Comments on: Thinking about blog rank and whether I’m phoning it in

By: johnny

johnny — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:25:25 +0000

Hello. Thank you for this great info! Keep up the good job!

By: Sheila

Sheila — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:09:12 +0000

Thanks, Tim. There’s a Function key on my PC keyboard that disconnects my wireless. I think I need to use it more often.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:40:16 +0000

That should have said beyond my “wireless signal” of course (not “schedule”).

That blog ranking thing is pretty cool, but it’s got some holes in it. My Cheapest Destinations blog has nearly 1,000 subscribers but it says n/a for that category. I like that they did “pages viewed per visit” though. A lot of those big multi-author blogs don’t get much in-depth reading or regular followers.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:20:12 +0000

Here’s a great way to focus: go offline. I’ve been on the road for two months, with off and on Internet access and a family tagging along with no work obligations of their own. It’s amazing how little difference it makes to let some things go (yes, of course you know I think Twitter should be at the top of the list). It’s also amazing how much writing you can get done, say, riding on a bus when you can’t go online and get distracted. At home I try to go outside beyond the reach of my wireless schedule to get some real work done when I feel like I’m multitasking too much.

By: Sheila

Sheila — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:46:06 +0000

You’re so right – Twitter and other stuff is perfect for my tendency to be distracted by interesting people and experiences, so I have to turn all that off if I expect to truly focus on something. Some people have two monitors or computers, and they put “all that stuff” on one and only the current work project on the other.

It provides an “air gap” between writing and other kinds of interaction.

By: Antonia Malchik

Antonia Malchik — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:35:45 +0000

Oh, I’m so with you. I saw the ranking of Perceptive Travel blog and thought, ugh. But the truth is — there just isn’t enough time in the day to do everything, *especially* if you’re a mom. We’re just scraped so thin, always scrounging for time to do a few more things.

Like Michelle, I’ve found I have to schedule Twitter time. I can’t keep up with it all anyway, but shutting down Twitter and Facebook means I do focus on actual writing for longer periods. Sometimes I just try to work somewhere without Internet access to resist the temptation.

But I’d give a lot to have someone do some of the fiddly work for me like mucking with images!

By: Sheila

Sheila — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:20:08 +0000

Such helpful input, Michelle! I literally have to close TweetDeck and other tabs when I’m writing or I will wander off into the wilderness.

I also need to “blog ahead” but here’s the deal; as soon as I have a post polished and done, I want to hit Publish right then and there. I’m terrible about pre-posting because of that! So, maybe I should only PARTIALLY write a post, or finish it but not find a photo until I’m ready to launch, because I tell you I want it OUT there the minute it’s done.

Thanks for stopping by….

By: wandermom

wandermom — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:52:13 +0000

It’s so good to hear that I’m not the only one suffering from this. I have no trouble thinking of ideas but with work/kids/etc, blogging just doesn’t make the cut some days.

I’ve been trying some strategies which sometimes help – borrowed from classic time-management techniques:
- Scheduling twitter-time. Naturally you get the most out of twitter if you’re on all the time, but really, what’s the ROI? Esther from trekaroo.com told me at TBEX that she did an actual measurement and discovered it’s only worth 1 hr/week for her, so that’s what she does. Me, I like to chatter, so I give myself 5min “twitter breaks” during the day.
- Scheduling blog-writing-time. Some days it’s an hour in the morning before my kids get up, sometimes it’s 3 hours on a Sunday evening. I rarely get everything I want to get done completed, but blocking out a specific time has been a huge help.
- Asking for help. Beth (my fabulous sponsor/editor/co-writer) on wanderlustandlipstick.com has hired some interns. I’ve “borrowed” intern time especially for searching for images – which can take hours.
- Parking posts and editing later. This may be because I’m a newbie writer, but I find I edit more thoroughly and more quickly if I park a post for a day or so and then return to edit.

Hope that helps some.
And once again, thanks for sharing!
Michelle

By: Sheila

Sheila — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:32:43 +0000

Hi Kara, I know how much work goes into the quality content on Traveling Mamas, so your support is very much appreciated. The obvious answer is to give up one or two things, but I’ve already had to give up covering NHRA drag racing for Fast Machines this season, and I’m bummed about it. Sportswriting really stretches me in a different way.

Oh, well, we all get the same 24 hours! Thanks for visiting.

By: Kara/MountainMama

Kara/MountainMama — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:17:33 +0000

Sheila -

Once again, appreciate your candor. (And analogy to the baby fat when you’re baby is school aged!)

I think you, like many other travel writers/bloggers, are spread thin. Writing for many other sites (and print outlets), promoting your blogs, starting new business ventures, marketing … then there’s trying to find time for yourself AND be a mom. You’re right – blood from a turnip.

I’m w/ you, too, on the “Spend less time on Twitter and you can be more productive.” Easier said than done, for sure.

Just know I’m right there with you. So many ideas, so many intentions and so little time.