I think most bloggers have the same problem when it comes to building and maintaining their online presence… Time! This is something I have struggled with myself and I think I’ve found MY solution so I thought I’d share it with you in hopes of it helping a little. Everyone works differently and we all have to find our own way but this might help a few of you.
Me Before
I’d wake up to over a hundred emails. My first half an hour was going through them trying to find where my attention was needed and which emails were just a waste if time. I was so dependent on email that I had my smart phone setup to give a cool little ‘whistle‘ with each notification, including a new email. Of course, with every whistle, I had to grab my phone or check my emails so I wouldn’t miss anything. This is a horrible way to organize our time! That system allows everyone else to dictate how we spend our time online and our productivity suffers for it.
Me Now
I have turned off all email notifications and now I decide when and where I spend my time online. I’m the kind of person that lives with a notepad, to-do list and everything has to be scheduled on my calendar. There’s no fighting it, that’s just me. So, allow me to introduce my new productivity tool:
My Start Page
A couple of weeks ago I started building a very simple page on my personal website (No longer used as a consistent blog). I have my new start page setup in my browser as the ‘home‘ page. That’s where I start and end every day. I don’t go to my email account until it’s time, yes – scheduled.
This page is still young and a work in progress but I have to believe my productivity has at least tripled since I started using it and that will continue to increase as I improve on it. It takes a little discipline but I was surprised at how fast I was able to break away from my old habits.
The Process
As you can see from the image below, my start page is merely a bunch of links listed along with a time limit for each task. I simply click the link, set my timer, (I use the Chrome browser extension Timer) and go to work. The timer goes off and I quickly move onto the next link (task).
Only 10 Minutes, Really?
The times seem very low and there are a couple of reasons for that. First of all, when you add up all of the times for the daily tasks, it comes out to five hours of work at the time of this post (That will change as I add and remove tasks). Second, when that clock is ticking, Iâm working as fast as possible in order to get everything I want to do accomplished.
Taking Breaks
Personally, once I’ve spent an hour or so working online, I take a break. Some people include a break into their schedule but, so far, I haven’t had to. A break for me doesn’t mean a nap or watch a little TV; I might throw a load into the dish or clothes washer, take Sadie for a walk or make a quick phone call. The idea here is to step away from the computer and move around a little. Blogging allows for very little exercise so it’s up to us not to just sit all day long.
What Works For You?
So there you go, that’s what’s working for me. Like I said, we’re all different so I’d love to hear what works for you. Do you use a schedule at all? Is it crazy to use a timer? Some people don’t need one and others cannot function with that kind of restraint, for lack of a better word. What works for you?
About Brian D. Hawkins
Wow, your start page idea is just amazing, I think it saves a lot of time. I’m spending daily 3 hours on facebook, I know its useless but I’m addicted. Its my turn now… I have to create my own way to be more productive using your tips.
Thanks Sai, Facebook is very addictive, that’s for sure. I do allow extra time on networks like that once I’ve made my daily tasks.
Time management is the most important thing which should be maintained in every task we do. It can save our time and it can make the work with out hassle.
thanks
I agree Rajkumar, especially when we’re blogging for profit, the bottom line is affected severely by time wasted.
Oh yes, the email notifications. I’ve turned them off too except for the store ones that have orders coming in or customer questions. The rest is on my schedule. My weakness is Twitter – I don’t have a noise indicator but I can see the notification when someone is tweeting me or an RT, etc. I shut down the Facebook notifications too and only go on when I want to. I can always get stuck there longer than anticipated. I need to take more breaks when I work at home on the computer. I can sit for way too many hours. Thanks for sharing these tips Brian.
Hi Lisa, I like twitter too but I even stopped TweetDeck. It’s a little painful, I won’t lie, but I’m getting more done. 🙂
My breaks today were, washing the dishes, doing the laundry, making dinner, fixing the toilet and raking the leaves. I need less breaks. lol
Wasting too much time on things that are not going to benefit us in the blogging career are of no use. We should change our schedule and add something profitable to it. Regular changes in the blogging strategies can work wonders for the blog.
Thanks Jack, I’m not against fun and play, I just want to get each day’s job finished first.
Thanks for sharing your tool for Productivity.
I always write my stuff down in the order of importance.
That is how I always roam!
Not a bad idea Samuel, organize your to-do list by importance. I pretty much do the same thing.
I also struggle with the limited time and so much work to do. You have devised a nice method to increase your productivity with that start page. Guess I should also switch to some form of organization in order to have better yields. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Well good luck Vicky, I appreciate that.
Time management and productivity are skills to be mastered. Whatever tools we choose to use, we must implement as well. I like your idea of time limits and tasks and have seen other similar suggestions.
I tune out or turn off all notifications when working on a project either for myself or a client. It takes discipline and commitment to stay on track but if you want a successful outcome, you can’t allow for distractions as they eat away at your time and productivity.
Set priorities, time limits, rewards or whatever works best, just get it done. LOL.
Thanks for a great post.
Thanks Suzie, that’s the best quote of the day, “It takes discipline and commitment to stay on track but if you want a successful outcome”.
My big hang up is my email. I think it may be like that for most. Although I have an email address for my blog but have it rerouted to my account at gmail. I do not have alarms for my gmail. I am using Chrome as my browser and have my homepage set up on ‘New Tab’ which has a direct link to my gmail. Each morning I go to email first and weed out the ones that need to be deleted or can wait. This does not mean I attach my email then however. I just organize it. Email is not read until the afternoon.
Sounds a lot like my old system Glynis. I was beginning to feel like I was being controlled by my email. Email would tell me to reply to comments, respond to all types of social interactions, even when and where to look at other blogs. I’m glad to have made a break from it.
I have heard James Martel talk about his home page in a similar fashion, looks very helpful. Could you do this with Firefox bookmarks? Maybe the page is more clear cut than bookmarks.
Hi Steve, I didn’t know James Martell was doing this too. In fact, I haven’t heard of anyone else using a home page like that. Send the URL if it’s handy.
Hi Brian, I have the same problem as you too. To-do list is so important which shows you what you have done in a day and don’t get to feel that you’re lazy and not work hard enough, …
And I can see that you’re using many social media networking sites like you mentioned above so 10 mins is really great. But about me, I only use Twitter and Facebook for my blog so I have a lot of time to relax.
Thank you Ferb
Thanks Ferb, there’s nothing wrong with extra time. lol I would recommend you give Google Plus a try, for the search benefits if nothing else.
Hi Brain,
Time Management is really important.
Most of the time is wasted in in thinking what to do and in the end you find yourself with a thing which is not important. So managing once time is really important.
You’re right Sneha, in the end most of the ‘spinning wheels’ end up mindlessly clicking away at Facebook of something. Real direction is the only answer, in my opinion.
Time management is such a critical facet of productivity. I also make it a point to jot down urgent and other pressing tasks that I need to accomplish. Thanks for the insightful share!
Hey Kristine, so far; with all the comments so far, only you and Samuel have taken advantage of the keyword Luv that’s included in our CommentLuv Pro plugin. Thatâs one of the two secrets to getting a do-follow link on this blog. 🙂
I agree, especially when you’re as forgetful as I am. If I don’t record things, I’ll forget almost immediately. This includes everything from blog post ideas to paying my utility bills. If it’s not on my Google calendar or auto-pay, I’m going to be getting a collection call. lol If I don’t record a blog post idea and get started, I won’t remember to do it until I see it on another blog as I slap my forehead. 🙂
That’s an indispensable tool, I must say. I have been trying to implement something quite similar and on each day I used this, let’s say, system I could complete all the work for a given day within a few hours. On a “regular” day I would never complete my tasks. I think that if we stick to such a tool, we can work not more than 5 hrs a day and still be super productive in comparison to other people who seemingly work more (or for more hours). Greetings.
It’s still tough Dave, I’m still trying to go from routine to habit when it comes to starting with my home page. I still have to remind myself everyday but, eventually, it will come natural without thinking about it.
That’s pretty interesting Brian. Of course you know I plan my days out using my Palm desktop calendar, and I have to program in my breaks otherwise I won’t take them. I like your process, but I’ll probably stick with mine. 🙂
Hey Mitch, I’m a big believer in, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. I know you get a lot accomplished everyday, including sweet treats. lol You put those on your calendar too? LMAO
A very important topic, Brian..
Managing our time regarding blogging tasks, sometimes can be a little difficult, especially if we don’t get the balance right…
In your case your emails were chewing up the bulk of your time, whereas for me it’s going through comments “in moderation” and ensuring no legit comments don’t get binned with all the spam comments(there’s a ton of spam usually trying to sneak through)…
Other sites I visit have spoken of the need to “lay off” twitter, as they soon found they were putting in way too much time and effort with minimal reward….
I Also had a list of daily chores that I followed that was working quite well, and producing great results…the key was a balance of time and application between those website and off site tasks..
In recent times I lost that balance somewhat, and wasted too much time on non essential tasks, that did not have any long term benefits….
Nice site design…very easy to read and navigate….
Hi Danny, Blog moderation can be pretty time consuming, especially when we try to rely to a lot of comments. I see the same thing with too much time on both Twitter and Facebook. I personally know someone that says she’s on Facebook at least 5 hours a day and I believe her. Some people just get addicted I guess. Yep, it’s all about balance. Thanks 🙂
You did a nice thing for your life, while I had thought to write articles everyday on my blog, but didnot done and wasted more time by browsing forums. Now planned to spend sometime everyday on my sites.
It’s tough Suresh but it can be done. It also helps to carry a smart phone. I like to catch up with many things I used to do at home with my phone when standing in line, for example. This lets me use time that would have otherwise been wasted.
when the blogger get success in their lifespan depend upon the time management as well as promoting of blog is very much important.really the way you presented spping&alarming in my mind.
Thanks Rahul, Of course once we get to a certain level of success we’ll have assistants and employees. I can’t wait for an assistant. lol
Very nice post and it is clear too. Thanks for your new productive tool. Your Process step is excellent and gonna to follow that. Keep writing.
My pleasure Nirmala, glad to help.
Hey, I have always said this. You’ve got to set a schedule for yourself, otherwise you’re going to be all over the place and not be productive. I have a similar schedule.
Very cool Wade, I went with the page because I got tired of pasting links into my browser. The page makes things quick and easy.
I always use a schedule. If don’t everything is so…disorganized. However, my schedule is different from yours: i intend content creation and social media in one day then the next day networking, etc. In this way i will not be pressured by time and not always content creation lasts 60 minutes.
I am like most people that assume productivity is about the best use of time. Recently I am convinced that productivity is about the final result of accomplishment. It you have something you must do it does not matter how much time you spent. Either you finish or you do not. The issue is work on knocking out projects with great results. Results determine productivity and not time.
Thanks for the post from a first time visitor.
Wayne Melton
Amazing stuff Brian! I thought I was organized, but I can see how having a start page like yours can be a lot more effective than a regular to-do list. Think I might have to steal your idea and use it myself 😀
An creative and smart way to manage the time efficiently, I create a checklist for my day’s and start doing it. I think your idea is more dynamic and effective.
Well, I’ve made my own. This is something that is very smart on your part. I often had trouble using my multi-row Bookmarks doing all this stuff! You even turned me to a few new sites I’ve never heard of. I hate to put a link in this. By what I can say is it is under “scottsthingstodo” on the free “wordpress” it’s down to every word! Every detail! I “Dot” every “com”ma. < Hot Shots Quote