Jason’s Random Thoughts

Do you ever get the feeling that work and other responsibilities are interfering with your dreams of building a successful blog?

In an ever competitive working world, we’re expected to not only stay on top of the endless advances in our respective fields, but excel and adapt at the same time. Add to this the responsibilities of being an attentive spouse and/or a great parent, and the amount of time we can put towards our blogging efforts can drop significantly. Reading great blogging sites like Courtney Tuttle’s Internet Marketing School, Vic’s BloggerUnleashed or Maki’s DoshDosh can often give us great ideas, tools and motivation to improve our existing skills and offerings, but these blogs can also leave us thinking “these are great ideas, but where can I find the time to act on them?”

A Matter of Perception

People who are constantly looking for time to act on their ambitions in life will likely never achieve their goals. If something is important enough we need to make the time, rather than say “there is no time.” Much like the old adage goes: Never ‘try’. Only ‘do’.

Time management is one of the most difficult aspects involved when building a successful venture, regardless of whether it’s a blog, a business or even a relationship. Quite often we feel as though we need to give up something in order to succeed and, while this might be the case some of the time, it doesn’t need to be with blogging.

Carrying The Tools For Success

Bloggers have some of the lightest resource needs of any profession or hobby. In an ideal world, we could get by with just a computer and internet connection. For many of us, though, we need just a little bit more to succeed. So what kind of tools should a serious blogger use to be successful?

Content creators that happen to be single and earn a healthy amount of money can probably get away with buying an ultra-mobile computer or sub-notebook with a 3G card and super sensitive Atheros wireless internet device. However, the rest of us might need some lower-tech solutions.

Something like a pen and paper.

In an age of digital everything, it’s sometimes funny to think that such an ancient and widely available technology can help us excel and reach our goals in an ever-changing Web 2.0 world. That said, how often do we think up a great idea for an article while away from the computer only to forget it when we sit down at the keyboard?

Keeping a pen and a little notebook with us at all times will give us the opportunity to jot down quick notes for future posts, as well as rough drafts of our articles. As it stands, I organize my notes this way and it has helped me regularly post content on two sites and guest post on dozens of others. Keeping track of ideas will also give us the mental fuel required during times of weak writer’s block, while writing rough drafts gives us the opportunity to review and revise the articles before sharing them with the world.

Although I use a PDA to accomplish these tasks, the premise is the same. The greatest advantage to taking notes and writing rough drafts during the day is the ability to better utilize those 10 and 15 minute periods of downtime that we have throughout the day. Why look out the window on the train when the time can be used to write? Why stare at a wall during lunch when it’s just as effective to write and eat?

The more we convert these regular lulls in our day to productive writing time, the easier it will be to accomplish our blogging goals.

Another important factor is to make a schedule. This is crucial to success. If something is important enough, we should make time for it. That said, any schedule we make needs to take into consideration the needs of others, as we can’t just selfishly ignore the people around us. We can, however, usually arrange “me” time every few days which should offer ample time to write and schedule the posts we’ve written over the last few days. We should also remember to take ten to fifteen minutes every day to answer comments and email.

Blogging does no good if we ignore the community.

The last point that I will discuss here is the importance of commenting on other blogs. Like most companies do for their products, we need to advertise our blog. One of the better ways to accomplish this task is to read other sites and leave meaningful comments. Not only does this give us an opportunity to see what other people are thinking, but it offers us topics to discuss and refute on our own sites.

That said, we need to keep this within a schedule for the same reasons that we use when writing posts. Despite our apparent sense of urgency to write content, our significant other may not approve with the amount of time we spend in front of the computer. With a schedule, though, we can get accustomed to the idea that “Thursday from 9 pm to 11 pm is ‘Me Time’,” when we can write out our posts and schedule them to be released over the next few days. Any extra time that we have at the computer when we’re not writing needs to be used to be a part of the community and submit our content to social media sites like BloggingZoom and JapanSoc.

Set A Goal And Go For It

Last week I spoke to three people about how they can revive their blogs and make a name for themselves online. I’m no pro on blogging or how to be 100% successful by any stretch of the imagination, but one thing I can’t stand is hearing people say “I don’t have time”, “I don’t have anything to write about” or “It’s too hard.”

These three excuses are nothing but that … excuses. Why would anyone tell us that they would like to have a successful blog but, when we discuss some options to improve their blogs, they just give us these standard lines? I’ve learned time and time again in life that if you really want something, don’t expect it to come without a little effort. The reason so many successful bloggers can make this look so easy is that they’ve made an effective schedule and done the hard work up front to make themselves known. Many also carry something to take notes on during the day, so that when inspiration hits, they can quickly jot something down to remind them later. By the time they gain popularity, they’ve already worked out what works best for them and stick to it.

The rest of us are no different.

I’ve set my goals and I’m working hard to make them become a reality. I’m at work for at least nine hours five to six days a week, and on the train for an hour each way. Inspiration for articles can be found in every corner, so long as I’m paying attention. Whenever someone tells me that blogging is too difficult, I tell them the very same things that are written in this post … with a bit more passion, though.

Success means different things to different people, and we all have different goals. We don’t all need to receive as many hits as John Chow or Darren Rowse. People who want that kind of popularity need to invest far more time and effort into blogging and offering something unique than I could ever put into words here. However, with the numerous ways to reach our destination, we shouldn’t need to hear anyone say “I don’t have the time” or “It’s too hard.”

How often do you hear these complaints and excuses? Do you tell others to keep at it, or is it sometimes better to let someone give up on their stated dreams?

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