An Hour In the Life. My Blogging Schedule

By on June 8, 2007 in Blog Coach with 17 Comments

Joanna Young recently noticed I found my rhythm for blog posting (April and May were pretty tough) and asked if I’d share the secret…

I’ve longed coached folks with the mantra, "An Hour and Outta There" when it comes to their business blog.  We’ve got businesses to run, right?

Running I became trapped in my own time frame.  I’d sit down to write a blog post (and we all want home runs, right) and watch the clock tick away while thinking. Well, while working with the folks at Runners Lounge, the metaphors on blogging and running we’re flying back and forth and it struck me…Warm Up First.

So, before I even think about my own post, I invest 15-20 minutes responding to comments on my blog and commenting on other sites. I find this gets me in a blogging rhythm. While commenting – a post formulates that I can bang out in another 20-30 minutes.

At some point in the day, I might throw out another post or two – but another key is drafting posts. When I have a 10-15 minute window, I’ll throw some notes in a draft and finish those thoughts up during an evening or weekend. When a post is complete, I schedule it for a future release. Thus, 2-3 posts per day sometimes.

This morning, I started commenting at 4:45am. It’s 5:45 and I’m about to wrap it up.

Photo on Flickr by Malingering

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  • http://brandandmarket.blogspot.com Chris Brown

    I’ve got to get up early and do it that way too. By 5 pm, all the deadlines are closing in and my creativity takes a flying leap out the window.
    Much easier to do it in the morning for an hour or so and then on to the rest of the day. Glad to hear I’m not the only one facing this blogging truth…
    Chris

  • http://kohalacoastweb.blogspot.com/ Pua

    how comforting to hear that even the professional bloggers have problems with making the most out of their time for writing blog posts and comments. the draft thing sounds like a good idea. i always want to get things done immediately and that takes me too long with writing good SEO copy for my post. will try this approach. aloha, pua

  • http://www.giftideahelp.com/ Elizabeth Anderson

    Sometimes during the day I think about the post I am going to write for my blog. Recently (yesterday), I wrote 3 posts and marked that they be published on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I responded to posts from Liz Strauss at http://www.successful-blog.com. I decided not to check flickr.com for photos. All together between writing a post, finding a photo and responding to other blogs that I am receiving information on takes about 1 hour. It may even run over. But I try to keep the 1 hour rule.

  • http://www.converstations.com Mike Sansone

    >Hi Chris – I’ve found blogging at breakfast is best for me too, though I know others who do most of it as a winding down to their day. As long as we can block out an hour, we’ll maintain a good pace. Same thing with email and other “to-do’s”, yes?
    >Aloha, Pua – I’ve found drafting takes some of the ‘work’ out of the equation. Capturing the idea within a blog post helps when I go back and craft it later. Hope it works fantastic for you:-)
    >Hi Elizabeth – Keep up the great work. Like any other exercise, blogging muscles need some discipline, care and repetition – otherwise we’ll pull a muscle, hmm?:-)

  • http://www.creatingcontent.blogspot.com Scott Townsend

    This is a great idea. Warming up before posting makes all kinds of sense. I can see how it would help get over writer’s block.

  • http://www.forwardsteps.com.au Thea Westra

    I like the coaching of “An Hour and Outta There”. Mine is 90 mins and outa there! I have several blogs that I contribute to daily.
    When I’m really energized and have a large chunk of time, I may even prepare a full week of blogging posts at each one of my blogs. In that instance my day looks more like “6 hours and outa there”! :)
    Then I’m free the rest of the week to add value to my website, create my monthly ezine for the 1st of next month, or top up in Aweber with my daily Forward Steps mailings for subscribers.
    I too will insert items in draft postings for all of the above mentioned. As I come across items of interest I’ll either drop it into a draft immediately or bookmark it in my Blog Resources folder for later reference.
    Every few months I’ll declare a week or two of a blogging “holiday” for myself so that I can get on with catching up on other projects.
    I also agree that early in the day is best. Choose a time before anyone rises, when the day is very still. It’s a very productive time of the day.
    Namaste, Thea

  • http://www.allbusiness.com/blog/CustomerServiceExperience/10783 Glenn (Customer Service Experience) Ross

    In addition to the above suggestions, I also think through a post while I’m working out. Swimming laps go a lot faster if I’m figuring out the themes and key points. Like you I also warm up by commenting.
    Regards,
    Glenn

  • http://www.coachingwizardry.com Joanna Young

    Hi Mike, thanks for sharing the secret! The comments suggestion is a great idea as a warm up for blog writing. I guess building that into the routine also helps in terms of setting time aside to read and write comments which is such a valuable part of the whole blogging enterprise. I’ve certainly made a lot of great connections (and friendships!) through the comments pages on my own and other people’s blogs.
    Joanna

  • http://homewithheather.com Heather

    This is my first visit, great info – I’ve added you to my reader!
    I find that I spend a lot of time thinking, writing and rewriting. Your suggestion of the warm-up makes sense. Will give it a try in the morning.
    I love that time of day from 5 AM to 7. Some of the most productive hours. That’s when I’m fresh and ready to start.

  • http://www.converstations.com Mike Sansone

    >Hi Scott. Glad to assist. Don’t pull any blogging muscles:-)
    >Hi Thea – Thanks for adding to the conversation. Dig the ‘holiday’ idea (so I took one this weekend:-)) Great tips, coach!
    >Hey Glenn – More great tips! Can be done with running too…or walking the dog (maybe I should take Lucy out before I post:-)
    >Hiya Joanna – Thanks for prompting the post. As you’ve seen, blogging does take a discipline – and the rewards are fantastic, yes?
    >Welcome Heather! – Of course, there are plenty of other benefits from the warmup process…most importantly, building on conversations elsewhere. That’s how you get noticed. Much like you’ve done here. Glad to meet you and your blog:-)

  • http://runnerslounge.com Tom

    Nothing could be more true than getting blogging muscles and juices flowing than by reading and drafting posts.
    Thanks for referencing our running and blog training at our site.
    Tom

  • Confident Writing

    Make comments part of your writing routine

    Mike Sansone at Converstations (a resource-rich blog if ever there was one) has been sharing the secret of getting back into his blogging rhythm: go for a warm up first. The technique he’s been using is to spend the first

  • http://www.workingblogger.com/2007/fight-bloggers-block-with-the-bloggers-warm-up/ Working Blogger

    Fight Bloggers Block with The Bloggers Warm Up

    Mike Sansone over at ConverStations has a post about his blogging schedule, and I really like his idea of doing a bloggers warm-up first.
    Before he begins writing, he has a commenting warm-up routine:
    before I even think ab…

  • http://www.optiniche.com/blog/ Teli Adlam

    Love the idea of warming up with comments on other blogs. I’m sure that a lot of bloggers probably do this without even realizing it — I know I’ve personally felt more inclined to blog after responding to comments or even posting in a forum.
    Sometimes my comments become a blog entry, especially if I see that it’s becoming very long. What I end up doing is cutting it from the comment text box, opening my blog editor and pasting it. Then I polish it up and respond as a trackback – two birds, one stone. :)
    Thanks for getting this idea out there.
    ~ Teli

  • http://www.cre8buzz.com Antman

    Now that is some advice I can use! Love the suggestion. There is clearly a correlation between consistency of posting and viewers. Thanks for the suggestion, consider it adopted.

  • BlogWorks

    Road Work

    By Charlie Kondek
    Mike Sansone over at ConverStations has an interesting post up about finding, and planning, the time to blog.
    He compares blog…

  • Pingback: In Anticpation of Catch-up | ConverStations

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