Success.com where he provides awesome blogging tips.
About Kharim Tomlinson
I’ve done so many schedules and I failed to do so, because sometimes I get lazy to finish things in exact time and I actually failed. Sometimes I have no time for myself to hang out and refreshed because there is a lot of pending. I’m very much pressured especially during Mondays. For now, I use again to have effective schedules and I will do my best to fulfill it.
Hannah Hernandez recently posted..Flint River Ranch Cat Food
I guess, being a blogger is one way to express your idea and to expand your creativity, thats why i like peoples who is bloggers,it because you expose your mentality and feelings.Even that you have so much to do and your tired for your work, you will miss the part that you can’t do in your office like to make some blogs and comments.
Hello kharim, you know I like the person who is blogger, I wish I could be the one for them like you, you’re so bless that you achieve your goals as a blogger, best wishes for you. Can I ask if how will you fell as a blogger; did you spent a time with other work?
There are many different reasons to write a blog. It is a ways for us to express ourselves as well as to share any experience in our life. This will bring people many benefits to have better working results or give us more life motivation.
Tony is Webmaster at notary classes
Timely post, Kharim. I’ve just launched my third blog a few weeks ago, and I can already tell you that juggling three at the same time is impossible without scheduling out your posts.
I’ve always just winged it with a loose blog schedule in my head. I would write my post and publish them the same day, or the next day. Those days are over because I won’t be able to keep up any longer.
Thanks for the great suggestions, and the reminder to me that I need to finally get on a publishing calendar and stick with it.
Brad Harmon recently posted..21 Resources for Writing Guest Posts that Kick Some Serious Butt
Scheduling plays a vital role in our sanity, I would say. If you are an active guy, like me, with a lot of things to do then it’s best if you grab a planner (even an online paperless planner will do) and start scheduling your activities.
Parekh recently posted..Excessive Facial Sweating
Accepting guest blogers is something I would really like to delve into, but don’t you thing it is a good idea to wait until your blog receives high targeted traffic first before soliciting for guest posts :?:
Caleb recently posted..Engaging The Blogosphere
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Caleb,
You don’t necessarily have to wait, but you should carefully select quality bloggers who have a similar Alexa ranking and then the two of you could partner up and both promote the post.
You could even swap guest posts and then help each other promote both blogs. There are just too many awesome opportunities that you could miss out on by waiting. But again, careful consideration is definitely the key.
I did post swapping with DiTesco back in the day, but then left the scene for a while and now since I’ve been back I think it is about time to catch up with some of those “awesome opportunities” :)
Caleb recently posted..Engaging The Blogosphere
I was also thinking the same way. With the passage of time, the thing needs is to blogging on a proper time. There is so much work to be done on blog and there is no time. The point is really good here to notice about standing in a line and still making a list in diary.
Once you have time on your hands the only thing to do is blog like crazy… Because when you do this, in the future you will see that it was well worth it.
Kharim Tomlinson recently posted..How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Blog And Why Is Targeted Traffic Important
Twitter: BoyVeasley
says:
Hey Kharim,
I see you making big moves bro your name is popping up everywhere! Keep guest posting and keep turning things up an notch on these fools that sit back and hope things happen instead of getting out there and making thugs happen.
I find there is so much to blog about also. I find countless blogging ideas throughout the day. People give me ideas, I think of ideas, read ideas and so on. You just have to keep and open mind.
Thanks again!
God bless,
William Veasley
William Tha Great recently posted..Learning the Meaning of Progression
Guest posting is the way to making your name.
There are millions of things to blog about, I wonder sometimes why people run out of ideas. If you don’t read then you will lack the ideas for coming up with new blog posts.
Thanks for the comment William
Kharim Tomlinson recently posted..10 Steps You Should Be Taking To Build Up Your Blog
Actually sometimes it happens that you dont have anything to blog about….and if a week passes by, the pressure builds up and it doesnt let you think of anything new…. the mind goes blank…then the best thing to do is to have a day or two off, read others blog or do comments…. and the most important of the lot, is to relax
Thats so true, If you wait too long to blog it’s like you get so confused and frustrated as to what to blog about next.
Thanks for the comment :)
Kharim Tomlinson recently posted..How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Blog And Why Is Targeted Traffic Important
I’d like to share my experience (you have also mentioned about it a bit in your post). I sometimes write posts ahead of the schedule for the following reason: sometimes I find some interesting and worth r4eading and discussing article. It is too big for one post so I divide it into several small meaningful posts and write them at once so as not to lose the track of the thought. it really helps me.
Thanks for the comment LoveChic, really appreciated :)
Kharim Tomlinson recently posted..How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Blog And Why Is Targeted Traffic Important
Personally, I failed with scheduling my work – I do sometimes have no posts for two three days but I can’t blame myself. I try to write but then something stops me and I don’t finish the post. When I return to it later, I understand that it’s not interesting anymore (at least for me):)
I want to learn how to organize my work properly. That’s one of my new year resolution.
Thanks for the comment Anna. All you have to do is put out the extra effort and work at it really hard. That will do the trick.
Kharim Tomlinson recently posted..How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Blog And Why Is Targeted Traffic Important
Twitter: BrankicaU
says:
Another nice one from Kharim :)
I keep a notebook besides me all the time and write ideas. I usually write long posts, but I just realized that a short post with an important tip can be as good as any. So I will be having post ideas all over the place. At the moment I think I have post ideas for next 2 months on my blog.
I have been getting e-mails from people asking to guest post on my blog but since I actually posted a page about guest posting, no one is to be found, lol. Kharim, you have an extra post for me? LOL.
Also, I have started writing ahead of time. Maybe it will be just the next post, like two days ahead, maybe the whole week, but it still means a lot when you are not under pressure “OMG, I have to have a post up tomorrow and have no ideas”.
Anyway, look at me rambling…Thanks for the tips. And yes, I do manage to find time for myself every once in a while.
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Thanks for the comment Brankica. Yep I notice your posts are always long. :)
Your blog rocks :)
Kharim Tomlinson recently posted..How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Blog And Why Is Targeted Traffic Important
I do both, work a 9-5 job and run a blog. I find that I am able to find time for myself because I can blog on a flexible schedule.
So in a sense, I can do it because I keep to a flexible schedule instead of a rigorous routine. That way I can blog when I feel like I’m getting the most enjoyment out of my time instead of making it feel like a second job.
richard recently posted..14 Ways to Get Traffic to Your Blog
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Richard,
Sounds like you’re making some wise moves. Blogging should be enjoyable even if it is a second job, you’re right, it shouldn’t feel like one. :D
Thanks for the comment Richard. The only problem I have is not being able to come online as often. So whatever time I have I take it to compose blog posts and then publish when I can.
Kharim Tomlinson recently posted..How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Blog And Why Is Targeted Traffic Important
I was just thinking about this topic today! I have post titles sitting as drafts in my dashboard and I wonder how I’ll ever have time to write all those articles. I need to make a “to-do” list just for my blog.
Marnie recently posted..You Are What You Drink
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Marnie,
A to-do list is great, but you might want to take it a step further by actually setting a time for when you’ll do it. I always run into the problem where I just have too much on my to-do list and no time to complete. When I finally took the time to really think about how long things would take, and then use a planner with time blocks, I discovered why I wasn’t getting everything on the list done – I had enough stuff on that list that really would take a week or more to complete.
You’re right. I just wish there was a tool of some kind to keep all of my blogging “stuff” in one place. Maybe I’m missing something?
Marnie recently posted..You Are What You Drink
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
I use a combination of Google Calendar and a dated planner with hour blocks to keep me organized.
I use Google Calendar to organize my editorial calendar – it sends me reminders for what I’m posting the next day.
I use the dated planner to help me know what time I have available to complete tasks. I try to estimate how much a particular task will take and that helps me put my days and weeks into perspective. At first I just kept an on-going to-do list, but I couldn’t figure out what I could only get 2 or 3 things crossed off. It’s because I wasn’t really considering how much time those tasks would take and I would always run out.
To help me keep the various blogging sites I like to visit organized, I use the save feature in Firefox – I open a new tab for every blog or site I like to frequent (ie. Yahoo, Twitter, blog engage, blokube and other blogs) then when I get ready to close the browser, it asks me if I want to save it, then the next day when I return to Firefox, it brings up all of those sites instantly.
I hope that helps.
I guess that we are alike Marine. I always have notes on my iPod because I store my ideas on it. It’s just for us to make time and finish up what we have started.
Thanks for the kind comment
Kharim Tomlinson recently posted..How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Blog And Why Is Targeted Traffic Important
Hi Kharim,
I so agree with your idea about a schedule. My problem is that I have a full time job besides trying to maintain a blog. It always seems like I’m doing about half of what I want to do, but I’m learning how to adjust to that. For now, the job is de rigeur. But I will take your suggestion and try to schedule the time I do have.
Lou Barba
Lou Barba recently posted..The Value of Pie
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Lou,
When I first started blogging I was also working full time, so I totally know what you’re talking about here. I developed a system so that I could maximize my time – I wrote on my breaks and during lunchtime and I carried a notebook with me everywhere so that I could jot down ideas – especially while waiting in line or at the doctor’s office. But Friday nights and Saturdays were my hit-it-hard nights, I’d pump out as many articles as I could.
Thanks for the comment Lou. All you have to do is have a day that you set aside to write blog post and schedule them as I said to post and then reply to comments at a later date. It will work out well for you.
Kharim Tomlinson recently posted..How To Get Targeted Traffic To Your Blog And Why Is Targeted Traffic Important