One of the the reasons why most bloggers can’t get pass the startup/newbie stage is because they lack a lot of things. From things like passion and determination to a more measurable metrics like traffic, lack of focus, incompetence or whatever it is, I can say that it can be all attributed to one thing, being unproductive.
I, myself is a big advocate of being able to produce consistently and riding on that to move up the ladder. I’m sure a lot of people would say they are exerting so much effort in it but still it doesn’t provide them a good outcome. Do take note that hardwork does not have a linear relationship with being productive. I mean I can work hard on reading a lot of materials in all my 24 hours but does that mean I’m productive? Naah!
The truth about being productive is that it still depends on whether you’re doing the right things. But how the heck do I know what is right from what’s not? Simple. If you’re focusing on exerting effort on things that you need to be doing, then you’re achieving to be productive. In other terms, if you’re working hard on some of the things that can have a dramatic effect on your own blogging and you’re working on it with such good focus then you are being productive.
What are the things that can have dramatic effect? Now this is where it gets a bit tricky. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot that doing small things can lead to big things which is true. Now the thing that I want to emphasize here is that if you have a plan and execute that plan in such a way that you’re doing it in a strategic step by step manner, thats going towards the productive way.
You see, there’s so many people wanting to do things all at the same time and want to exert an equal amount of efforts doing all those things successively. We all know that’s impossible and as a result, they get burnt out pretty quickly and they never really do any of those things properly. That being said, it’s really hard to be on a momentum when you don’t know what you need to do first, when you don’t have an idea what needs to be prioritized the most.
Final Words
I’ve read a lot of productivity tips and quite to be frank, some of them are really good and I use them coupled with my own implementations to maximize my productivity. But the main point here is that it all starts with you, yes you the blogger. What do you really want to achieve first and foremost? Most bloggers have this lucrative long term plan but most of them, if not all, lack the missing pieces in between to be able to move forward.
If my long term goal is to make money, how do I achieve that? Get traffic? Yes, but how do I get traffic? And the question and answer goes on. Until we can answer those things, then we can start working things on a more concise way, hence we can maximize our productivity on each of the tasks that we’re going to do. Again always take note that working hard doesn’t mean your being productive and being productive doesn’t even guarantee success!
Now you may probably say now that I’m pushing the thought that blogging is super hard. It depends on the way you’d like to think of it but at least you’re now getting the bigger picture in a clearer manner.
Regardless of the motivation to blog (make money, expression, hobby, make friends, be admired) the one and only factor that counts for success is readership: if a tree falls in the forest, it matters only if someone perceives that. Now readership is different from traffic. A blog may have lots of traffic, but if no one reads the content…bummer! Readers must linger in your blog and enjoy the content–that is the secret. I have seven blogs and people come and stay and read what I say, and once in a while they buy my books.
So, I think it is about work smart — not about work hard. 🙂
Lack of motivation is certainly the reason I am not making as much income as I should be. I’ve only found one way to combat this and that is to stop writing for a couple of days.
I believe the key is consistency in providing blog posts and deriving traffic. And your correct be productive by being giving quality posts and doing the right things.
Blogging is not easy but then again it is not hard. You need to work hard particularly on the early stages to make it work and lots of determination is required. If it where easy, the competition would be an absolute disaster and I would have given up a long time ago 🙂
Mmm, understand. I’d like to share what I’ve experienced in doing my own online businesses: the 80/20 rule really works. I blogged about it sometime back (available http://www.nigelchua.com/business-and-entrepreneurship/8020-rule-to-all-things/), a short short post on how really 80% of what we do generates 20% of what we want, and conversely, 20% of what we do generates 80% of what we want. Herein, the main point is to look and be aware of what 20% we do that generates the 80% of results we want, and multiply that 20%.
It requires a lot of testing and retesting to confirm the validity and reliability.
Also, one needs to identify one’s priorities and SCHEDULE and DO THEM according to schedule. =)
Wow! I like this comment thread, i get to know a lot of other bloggers! Nice post you have there Nigel on the 80/20% rule. Thanks for the info.
I think much of learning to blog is the same as learning any other new skill. It does take time and effort to learn how to do things in the beginning, but as you do it, you figure things out and become more efficient.
I just try and set myself some small daily goals. Generally, it’s something along the lines of doing at least one new thing to promote my blog every day. If I stick to that, then it all adds up and has a cumulative effect on my traffic. It’s not as daunting to do it in small steps.
Thanks WordPress! I pray that it’d be a guidepost to help you as it has (and still is!) helped me in how I manage my midterm and long term goals achievements. =)
well said… I believe you know I had stop blogging for a couple of months back then and came back… well… I went through the Eben’s productivity course and it really reveal truth and technique on increasing productivity such as writing a post while standing and not sitting down… well it actually makes you more tired but at the same time it makes you more energetic in thinking then sitting down being relax…
Don’t believe try and do it while standing… you can see the different in what you write and how you write…
That’s right… stop a couple of days and enjoy yourself, you doesn’t had to write so hard when you aren’t motivated to do so… it’s your own choice…
Very true article here… I didn’t start getting successful until I started being able to churn out articles while allowing ample time for marketing them around.
I have also read a lot about productivity, and I have read the bible (Getting Things Done). Now, what I do is I have a spreadsheet with all the stuff I need to get done during the day (usually about 4 things). I do one thing at a time (work in batches), and I do them until they’re finished. I don’t switch until I’m finished.
I am also using a software called “concentrate”, it stops all the software that I don’t need to get the tasks done. For instance, if I’m writing, I can’t use anything other than WriteRoom (the software I need to write). That’s all.
Hi Melvin
I started blogging a few months ago and I have been working long hours to get my blog out there in the blogopshere. Blog hopping, commenting and now doing guest posts. This weekend I took some time off; not all day but a few more hours than usual and have found it has got me motivated again.
Realise I have to work smarter and not longer so I don’t get burnout! Finding that I am actually achieving more by taking some regular breaks. Thanks for sharing Melvin. Much appreciated.
Patricia Perth Australia