Like many people who work for themselves and juggle the demands of work and children, I work hard. Sometimes in the past I’ve felt that, although I put in a large number of hours, I wasn’t always focused and using my time as effectively as I could. I would feel my focus dissipating and the window flicking would begin. I felt the need to be all over everything at once, rather than focusing on one task. So, I spent some time thinking of all the things I could do to increase my blogging productivity and I am going to share them with you.
“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” Leonardo Da Vinci
- Use a timer – set yourself certain amounts of time for certain tasks. You can find a useful timer here. This keeps your focus and increases your working speed, making the most of your allocated time.
- Log out of social media – this is the hardest thing for me. I like to respond to things immediately, but do lose focus in doing so. Every time we switch tasks we lose 20% of our time and focus.
- Eliminate distractions – close windows, turn the TV off, whatever helps to put you, and keep you, in the zone. Use Toby (Chrome extension) to organise your web tabs.
- Use the distraction free blog screen – which you will find just under the Text tab in WordPress.
- The correct environment – find out what your ideal conditions are. Some people need complete silence, some background music, you need to find your sweet spot.
- Take regular breaks to refresh your mind and creativity – Don’t get stale, even short regular breaks can ensure you stay fresh.
- Don’t put things off – do least liked/hardest tasks first. Eat the frog!
- Write a daily to do list every day – only put on it what can be achieved in that day. Keep a separate list of your longer term tasks.
- Organise your workspace – You must have heard the saying a tidy desk is a sign of a tidy mind!
- Focus on result-oriented activities – Pareto’s law states that 80% of the outputs result from 20% of the inputs. This means that 20% of our actions result in 80% of the results. Therefore, try to find the 20% of actions that are creating the 80% of results and focus solely on those activities.
- Use Boomerang – a fabulous add on for gmail that allows you to schedule emails. AMAZING!
- Say No – sounds easy, but saying no is actually quite difficult. Think about the time you will spend on the task and what you will gain in return. Don’t spend hours on a review for a £5 mug, if you want to be a pro blogger (unless you really want the mug!). It must make sense for you.
- Learn shortcut keys – in any programme you use. There are even Twitter shortcuts.
- Use an autotext programme – If you find yourself typing the same thing out frequently (like your address), then install an auto text programme. Then you simply type a short cue and the text will appear. This can save you a lot of time and give you some relief from monotony.
- Focus on one thing at a time – don’t multi task. Women are meant to be fab at multi tasking, but lots of studies show that you’re more productive when you are focusing entirely on one task.
- Reward yourself – Whether it’s as simple as a cup of tea. Set yourself a little target and a reward you will enjoy.
- Find your productive time and utilise it – Are you a morning person or a night owl? Work when you’re at your best and organise the tasks accordingly. So do the creative tasks when you feel energised and have 100% focus and save the more routine tasks for when the children are around and you’re not as focused.
- Group tasks together – i.e. batch all the tasks that you can. So answer all emails in one sitting, rather than flicking back and forth between tasks. Have a day taking pictures or making videos.
- Reduce tasks – is there anything that you can stop doing? Analyse how you spend your time and the rewards you get for the tasks you do. If any tasks take more than they give back, stop doing them.
- Set Targets (less than a week), Objectives (3-24 months) and Career Aims (5 years +). By writing down your goals you’re 70% more like to achieve them.
- Prioritise – When you’ve written your to do list, allocate each task a priority.
- Schedule posts – Write in batches and schedule them all, this free’s up time in the week and reduces stress.
- Check your email twice a day only – O.k, so I am not 100% there with this one yet. However, it does make sense.
- Work in bulk – take all the pictures you will need for the week (where possible) at the same time. Then they will all be there ready for you.
- Use a social media scheduler – Tweetdeck, Twuffer, Buffer, Hootsuit, Social Oomph. (I use social oomph and Evergreen on WP).
- Use Feedly to keep track of your favourite blogs. Saves time searching the web for them.
- Use IFTTT (If This Then That) – you can programme in ‘recipes’ to suit you. I.e. (if) someone sends me and attachment via email (then) save to my dropbox. Whatever you want it to do, you can create a recipe to make it happen.
- Use Zapier – similar to IFTTT.
- Eliminate the drainers in your life. Focus on people who can help you achieve your goals & be happy. Not on people who suck the life out of you, we all know them! Remember we are the sum of the 5 people we spend most of our time with!
- Don’t work if you are tired – O.k, so most of us are parents and we are therefore ALWAYS tired. But I get so tired that I fall asleep at my computer and end up typing hfhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh or similar on the screen. I struggle on and probably achieve 5 minutes of work in the next hour. If you’re this tired, go to sleep. At that point sleep is a better use of your time.
What are your top tips for productivity? Anything new for you here
Comments 52
Great tips, Aby. I’m certainly guilty of number two. It’s so easy to get locked into a loop of checking Facebook, then responding to tweets, then checking for new emails and blog posts, by which time it’s time to check Facebook again …
I totally agree about finding the correct environment too. I’m not a morning person, so what I tend to do is to do short bursts of admin/social media at various points during the day, and save my concentrated writing for late in the evening after everyone’s gone to bed. I typically lock myself away in the study and write in long 3-4 hour sessions from 10pm to 1 or 2am, which is when my mind is clearest. It’s the one time when I focus 100% and ignore all social media. When I’m writing, I’m writing – nothing else.
Author
It is so hard to focus and I like to be ‘on it’ with responses, but it does turn into a silly cycle x
Really helpful as always!!! I need to find the ‘correct environment’. Very hard to write a post with a two year old sprawled across the keypad. There’s only so much Peppa Pig you can throw at a situation. X
Author
I have the same issues here. Trying to type while simultaneously trying to stop her stealing my mouse and typing her own blog posts x
Great tips, sadly not relevant for me as I just snatch 5 mins here and there when I can at the moment! One thing I’ve found historically when needing to sit and get on with something though is doing a bit of exercise first, even if just a brisk walk, it really wakes my brain up! x
Author
Me too, apart from evenings. I just felt I needed more of a strategy and definitely more focus 🙂 x
This series is so helpful Aby, thank you. I’m trying to only check my email three times a day (morning, afternoon and eve) which will save me loads of time, but I’m not so great at it so far. x
Author
I am so happy it will be useful. I struggle so much with over checking! x
Great tips, Aby. I’m definitely guilty of the social media one – such a distraction! The tiredness one, too – there have been times where I’ve just not been feeling it, but made myself keep writing – a simple post then takes so long. Much better and more productive to leave it until I’m in the zone! xx
Found myself nodding away. I’m terrible with the social media loop! My best weapon is a good list. And starting the day with the things I don’t want to do then reward myself with a coffee and something fun. And go out for a run when I need inspiration.
Author
It gets a little addictive doesn’t it?! x
Hi Aby!
Lovely to finally meet you and get myself to your linky!! Wow such great tips, especially for a newbie like me. I’ve only been at it a month and finding the pace quite overwhelming and trying to fit in my actual real job plus the unpaid 24 hour job of motherhood!
These tips will help a lot. The social media one is great as I do find it distracting (addictive!) but I will follow this. I also get a bit stuck with where to start some days as there’s so much to do. The linkys are fab but at first I thought “how I supposed to find the time for these too?” but I realised that it’s a wonderful opportunity to link up your existing posts and gain readership (and friends!). They’ll be no stopping me now!
Thanks for the opportunity to share and to link a post I’m passionate about.
Tor xxx
Loads of great tips – thank you! For the record I cannot multitask xx
Really helpful, as always, thank you. Im going to take note and actually start following these! I forever start one thing then get excite by another and the list gets gets longer! My wife is forever saying the same things to me. Thanks for the advice 🙂
A lot of these seem so simple and obvious but I don’t do them! As ever fab tips lady! Thanks for sharing xx
Some fab tips, I’m guilty of trying to do too much at once and just end up in a mess!
You’re points are right on the dot. I keep trying to be organised but daily have something on that puts all my good intentions straight onto the backburner.
Such great advice. I completely agree with setting a timer (I can spend far too much time just doing little bits that don’t actually achieve much) and saying no. It is harder than it sounds! #thelist
Love this, I need to take a bit of this advice, god only know how many times I check my email a day. And I ma always trying to multi task terribly x
Aby you are such an inspiration! These are all great tips and I know I’ll be popping back to read this post again and again. Another fab #TheList
Thanks for co-hosting this fab Linky. Have a great weekend hon xx
Great tips. At the moment I cram everything in when the baby naps! #TheList
great tips, I’d blog all day given the chance so I definitely need to set myself some time limits.
This is a great list!
I work from home as we have our own business and try to find time to blog. My eldest is at school but I have my two year old at home 3 days a week. Basically time is something I don’t have a lot of.
Writing a daily to do list is one of my favourites – I keep it deliberately short.
Learning to say no more often would be very handy!
Xx
Phew, I do quite a lot of these. However there are just as many that I need to brush up on, particularly removing distractions and taking a break. Saying no is coming along nicely this year, although it is hard to try not to be superwoman – ha! Fab list as always Aby x
Great tips! As always =)
I love your blog club posts, always so informative
Fantastic tips, I have to admit I struggle to take a break from my emails and social media, but I totally agree with you taking a break now and again is fantastic for recharging the mind. Great Post,xx
Great tips Aby – the timer one is great, I’ve done that a few time and it’s amazing what a difference it makes with helping you stay focused. Social media is probably my biggest drain on productivity – I have to make sure I close those tabs when I need to focus on something else! I’ve installed Boomerang on your recommendation – scheduling emails sounds like a very useful thing to be able to do. Thanks for sharing.
Love this! I definitely need to make more time to blog or at least organise myself better when I do get the time x
Yet another post of yours I have bookmarked! All great tips and I could do with working smarter, rather than harder for sure! #thelist
LISTS!! I absolutely cannot survive without them! You have some brilliant ideas here – some I do, some I aspire to and some I have never heard of! #TheList
I really need to do several of these, especially writing in advance and scheduling, I’ve never managed that. x
Author
Scheduling really does take the pressure off x
Hi Aby, some fab technical tips there, thanks, my plans are to actually schedule and use either Hootsuite or Oomph, at least before the weather gets so warm I’m distracted by the beach!
Author
Glad it is useful for you. I can quite understand being distracted by the beach! x
Great post, I’m guilty of so many of these, especially putting off the least enjoyable. x
Author
Thanks huni. I hope it helps x
Really useful post. Will definitely be using some of these!!
Author
Thanks, I hope they help x
I LOVE your posts about blog tips, they are great. Thank you for sharing! x
Author
Thank you huni! So glad they are useful x
Top tips! I really need to get on to some of these. I figured you must use some kind of social scheduler, the alternative was visions of you on twitter all day as you seem to have them popping up at regular intervals so not to be missed! At first I thought, blimey, this girl loves twitter!! Then the penny dropped! Such a newbie! x
Author
Hope they help! x
Very useful list. This year I am aiming to step up a gear on my blogging so lots of great advice here for me to learn from.
Great tips yet again!
I think I will give the timer one a go as I have never tried this and maybe will increase my productivity if I know I have a set amount of time! Thank you! 🙂 x
Author
Thanks huni. Hope it helps x
I love No. 29…I have a drainer in my life who always happens to call me when I’m right in the middle of a blog post or something blog pertaining. Grrr… working on it!
And on that note, I really need some sleep! x
Author
Hope you got some sleep. I hope you sort the drainer out x
Thanks for your post, some great tips. I’m just amazed how you manage to fit so much in and with a toddler running around! I’ve recently started blogging and am at just one a week, anything else seems too much and there’s so much to learn!
Author
You just get into a groove I guess. It’s not easy and there is plenty of guilt but it is my job and I do want my daughter she see her parents working hard x
This is a great list. I bookmarked it so I can come back to it whenever I want. I love anything that helps with my productivity because that is one of the main things I am working on when it comes to personal growth. Thanks for this!
Great ideas for increasing productivity!
I’m so easily distracted and I procrastinate over jobs I don’t want to do – your comment about eating the frog made me LOL in a cafe haha