In the last post we looked at the reasons you need to become a productive blogger so you develop a better blog. Now, let’s start looking at some productivity tips for bloggers. The first thing that you should begin working on, if you're looking to become more productive, is getting yourself organized.
More...
Can Productivity Lead to a Better Blog?
Being a productive blogger will lead you to a better blog, but you can’t do that in a state of chaos. Remember that you can't create a better blog if you don’t post useful content, regularly. True, you can do this by becoming productive, but this is going to be hard if your work space is a mess.
You know this already, but where you work impacts how you work. There's nothing worse than trying to motivate yourself to complete your chosen tasks. Plus deal with the technical aspects of your blog. You can’t be creative and come up with great content, if your workspace and computer are in a mess.
Give Yourself Some Breathing Room
Where you work, and the way that you work are important. You are trying to stay inspired and productive to work on your blog. If you've got a messy desk with papers, bills and food all over the place, you're not doing yourself any favours. The saying about a tidy desk equals a tidy mind is true. For you to feel comfortable, relaxed and prepared, you need to clear yourself some space. You need to give yourself room to breathe when working.
Are you finding it difficult to sit down and get on with that blog post you've been meaning to complete. Or to even start a post? You need to ensure that your workspace is prepared for you to actually sit and work.
Your Work Space is Your Work Place
When working from home, it can be so easy to lose an air of professionalism. You should still treat the work that you're doing as something meaningful. You should start a project with the right intentions. By ensuring that you have cleared your working space, you're starting your project free of clutter and distractions that may cause you to not take the work you're about to do seriously.
Essentially, it makes no difference whether you work in your own office or at a desk or in the kitchen. The process is still the same. Your workspace is the place where the magic is going to happen. It's the place where your blogging empire is going to be launched and developed. If you want to reach great heights with your blogging, and grow a better blog, take your workspace seriously. That workspace, however small or mediocre, is your office, your place of work, and it should be treated as such.
Plan Your Blog Like the Best Project Managers
Get instant access to the 1 page cheat sheet showing how the best Project Managers plan their blogs.
100% Secure. We never share your email.
Spend 10 minutes a day tidying away anything out of place or in the way. Some people do it first thing. Others do it last thing. I do it at lunch time. This is because I have stopped for a break. But I have already planned out my day. So I know what I don’t need or have finished with. Do what works best for you.
Workspace Design and Productivity
When you're running a business (and blogging for income certainly is a business) it's important to keep everything that you need nearby. Don’t get overwhelmed with a lot of excess information that's only going to burden you. It's best to stick to the bare minimum. Even if it's only to give you plenty of personal space so that you don't feel flustered. When you're trying to do something and it's not going the way that you planned, any unnecessary clutter is going to cause you to get even more frustrated. It may seem trivial, but really, a quick clear out of your workspace will make you feel more prepared for taking on those tasks.
Clear Your Workspace
Whatever you use as your workspace, it's important to respect it. It helps your productivity because it gives you a great platform from which to work and create ideas. Remember that your workspace is the place from which you're running your whole business. Don’t underestimate the impact it can have on your general work and your productivity.
- Keep everything to the bare minimum.
- Don't clutter up your desk with lots of papers and notes.
- Keep a notice board and calendar where you can write your daily goals and see what you need to do at a glance.
- Keep a bin nearby and don't store things that aren't useful.
How To Organise Computer Files and Folders
Keeping your workspace organized will give you that boost of productivity that you need to feel fresh, motivated and prepared. It’s just as important to organize that way you store your files on your computer. Some might say, more important. I am not sure there is much more frustrating than knowing you have information on your PC and not being able to find it!
Not being able to find the file that you're working on in all that mass of folders, duplicate files and gigs worth of downloads is not only inconvenient and distracting but it's a complicated mess that you could do without.
If you're trying to work on a new project, it's important to keep everything together. You don’t want to have to search your whole computer and wade through files to find what you're looking for.
There are many ways of organizing your files. I have a folder for my blog, then folders within it for each category. Then I separate research, blog posts, graphics etc into folders. I also use Draft, Complete and Archive Folders. This means I know what I am working on, what I have finished and what is totally done with.
Organise Your Files
I like to think that I am fairly well organised. I too though have irretrievably lost files! You need to name your files well and get a system that works well for you. Others may tell you what they do, but you need to have a system that you can, and will, use. I use folders for purchased photos, post graphics, main blog design graphics, etc.
One of the reasons that many bloggers fall short in terms of productivity is that they have a general lack of organization of files, folders and documents. A well-laid-out arrangement of important files and folders can make all the difference. This will ensure that you can always find what you need when you need to find it. This is a quick step to a better blog as it allows you to feel prepared, organized and ready to take on your next blog post or project.
⭐️Productivity Will Lead to a Better Blog
It can be all too easy to feel overwhelmed in a mass of files, notes and blog post ideas. By simply organizing the way that you lay out your blog post ideas, it becomes easier and faster to complete a blog post. Because you've got everything that you need ready in advance, you have a head start.
It's also great to start dropping your research into the appropriate blog post folders so that you are more organized when you need to get to start writing them up. You'll know exactly where you need to go to find your material and it will already be set up for you to just get started on the writing process.
Make sure you only have your information in one or two places. I now have a paper notebook and a calendar and spreadsheet on my laptop. At one point I had Evernote on my phone, another app on my tablet, scrivener on my laptop, various spreadsheets and couldn’t find anything!
If you have everything that you need organized and ready to go, the only thing that you then need to do is start writing. You can get on with the creative process and let it flow instead of worrying about all of the technicalities and organization that can hinder your creative flow. It gives a great sense of release to clear up all of the organization in one go. You don’t want to be organising and researching as you're trying to be creative.
To build a better blog, be productive. To be productive, be organised. Take the first step and organise your work place and your work tools. Do you have any productivity tips to help build a better blog? Care to share?
