Most of us starting out blogging because we enjoyed it, and were thrilled to learn that maybe we could make money doing what we enjoyed. However, if you’re like me, as time went on you ended up blogging both to make money and for enjoyment and found that the enjoyment side began to lack. And one day, perhaps, you even woke up thinking you didn’t enjoy blogging anymore and you didn’t even seem to be enjoying life so much anymore either.
Here are 3 practical things that you can do to once again enjoy the life you blog.
1. Schedule.
Schedule your time well. Don’t try to do it all at once. Even though you work from home, establish a “home time” and a “work/blog time” and respect those times in the same way you would if you left your home to work. Have a specific spot in the house or outside the house, or a specific thing you wear or a sign on the office door, or something that designates this space and this time for work. And when you leave that space at the end of the time, truly come “home”. Be fully present with your family during non-work times, and you may see that you can enjoy life again.
2. Organize.
It’s impossible to enjoy blogging without being organized. Either you must organize yourself, or you must have someone who organizes for you. It must be done or your life will become a chaotic mess. Use file folders, use digital folders, use notebooks, use boxes on a shelf, use Evernote, take pictures on your phone and give them meaningful names so you can find them again. Somehow you must have a system in place that works for you to organize the giveaways, linkups, posts, guest posts, parties, sponsors, freebies and other things that come and go with blogging. Life and blogging are so much more enjoyable when you are organized!
3. Track.
Do you spend three weeks of the month dreading the one week that your financial reports are due because it was so much work tracking it all down. Having a system for tracking gifts given and products received, income and expenses, and/or having someone else do the actual monthly reports so that you can enjoy that fourth week each month as well will do great things for your overall life enjoyment. When you regularly track the important data you need for financial and statistical reporting (not to mention taxes) it makes it so much easier in the long run. I used to have to scour mounds of papers and click through months of digital receipts, but now I’ve found a way to keep it all together, tracked regularly and organized.
My Favorite Tool
Want to know the number one tool I’ve used to schedule, organize, track and begin to enjoy blogging again? The Blog Like a Pro Planner.
I couldn’t ever find one planner out there that had everything I needed. Something was always missing or had too much that didn’t apply to me, and I’d have to create my own forms anyway. Over time hose forms have become the Blog Like a Pro Planner.
The Blog Like a Pro Planner has broken down everything into small packets of printable forms to organize literally everything. It includes over 80 printable forms for organizing 12 different categories of blog and business potential chaos. And you can get it all in one (plus bonuses) or build your own planner to get just the forms you need to help you organize your trouble areas.
I think you’ll find that as a blogger/online entrepreneur, this is one planner that has everything you need to keep you scheduled, organized and productive. I know, because it has helped me to once again enjoy the life I blog.
Now through August 31st InspiredBN readers can receive a 25% discount on any of the Blog Like a Pro products using the exclusive discount code “ENJOYLIFE25”.
Katie Hornor is an international speaker, author, educator and online blogging entrepreneur. She and her husband reside and minister in Mexico where they homeschool their five children and are leaders in the Spanish homeschool movement. You can follow Katie at her blog: ParadisePraises.com
