Written on December 19th, 2009 at 12:12 am by Darren Rowse
How to Be A More Productive Blogger [And Add 37 Minutes to Every Hour!]
This week, on a busier than normal day, I Tweeted that I wish there were more hours in a day (or that there was a pause button so that time could stand still for a bit so I could catch up). The tweet was of course an attempt at humor but the deluge of replies that I received from that Tweet revealed that I’m not the only blogger out there that wishes they had more time.
As I giggled at the responses it struck me that if I’d not posted that message on Twitter about how I wish I’d had more time that I’d probably have had an extra 6 minutes that hour to get the things I needed to get done finished.
While I’m glad I did get on Twitter for those 6 minutes (it gave me a laugh, made me relax and lightened my day a little) I began to think about all the other small little distractions and time suckers we as bloggers face and on a whim (and for a bit of fun) came up with this list of how to be a more productive blogger.
How to be a more productive blogger:
- Turn off Twitter – 6 minutes an hour
- Turn off Facebook – 3 minutes an hour
- Stop checking your Traffic Stats – 2 minutes an hour
- Stop checking your AdSense Earnings – 2 minutes an hour
- Stop Tweaking your blog design – 3 minutes an hour
- Stop checking your Google Page Rank – 1 minute an hour
- Turn off Email – 5 minutes an hour
- Log out of your RSS Feed Reader – 2 minutes an hour
- Stop checking to see if someone Dugg your latest post – 1 minute an hour
- Stop checking affiliate earnings/e-book sales earnings – 2 minutes an hour
- Turn off any other Social Media Sites (LinkedIn/StumbleUpon/Plurk/Reddit etc) – 3 minutes an hour
- Turn of Skype, Gtalk and all other IM services – 4 minutes
- Stop Reading Blog Tips and Start Blogging – 3 minutes an hour
By my calculations this gives you an extra 37 minutes an hour to do what you need to do. Over an 8 hour work day I’ve just found you a smidgen under 5 hours!
What would you add?
Update: No I’m not really serious. While we could be more productive as bloggers by minimizing a lot of this stuff there can also be a lot of good things come from these activities. I guess it’s about knowing your goals, setting good boundaries and engaging in these kinds of activities to the extent that they help us achieve our goals.
118 Responses to “How to Be A More Productive Blogger [And Add 37 Minutes to Every Hour!]” - Add Yours
scheng1
December 19th, 2009 12:36 am
haha, that’s great! Why dont you live to 200 years old? In that case, you will have double or triple the time of common folks.
Rob McGuire
December 19th, 2009 12:36 am
Twitter is my biggest time waster at times. If I’m serious about getting something done, I usually have to turn off Tweetdeck.
August Lennix
December 19th, 2009 12:37 am
I love it you are so right!!!
Ali Hale - Aliventures/Getting More From Life
December 19th, 2009 12:38 am
If I really want to focus, I use a full-screen program to write in (Dark Room is a good one for the PC; I believe the Mac’s version is Write Room).
Turning off the internet connection also works wonders!
Andrew @ webuildyourblog.com
December 19th, 2009 12:41 am
Turn off comment sniper – 3 minutes per hour
Get someone to make my coffee – 3 minutes per hour
Stop making new lists from ‘old’ lists – 5 minutes per hour
Andrew
Fazreen
December 19th, 2009 12:42 am
For me, the biggest distraction is twitter. As I use Digsby to connect to all my social site profile especially twitter, I tend to check on it every minute even though I was typing the post. This make me less concentrate on what I’m typing. Discipline is the important thing in this case.
A Simple Man
December 19th, 2009 12:43 am
Thanks for the tips. I’ve just started to blog and have read many things on your site that are very helpful.
I realize after reading this that I’ve already allowed many of these things to waste valuable time in my day – though I’ve not wasted much time yet checking my earnings and Google rank unfortunately. :-)
Andrew @ webuildyourblog.com
December 19th, 2009 12:44 am
Turn off comment sniper – 3 minutes per hour
Stop making new lists from ‘old’ lists – 5 minutes per hour
Get someone to make my coffee – 3 minutes per hour
Andrew
Tyler
December 19th, 2009 12:45 am
Stop commenting on blog posts I like – 9 minutes. :)
bill
December 19th, 2009 12:45 am
I have to agree with you Darren. a couple of years ago I would have looked at this kind of post as a slight of hand but now I find that I get buried just by all of the social media hitting me instead of me pushing to it.
If you want to be posting then you do need to turn everything off except the text file that has your notes for your post or posts and another text file to create your post.
I have tasks in outlook that are ideas for future posts and using this I can close my browser, tweetdeck and Microsoft Messenger and just focus on the post instead.
MrCyberSmart
December 19th, 2009 12:46 am
Stop with the YouTube! 37 min an hour…
johan
December 19th, 2009 12:50 am
Maybe stop blogging? That would save 60 min. an hour!
Just kidding!!
Ashutosh Mishra
December 19th, 2009 12:51 am
My biggest time wasters are Google Reader and Twitter. I try to shut them off, but all these great posts, like this one, keep drawing me back.
Dharmveer Motyar
December 19th, 2009 12:54 am
Stop commenting on every blog post you read.- 5 min an hour
really a great post
Mike
December 19th, 2009 12:54 am
It’s funny because its true! Luckily I have not become addicted to facebook or twitter(yet). Plus it helps that I work on my personal blog in the evening after my normal 9-5 job. The news and twitter posts slow down a bit then.
Ade
December 19th, 2009 12:56 am
Stop getting distracted and you’ll be more productive. Genius.
You should write a book…
Static
December 19th, 2009 12:57 am
I’ve found turning off IMs to save me more than 4 minutes. Maybe like an hour or more. ;)
George
December 19th, 2009 12:58 am
Totally makes sense. It is so easy to get distracted and do other things. Why? Because it’s interesting!
The internet has become the most powerful source of interaction and entertainment ever. But when we are working we want to focus on what we are doing to achieve more!
Heather
December 19th, 2009 1:00 am
I love the list…but those are the fun things! Like if u were at work, getting up and talking, getting coffee, etc. But yes, at work you wouldn’t do it every hour. I’m not a big blogger, but when I have to think, i shut off FF and work on my writing in ms word. Then, once the writing is done, copied into wordpress, I can play around again.
Jez
December 19th, 2009 1:00 am
As an Agile developer one of the concepts we work towards is delivering the minimum marketable feature. The idea is that we break work down into chunks that actually add value to our business.
If we can’t find the value – we don’t do it!
When undertaking any activity try to understand what it is you actually want to achieve and what benefit it will bring. When you understand that you understand how to prioritise your tasks.
Ms. Freeman
December 19th, 2009 1:00 am
WOW that was funny! I can save time by not chasing down every link in every article I read online. Time saved: loads!
:)
Julie
December 19th, 2009 1:02 am
Oouuuch….. It hits me, bullseye.
Thomas Shay
December 19th, 2009 1:06 am
If I have something I need to get done I like to turn off the phone. If its important, they will leave a voicemail and I can check them at a few time durning the day. Saves a lot of time.
Henri
December 19th, 2009 1:08 am
Hah, yeah I think I spend a lot more than those minutes checking all of those things. I wonder if I could get more out of my hour than just an hour…
Cheryl from thatgirlisfunny
December 19th, 2009 1:09 am
Give up day-dreaming…15 minutes an hour – haha!
Gabe | freebloghelp.com
December 19th, 2009 1:16 am
Eating and drinking: 5 minutes an hour
Going to the bathroom: 2 minutes an hour
If I can do the first part, the second part should be easy.
Mark Wolfinger
December 19th, 2009 1:22 am
I’m actually surprised that a successful, profitable blogger feels the need to check all those stats – so frequently. Adsense takes care of itself. Ditto for Google ranks.
Shabbir
December 19th, 2009 1:24 am
I liked the 13th one and mine would be Get Windows 7 as Vista Takes 2 minutes more each time I boot.
John Paul
December 19th, 2009 1:27 am
Turn off Twitter? That’s just crazy talk..lol
It’s so sad hwo attached I have become to twitter, I try to stay away thru the weekend, yet I find myself popping in lol
But your right, if you ad up all the 2-3 min distractions it would add up to getting alot of work done.
Ok I’m done, off to twitter..lol
Antti
December 19th, 2009 1:35 am
Those timesinks sure are spot on. I just came to this post after spending time staring at my Analytics stats. before that I went to see my affiliate stats, lol. And came to this post from the RSS reader which I check far too often.
There are times to check those stats (maybe once a month, once a week at most) and spend time on Twitter, but unless there’s some value in what you’re doing (e.g. check those traffic stats to evaluate how the last marketing campaign went), it’s pure procrastination. But imho, blog commenting is never a waste :)
Sarosh Waiz
December 19th, 2009 1:38 am
Haha.. I guess your list of time wasters are spot on! The simple rule is .. just to concentrate on blogging and you’ll end up being more productive! =D
Eric Hempler
December 19th, 2009 1:44 am
So you’re saying I shouln’t have taken the time to read this post and then comment. :) I think I just used up about five minutes.
John S.
December 19th, 2009 1:47 am
I guess when you’re a Professional Blogger (i.e. making six figures, people knocking on your door for an autograph for their newly purchased book that you published, etc.), you can afford to turn the world off.
For those of us who are merely mortal (and are stuck making only stick figures), we must continue to endure our fate and reduce our lifespan by 37 minutes an hour by continuing these practices . . .
Thomas Fjordside
December 19th, 2009 1:52 am
Turning off the internet altogether at times :)
Rick
December 19th, 2009 1:55 am
I would add:
14. Stop watching TV so that you can do all of the above and a whole lot more.
Dan Cosgrove
December 19th, 2009 1:56 am
This reminds me of a productivity blog I came across on StumbleUpon.
The whole website was nothing but a message saying:
“You should be working.”
Kelli
December 19th, 2009 2:06 am
That is hilarious! But, does anyone seriously only spend 6 minutes an hour onTwitter?? LOL!
Creative Ideas
December 19th, 2009 2:24 am
I would add too: Stop sleeping ;)
Justin Khoury
December 19th, 2009 2:27 am
I think the best way to operate, is to effectively establish some sort of room exclusively used towards blogging instead of the traditional study, computer or bed room. Besides these online distractions, there seems to be way too many physical distractions that easily interupt ones productivity.
I typically give myself a consistent and regular breaks in an attempt to stay focused. Rather than jump onto facebook or twitter, I try to allocate myself a time period in which I can fulfill these desires (since they’re so hard to contain!).
I also think playing with blog design is something that unnessasarly takes up too much time of a vast array of people. I can’t begin to explain how much time I continue to spend making extremely subtle and often unwarrranted changes to my blog.
Michelle (What's Cooking)
December 19th, 2009 2:35 am
I wish I could also cut out things like laundry, cleaning the litter box and unloading the dish washer. Just saying…
Ed
December 19th, 2009 2:43 am
stop reading other’s blogs – 10 minutes an hour :)
James Joyner
December 19th, 2009 2:47 am
Darren,
The vast majority of these steps make sense. We certainly tend to do them too frequently.
But Twitter is not only a great source of information for my posts but a primary means of promoting my work and expanding my network.
RSS feeds are a primarily source of information, although I should prune my list further.
Otherwise, checking stats, monitoring revenue, and tweaking page design are all things that you frequently tell bloggers we must do in order to maximize revenue! Again, most of us naturally overdo it because it’s easy and a diversion from work. But they’re useful things in moderation.
Kevin (strongandfit.net)
December 19th, 2009 3:08 am
Busted! You’ve described all the time-wasters that take up my schedule.
HeyMonge
December 19th, 2009 3:14 am
1. Stop reading every blog that has a new trick. They are really old tricks with new introductions. (5 minutes an hour)
2. Get your twitter following down to a manageable list. (3 hours and hour).
Mark
December 19th, 2009 3:27 am
Give up sleeping – gain 7 hours per day!
Marcie Hill (asnotseenontv.info)
December 19th, 2009 3:28 am
Don’t even go into your office until you are ready to use the computer. Also, do not make non-business calls during working hours. Chatting takes major time away from productivity.
Darni
December 19th, 2009 3:28 am
Checking Google Anylatics is my number one time waste.
Oh,there is another one:Checking my clickbank report.
Young
December 19th, 2009 3:29 am
Turn of every thing you are doing, and just sit at your computer and type your words.
jansfunnyfarm
December 19th, 2009 3:37 am
We would add, stop reading problogger tips. 3 minutes an hour.
We’re just kidding. These are some good tips. It is hard to stay focused when you’re bouncing all over the net.
Felix
December 19th, 2009 4:12 am
Stop checking your RSS feeds if some of your favorite blog has published something new – 10 minutes in an hour :-)
turisuna
December 19th, 2009 4:13 am
Ha ha ha I do all those things :P
The worst distraction for me is chatting with friends while writing a post, at the end I should reread and recheck over and over again :P
Nikki Jeske
December 19th, 2009 4:17 am
Isn’t it amazing that small things we do everyday that really just eat up our time?
Good idea!
Lisa Olinda
December 19th, 2009 4:23 am
I am stuck on the visual image of you giggling! I might gain 37 minutes of my hour but it would be an extremely boring day!
Craig Daniels
December 19th, 2009 4:25 am
Good reminders of how we leak productive time, I’m with Young – just turn off everything…. and write
Indrek
December 19th, 2009 4:40 am
Really good pointers. Although some of these things take up much more of my time.
The best one was definitely the last. That’s what it’s all about!
Anali
December 19th, 2009 5:02 am
LOL! I could stop reading blog posts about how to save time. And especially not comment on them!
But for real, sometimes when I need to get some work done, I make myself completely focus on only one thing for say a half an hour. It’s amazing how well that works!
Lacey
December 19th, 2009 5:20 am
Haha…. Its like you know me! Its all true. I do almost all of those things and I’m sure I’d have more time on my hands if I exercised a little self control. Great post!
Tanner Maluchnik
December 19th, 2009 5:32 am
Wow, I do not do a lot of that stuff and still find myself up until 5 in the morning working on my blog. But I love it so I can not complain!
BWI
December 19th, 2009 5:43 am
Email and IM….The killers for me…I just turn off.
Angela @ Homegrown Mom
December 19th, 2009 5:55 am
I could lose 20 pounds, then I would gain at least fifteen minutes per hour by not thinking about how I need to lose weight and should be exercising :)
Ed Fry
December 19th, 2009 5:58 am
Stop mindlessly reading so far down the comments – 12 minutes
;-)
BeyondRandom
December 19th, 2009 6:13 am
lol great list but IDK if I could give up all these
Will Herrington
December 19th, 2009 6:41 am
This is the biggest area of my blogging business that I need to improve upon.
When I finally get down to it and start actually writing I finish an in-depth article in 30 minutes, but it takes me 3 hours to even start!
My major time wasters not included in this post:
- watching videos on youtube (6 minutes an hour)
- checking digg/reddit (10 minutes an hour)
- checking cnn/bbc (3 minutes an hour)
Some of the things included in your list I believe are essential to maintence and building up your brand on other sites, but these are “secondary” priorities.. getting a post done and scheduled or working on another page of your product/ebook is much more important than those other tasks.
- Complete your priority 1 activities first:
Article brainstorming/creation, Video creation, Product creation.
- Then spend a LIMITED, set amount of time towards replying to tweets, blog comments, networking with other bloggers, commenting on their blogs etc…
Maybe an 80%/20% ratio is satisfactory? Why spend 30 minutes finishing a blog post, but the next 3 hours commenting and messing with twitter etc… You could be spending that time launching another blog or putting more value into a future article!
Angelus
December 19th, 2009 7:26 am
Don’t whatever you do visit the Warriors Special Offers forum – or half a day will disappear as will the contents of your wallet!
Agent Deepak
December 19th, 2009 7:27 am
Stop reading blogs – save 45 minutes.
se7en
December 19th, 2009 7:42 am
I can say we had a power failure just recently – whole afternoon, and I got so much stuff done!!! And when I came back to blog I could be so much more productive – no distracting chores waiting for me! Everything was done and then some!!! I didn’t blog a bit and do a chore and blog a bit and do some other job… I can highly recommend a power failure!!!
Jim Lochner
December 19th, 2009 7:58 am
Guilty of each and every one of them! Some days it’s sad, and on others it helps me get through the day. But I could use some extra minutes, and perhaps a bit more willpower at turning off the distractions.
Tom Kadwill
December 19th, 2009 8:26 am
Stop watching youtube videos – 15mins an hour!
Suzanne Vara
December 19th, 2009 8:32 am
holy crap – guilty as charged on so many of them. I am a repeat offender and now know how to save for me 25 minutes that is huge – like right now when I need that 25 minutes before I have to go and get my son from school.
thanks for sharing these, although very funny, the are good things to think about.
I doubt we will change but it is nice to think and try.
Michael
December 19th, 2009 8:56 am
Each of these in and of itself can have value, but agreed, treating stats and social media like a video game can be an awful time-suck.
I’m cutting down the feeds in my RSS reader as we speak. I’m sorry, though, I just can’t quit Problogger!
Davor Gasparevic @ Cheap internet marketing ebooks
December 19th, 2009 9:05 am
Oh my god, yea, I lose mass amounts of time every day on those 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12 and 13.
The funny thing, and the sad at the same time, is that I KNOW it would be more than wise to turn that damn things of and focus on one thing at a time, but instead (even now, when I write this comment, I am actually distracting myself as I was writing an article, but then lost inspiration for a few moments, turned on all of the Readers, and started reading other people’s blogs, with your included), instead it became more than easy for me to hop from one thing to another.
That is the main problem of all this home-business thing, you don’t have anyone else to control you but you yourself, there is no boss to tell you: “Stop that foolish skype chit-chat and get to work, you worm!”.
I really need to make a schedule and copy it like 1000 times and stick it on all the places around my home where my eyes usually lure, so that every time I read that schedule I remind myself to follow my line of duties.
Steve C
December 19th, 2009 9:46 am
But don’t ever fail to read Problogger’s posts on how to become a more effective blogger…+5 minutes
;-)
Lady HotchKiss
December 19th, 2009 11:10 am
So True! But remember that Twitter and some of the other social media is “work” . . . but I could spend WAY less time checking things out. lol.
Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com
December 19th, 2009 11:34 am
Haha “Log out of your RSS Feed Reader – 2 minutes an hour” I would save about 20(!) minutes an hour :P
Now I work from home I have considered taking my things and going to the library to ‘work’. Maybe pretend I’m working shifts at the library but I’m going there to work on creating some content.
This way I’m not connected to the internet (avoid distractions) and be working in a quiet, relaxed environment.
I realise I may need to use the internet so I’ll make sure any reference materials are downloaded on harddrive before going.
I’d also be in airconditioned goodness as well ;)
Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com
Coree Silvera
December 19th, 2009 4:01 pm
Glad to see that even the Probloggers are guilty of checking the same things we do every day! Laughed as I went down the list because I do everyone of them except #10 only because I don’t have an ebook yet. Maybe I could do that with my 37 minutes.
Really, Coree…back away from the TweetDeck. Ugh, it’s like digital cocaine.
Someone just turned me on to a cool app called FocusBooster. It’s an AdobeAir timer on your desktop that sets 25 min bursts of work & 5 min breaks (or whatever you choose). Note: it only helps if you actually use it and work in those bursts. It’s not like those lose weight while you sleep diet pills. ;-)
Rita
December 19th, 2009 4:09 pm
I admit it. I check my blog stats a lot.
I do save time on Twitter by limiting the people I follow to those that can help provide consumer information for my blogs.
Rita blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide
Dave
December 19th, 2009 5:46 pm
I don’t even know what half those things are, and I still waste 37 minutes an hour.
Cool post, especially the part about stop reading about how to blog, and start blogging.
Thanks for the tips
Nibras Bawa
December 19th, 2009 6:29 pm
Plan & meditate before you start. It works, well atleast for me :)
V arun Pratap
December 19th, 2009 8:16 pm
Switch off facebook/twitter/email? Dont’ check earnings/adsesne every 5 mintues?
How could you even suggest all that???
This is blasphemy against the spirit of An Internet Marketer.
Scentsy Wickless Candles
December 19th, 2009 8:24 pm
Wow, you just described me perfectly. I get started on getting down to business and when Facebook, blogs twitter, etc., come into play, next things I know half of my work day has passed and I didn’t address any of the topics needed. Work in progress, but this helped.
Sava International
December 19th, 2009 9:08 pm
Yes its good idea that we can save time and think, discuss about goal targeting and how to hit the goals but these things come first and this is not enough time to complete in just 37 minutes.
Dana @ Online Knowledge
December 19th, 2009 11:04 pm
Yeah — i hope there is additional time each day too but I may only need to do my activities more effective.
Business Opportunities Seeker
December 19th, 2009 11:42 pm
Saving precious minutes can be used to family bonding. I will try to minimize laziness and use my time more productive in order to meet my goals next year.
Jal
December 20th, 2009 12:15 am
Direct hit.
Paramendra Bhagat
December 20th, 2009 12:21 am
Bad advice perhaps for early bloggers who need to be doing all those things but might not.
Shawna Marie
December 20th, 2009 1:37 am
This is so funny and so true. I recently began streamlining my days so I only get onto Twitter, FB, and email about four times a day (early am, midday, early evening, and at night), allowing myself to focus for the remaining “minutes” of the day. So far so good.
Great post, as always. Thanks.
Truth Investigator
December 20th, 2009 1:46 am
I can relate, I’ve certainly spent some of my time doing those things when I could of been blogging!
Jeff Hajek
December 20th, 2009 1:53 am
I laughed–you are talking about making a ‘Lean Office’. One of the first things you do is log your interruptions and look at the waste in your day.
But you only mentioned the work-related distractions. My guess is that in your other 23 minutes you are checking the scores from the game, replying to a friend’s e-mail, checking the snow report on the mountain, ordering a new book online, getting a cup of coffee…It’s a wonder any blogger ever gets anything published!
Thanks for the post.
Jeff Hajek
http://www.velaction.com
Valerie
December 20th, 2009 2:14 am
Only check email twice a day.
Unsubscribe to all but the best ezines (problogger is one I’ve kept among dozens that I cancelled).
I only allow myself 15 minutes twice a day on Facebook. 5 minutes twice a day on Twitter.
ZK @ Web Marketing Blog
December 20th, 2009 2:30 am
I must say that this is really good calculation by you but all people do not do all these things in every hour. But however this is nice rough calculation.
Living with Balls
December 20th, 2009 4:15 am
Damn. I am guilty of all these things.haha
Bonuses
December 20th, 2009 4:23 am
The only problem with this is that Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites can actually help get your blog seen. Staying active on these sites gets free traffic to your blog.
We all know that writing blog posts is just one aspect of being a blogger, getting your articles seen is another.
admin
December 20th, 2009 4:25 am
Hey,
I just stumbled on your blog for the first time. And so far I am really loving it, and I must say , that if i follow what u mentioned m just gng to save more than 37 minutes per hr. Awesome. Keep it coming!
Onepot @ onepot.wordpress.com
December 20th, 2009 4:38 am
I actually find that having all those things available for distraction is a good thing. Sometimes I need to step away from what I’m writing and nibble on a bit of totally unrelated brain candy (Facebook, New York Times, Ask Metafilter). Then, when I come back a couple of minutes later, I’m better able to tackle a problematic sentence or find that perfect transitional statement that eluded me just a little while earlier.
Peggy Duncan
December 20th, 2009 4:47 am
I teach time management and walk the talk. I don’t have these issues. I stay focused on the main thing/that which makes me money, and everything else can wait. I have projects and goals and always have something new I want to learn. I set aside a few minutes each day to go social and am not addicted to any of it. I think this is why I get so much done, especially since I’m organized too.
Arlette
December 20th, 2009 5:27 am
Turn off the phone so your mother can’t call 3x a day. (This won’t actually work for me because she lives so close that when she can’t get me on the phone, she comes over, but it might work for someone else.) 12 minutes
Martha
December 20th, 2009 6:00 am
Funny how the holidays brings out a wish for more time. I just wrote about that. http://momsoap.blogspot.com/2009/12/managing-spacetime-continuum-of.html
Jim Hardin
December 20th, 2009 6:50 am
You are so right. I have to stop checking my traffic stats and some other stuff and just focus on creating content. Well I guess the truth is planning. Plan to spend so much on this and that and set limits. Once the time is up move on to something else.
keith b
December 20th, 2009 7:03 am
the worst one for me is reading other blogs or forums, I’ve literally spent hours getting off track because I start reading a blog and the worst part is sometimes I don’t even notice until I look at the clock and realize I’ve wasted an hour.
Bob Marconi
December 20th, 2009 2:51 pm
Hey,
Why can’t I just stick my finger in a USB slot, upload and download all the info I need and then have all day to play!
Thanks all
Joi
December 20th, 2009 3:57 pm
I think if I cut out the so-called time wasters I’d go around the bend. The activities that kind of make my day slow down a little bit (Twitter, e-mail, Farmville…there, I admitted it, Solitaire) allow me to catch my breath.
If I didn’t catch my breath, I’d implode.
wasaweb
December 20th, 2009 11:11 pm
All good points! I agree with Thomas Fjordside who said that the best way to stop wasting time is to go off-line. Composing blog entries doesn’t usually require being on-line. Must go, need to check my Facebook page.
Bloggeri
December 20th, 2009 11:27 pm
Maybe we all should stop reading blogging tips and just start blogging…
As a side note, maybe we all should stop also blog commenting and use that time to blog :)
Ray Randall
December 21st, 2009 12:10 am
Email is a novelty. Once I assert what matters to me, the rest goes to the trash bin. No time to unsubscribe either; I just block what I don’t want using SpamArrest.
Reading substantive resources like CopyBlogger and ProBlogger make sense. The rest of my time is dedicated to doing (except for this brief entry).
Ray
Anna
December 21st, 2009 3:30 am
Okay, so I’m snickering. But really, how many minutes does it take to turn all of that off and then back on again later?
Smiles
Anna
Steve
December 21st, 2009 9:14 am
I’m only a part time blogger, but my advice is…
Write your blog post first thing, as soon as you turn the computer on.
Only after completing the post should you allow yourself the time to do all the other stuff.
Steve
POM
December 21st, 2009 11:10 am
I actually found this post hilarious, because I do all of that stuff…not realizing how much time it wastes…yet I feel like a mouse on a wheel half the time!
As always…thank you for this post! 37 minutes extra….here I come!
work at home
December 21st, 2009 5:43 pm
Thank you for this information, well all are I think something funny.
Aleksandra Walters
December 22nd, 2009 1:36 am
I so catch myself doing these things…And yes, they are good for the business, but they have their time and place. I am glad you put it in writing. I’m going to print it out and put it on my board…Mine is: stop reading other ppls blog comments prior to commenting yourself.
Jens P. Berget
December 22nd, 2009 4:37 am
I would not add what not to do, but what to do.
Start using a software like Writeroom (Mac only). It turns your screen all black, all you see is your text. You won’t get distracted, and hopefully you’ll be only thinking about your words.
Drezz
December 22nd, 2009 5:37 am
It’s human nature to procrastinate. Why do it now when you can put it off until tomorrow!
Tack that 37 minutes each hour of wasted time to the end of the day, rather than at the start or during. Plow through a task list, get it all done, and you have the rest of the day at your leisure.
Now you can have your cake and eat it too.
Steve SEO UK
December 22nd, 2009 7:19 pm
I’ve been guilty of all on your list in the past. Now I have a daily schedule which I keep to, and yes I am more productive and get a lot done most days.
Thanks for amusing article. Have RT’d tweet.
Shi
December 27th, 2009 2:31 am
What is left of blogging if we leave all these things ;-)
Jalal hameed Bhatti
December 27th, 2009 3:14 am
Good analysis – and some very good comments. Time on research and feedback is never wasted
Gerret
January 6th, 2010 11:41 pm
You got a surely informative website. I have been here reading for about five minutes. I am still new and your success is very much an inspiration for me.
Warner Leimer
February 7th, 2010 1:58 am
Hi, how are you? I really like your blog! I am wondering if you can help me (im sure other readers might also be interested). I want to get involved in blogging also and I at the moment have a blog with Wordpress, but it is very confusing for me to build and I would very much like to try to get several training guides or courses (hopefully ones that are free) that can hopefully assist me in using Word Press correctly. As a Word Press webmaster yourself, do you maybe maybe know were i can learn online tutorials to do this myself?? Thanks!
Denis Ishibashi
February 19th, 2010 2:33 pm
Very interesting blog, to be honest a good read.Hope to see it further when i have more time.
Mega Kayaks
February 19th, 2010 10:09 pm
I heart your style, the idea that your post is a little bit different makes it so interesting, I get fed up of finding the same same all of the time. I’ve added this page to stumbleupon
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