Bloggers wear many hats.
From researching, writing, promoting, and photographing for posts, you could feel like you are drowning in blogging tasks.
I no longer write about busy bloggers. All bloggers are busy; the term is redundant.
Consider this comment from a reader:
I’m finding this blogging a hard thing to cultivate. Too much-disassociated things going on and time…I need time management. Editing a book and school runs seriously impact the will to live lol. I think it’s cultivating the habit.
This post will help you cultivate the habit by offering unique methods of time-management. Since they are unique, the odds you’ve tried them before are slim.
Although most of them are tips that corporations expect their business people to use, this post will explain how bloggers can be more productive by using them.
With so many choices, you may find these helpful in increasing more time in your day. If not, they may prove to be an entertaining read.
Strange Productivity Tips
1. Pomodoro Technique Rationale: Multitasking is bad, which is the opposite of what we’ve always been told. There used to be an ad for women, we can bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan. Apparently, there is brain research that says attempting to multitask slows us down; it is counterproductive. Set a goal and minimize distractions. This idea was invented by Francesco Cirillo.
How to use the Pomodoro Technique to increase productivity:
- Set a kitchen timer for 25 minutes; this period of time is called a Pomodoro.
- Take a break for 5 minutes.
- After 4 Pomodoros, 100 minutes, take a 15 to 20-minute break.
- Record how many times you wanted to do something else during the 25 minutes.
The Benefits of the Pomodoro Technique:
It’s free.
There is no guilt if you are not productive.
You will get through projects faster.
The time you procrastinate will be minimized.
Your confidence will improve since you will see that you can handle large workloads.
Accountability for accomplishing tasks increases.
According to proponents of the technique, there is less mental fatigue.
Testimonials that claim the Pomodoro Technique increases productivity:
INC published a case study that had the user of the method reducing his work time by half. Jobs that used to take 40 hours a week to perform took twenty.
Apple and The Wall Street Journal are all on board and have their workers use the Pomodoro method.
Adam Heitzman of Inc.com agrees that limiting multitasking will make you productive.
2. (10 + 2) x 5 developed by site creator Merlin Mann. No, this isn’t math class. It’s how to save time blogging. In contrast to the Pomodoro technique that has you blogging for 25 minutes and taking a break for 5 minutes, this method only has you blogging for ten minutes and breaking for two minutes. This will fill an hour.
3. The Color System According to research surrounding yourself with red colors will help you focus on your blog writing while blue will help increase your creativity.
4. Don’t blog at home. You will be far away from distractions or the temptation of a nap since your bed won’t be there. There is mixed research on this. Recruiter.com says you should blog at home for enhanced focus.
5. Give yourself a fine. Pay someone $5.00 each time you get off task. That should make you focus pretty quickly!
6. Blog away from your phone. While this may not be a terribly unorthodox idea like some of these others, the ideal hour for your tech-free time is one hour before bed, according to researchers.
7. Productivity Pyramid According to Lilach Bullock, your blogging tasks are divided into 3 levels: your most important task relates to making income from blogging; your second most important ranked activity is blogging-related. These activities would include blog post writing and blog post promotion. Tier 3 would relate to activities of lesser importance such as fixing technical problems or scheduling. You should perform your tasks in that order of priority.
8. Email Method Dealing with E-mail clutter is certainly something that might bog down our productivity. This method for dealing with Emails is similar to the 3-tier Method. That productivity technique says to deal with Emails that relate to making money before all your other Emails.
9. To-Do List Method According to Lifehack, you will be more productive if you ask yourself the same question every day. Here is the question: What will make today great? You should give a maximum of three answers and make those your to-do list for that day. Some sources say to make the list the night before and others recommend making it in the morning.
10. Use the telephone. Why do I consider this unorthodox? In 2016, with more and more ways of communicating, the phone seems increasingly obsolete. Recruiter.com explains phoning is quicker than Emailing and therefore more productive.
11. Only use the telephone in your car. Whether or not you are alone, you pick up a windfall of time you don’t have when you’re home. Use it to make needed calls. Spend the time you pick up when you’re home blogging.
12. Carry a pad and pencil. I admit the idea isn’t unorthodox. It’s the rationale for the idea I consider unique. Clearly, these tools are helpful for checking off items on a to-do list and making notes. However, Chris Farmer’s rationale is that humans are the only animal that can write, so… we should do it!
13. Avoid denial. A psychological method of productivity! Spend several weeks becoming aware of who and what distract you, and omit those distractions when trying to blog. The literature on this advice is mixed. Ali Davies recommends not blaming yourself or anyone else for your lack of productivity.
14. The 4-D Method Do your important activities first. Diminish by reducing the activities you can stop doing. Delegate tasks to others. Discard time-consuming activities if less time-consuming activities will do.
15. Have a tech-free hour. This idea is not revolutionary. However, there are researchers who specify when that hour should be– the hour before you go to bed.
16. Blog away from your phone. Keep it in another room to avoid temptation. Still a lure? Give it to someone in the house to hold for you while you blog. If you need the phone for research, use the computer you’re blogging on.
17. Try to read faster. According to research, people read slower on electronic devices. The article recommends printing hard copies from a computer rather than reading on a Kindle or your phone.
18. Smell coffee. Since research over whether drinking coffee is unhealthy is mixed, Redbooth claims just the smell of coffee alone is enough to increase your productivity!
19. Get a talking house. You may have heard of Siri, the voice that helps Apple’s iOS users, but have you heard of Alexa? She is Amazon’s answer to Apple’s Siri. She is amazing. She tells me the weather, so I know what to wear each day. I don’t have to stop using my hands when I get ready for work to turn on music since she’ll play any song I request. Hey, I said these techniques were unusual. I didn’t say they were free. Alexa and her accessories cost approximately $200.00.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Arcasela of the LDN Rose blog explained life is not about achieving a balance, it’s about achieving a blend. Hopefully, this post explained how you can blend your blogging life with the rest of your life.
Did you notice some of these ideas had overlap? For example, do your priorities first.
According to Inc.com, if you follow these tips, within days you will feel more in control of your own life, definitely worth a try.
RTI is an acronym in blogging. It stands for Return on Time Invested. Even if you didn’t find any of these ideas helpful for saving you time, hopefully, you found them entertaining to read and still received a return on your time invested.
Readers, please share, so others can get the benefit of these unorthodox tips. Perhaps they haven’t tried them before and would like to. On the other hand, they might just get a kick out of reading them.
Readers, which method did you find the strangest? Are there any you think have merit? Are there any you’ve already tried? How successful was it? Had you heard of the popular Pomodoro technique? I look forward to your views in the comments section.
Related Posts:
How to Blog and Easily Have Time for Sleep
How to Blog and Still Life a Quality Life
7 Effective Ways to Avoid Drowning in Emails
How to Easily Find Time for Stress-Free Blogging
17 Time-Saving Tips for People in a Rush
How to Save Time Blogging with a Virtual Assistant
How to Increase Productivity by 10 Times in 24 Hours as a Blogger
Sources:
The Pomodoro Technique: Is it Right For You?
15 Productivity Hacks for Procrastinators
