Be a Better Blogger By Guarding Your Time

Do you guard your time when it comes to blogging and writing? 

I do my best writing on a notepad or a laptop that isn’t hooked up to the internet.  Why?  Because the second I check my e-mail, or Facebook page I have 100 other things that are vying for my attention that have nothing to do with writing.

Sometimes my e-mails or Facebook messages are legitimate matters that need to be dealt with immediately. But I’ll be honest, most of the time my time spent in my e-mail or Facebook isn’t very fruitful.  Nope, I get sucked into time-line stalking of friends I haven’t spoken with in years, or worse yet I read WAYYYYYY to many Yahoo news articles. (If I’d just use swagbucks for all my searches this wouldn’t happen)

Leisure time on the internet isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but leisure time on the internet can seriously cut into other goals as well. 

I have a house to tend to, children to raise, and a hundred other non-computer related things that need to be done.  When it’s time to get on the computer to blog or write if I don’t prioritize what needs to be done first I’ll get swept away in the non-essentials. 

For example:

Reading 10 blog posts does nothing to grow my blog.  Choosing 5 blog posts that sincerely interest me and writing thoughtful comments however does.

Facebook stalking old friends does nothing except make me nostalgic for old times.  Whereas taking a minute and writing a quick e-mail to the same old friend actually creates a renewed connection.

For the writer it is so easy to get distracted, especially when ideas are running dry.  Before you go on the computer make a list of what you need to accomplish.  5 things (to me at least) seems to be a good number for a to-do list, not too many but just enough things to get something accomplished.

 For me my list generally looks something like this:

1)Write Blog Post(s)

2) Link Up blog posts

3) Read  3 blog posts and COMMENT

4) Check my Facebook page and E-mail

5)Write or edit current eBook for “X” number of minutes

What do you do to guard your time?