Whether you’re a full-time blogger, a stay at home mom trying to help support your family, or a side-hustler on a neverending quest to balance it all, you’ve probably figured out by now that in order to reach your goals and be successful, you have to become some sort of an effective, productive juggler.
Your tasks are as diverse as writing blog posts, taking pictures, replying to comments, building an email list, staying on top of social media, driving traffic to your blog, and launching products, which makes you one incredibly busy blogger. But are you as productive as you’d like to be?
Look, time management is a skill that can be learned. Nobody is born productive. Nobody comes into this world with a diploma in blogging and internet marketing in hand either.
So what can you do to feel less overwhelmed and not throw the towel when things get crazy? Well, here are a few easy productivity tips for bloggers that can help you become your most accomplished self when working from home.
1 | Separate your workspace from your personal space
Have you noticed how certain places are charged with distinct energy and seem to trigger an almost Pavlovian response?
Blogging from the living room couch or the exact same spot where you binge-watch Netflix won’t cut it in the long run. Your brain will constantly have to figure out if it is time to stay sharp and focused or unwind and relax. And this will put a dent in your workflow.
Working from bed, couch or seated at the family dining table will not make you a productive blogger. Each of these places has a clear function (sleep/relax/eat) but none was specifically designed to boost your productivity.
A dedicated work area can help you stay centered and focused. If you have a spare room, see these budget-friendly home office design ideas and create a space that boosts your productivity.
Your workspace should be a happy place. So I encourage you to use pretty stationary as well as accessorize your desk in a way that is functional and perfectly aligns with your personality.
This desk is where your ideas come to life and products are launched. You can make it pretty by adding some flowers, a scented candle or an inspirational quote. Me, I love to surround myself with rose gold office supplies and accessories.
Additionaly, remove distractions because a cluttered desk will compete for your attention and hinder your productivity and success.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Your home office should be your happy place because it’s where your ideas come to life and products are launched.” quote=”Your home office should be your happy place because it’s where your ideas come to life and products are launched.” theme=”style3″]2 | Use a blog planner to organize and run your blogging biz
Statistically, writing stuff down not only helps you remember but also frees up mental space so you can focus on the task at hand instead of constantly trying to keep hold of the things you don’t want to forget.
Using a planner can bring structure to your blogging life and can help you untangle your thoughts, which in turn makes you more likely to crush your goals.
While you can find plenty of generic planners, the Smart Blog Planner was specifically designed for bloggers and its focus is on helping you organize your blogging tasks in a productive way.
The Smart Blog Planner is not only
Through this planner, you can:
- define your personal brand
- set short and long term goals
- plan blog posts, social media updates, and product launches
- keep track of advertisers, affiliate programs, expenses, and your finances in general
- write your daily to-do list
- set priorities
- jot down things you want to improve
- and even plan out giveaways, roundup posts, guest posts, and sponsored posts.
I’m not the most organized person, but using
3 | Wear nice clothes that inspire you
When I tell people I work from home, they immediately imagine I must work in my pajamas. And because the consensus is that working in your pajamas is such a treat, for a long time, I played the part.
But working in my pajamas made me feel sleepy all the livelong day, which in turn did not motivate me to get out of my pajamas. It was a vicious circle.
Need to recharge your motivation? Read how to find the motivation to blog consistently
When I realized I was cornering myself into being unproductive and started wearing nice clothes that inspired me and I genuinely loved, I also noticed a spike in my productivity levels. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
The time you spend working from home is a precious part of your life. Its value doesn’t have to change just because no one sees you.
Ask yourself:
Why is working in my pajamas such a treat?
Does wearing pajamas really make me feel like a pro?
Now imagine the CEO of your favorite brand working in their pajamas. Does the thought of it make you chuckle? Somewhere in your subconscious, that’s how your brain sees you when you blog in your pajamas.
The clothes you wear hugely affect the way you feel about yourself. And you project that image in your work.
I’m not saying you have to put on a pencil skirt, wear high heels and cover your face in ten layers of makeup. Wear something empowering, something that inspires you, that’s all.
To see what I mean, head on over to my post on work from home wardrobe ideas. I hope it’ll help you swap the PJs for something stylish yet just as comfortable.
[clickToTweet tweet=”The time you spend working from home is precious. Its value doesn’t have to change just because no one sees you.” quote=”The time you spend working from home is precious. Its value doesn’t have to change just because no one sees you.” theme=”style3″]
4 | Automation is your friend
I used to do EVERYTHING myself, from tweaking the blog design and tracking all my finances to promoting my content on social media. Sure, practice makes it perfect and it’s a great way to learn and gain new (and useful) skills. But it will not improve your workflow.
The sooner you let go of the idea that you could (or should) do it all yourself, the better.
What helped me change my mindset was this one question:
How much is one hour of my day really worth?
If you still resist using automation and scheduling tools for your blog, you are misusing your time.
Seriously, blogging doesn’t have to be round-the-clock work. Because social media is such a repetitive task, the first thing I did was to sign up for scheduling tools so I won’t have to interrupt my workflow a million times a day.
I don’t know if you are familiar with the 80/20 rule, but it basically says that 80% of your blog’s traffic/income/followers come from 20% of sources. This is great news because it means you don’t have to sign up for all social media channels and affiliate programs under the sun. All you have to do is to figure out what works for you and do more of it.
Let’s take Pinterest which right now is the top traffic driver for many bloggers (me included). In order to make it work for you, you have to pin every couple of hours. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
With Tailwind you can spend only a couple of hours scheduling your content for the whole week. And when you leverage the power of the Tailwind tribes, a whole highly-engaged community has your back. If you blog about blogging, you can join my Tailwind tribe here and even get $15 credit towards your account if you are just starting out.
If you want to know more about Tailwind, read my post on how I boost my Pinterest traffic the smart way.
5 | Done is better than perfect
If you are a perfectionist, endlessly tweaking your projects, STOP AGONIZING OVER THE DETAILS. You will never launch anything this way, and when you finally do, you will channel your energy towards the little imperfections instead of getting the word out about your blog/product/service.
Overcrowded blog? Read how to declutter and organize your blog, the Marie Kondo way
Perfection is SO overrated. Absolutely nobody, except yourself, will ever know (or care) that your blog is not perfect down to the last detail. Nor will anyone be impressed that you got that shade of blue ‘just right’.
The reality is that we don’t have a crystal ball to predict reader/customer behavior. Sometimes they surprise us and the post or pin you least
Done is better than perfect. Every. Single. Time.
THINGS TO READ NEXT
- 3 Easy Ways to Find the Motivation to Blog Consistently
- Blogger Burnout Is Real. Practical Advice for Handling the Be-All, Do-All Pressure
- 21 Women on Boosting Productivity As A Blogger and Entrepreneur
- Why Keeping a Daily Journal Could Make You A More Successful Blogger
- 3 Reasons Why You Need A Blog Audit
About the author:
Hey there, dream chaser! I’m a writer and designer on a mission to inspire and empower you to create a highly profitable minimalist online business and show up for your dreams in a sustainable way.
xo, Laura
