I've been trying to get blogging back on my priority list but I seem to always run into problems with time. We're currently giving some PD sessions to teachers on blogging and I felt GUILTY for how long its been since I posted! I know it's important, I know it's great professional growth, I know it will make me a better leader but somehow it still gets put aside. Sound familiar?
So, iv'e taken it upon myself to do an inquiry into how others organise their time for blogging thinking that I might be suffering from a work flow problem. I've found a great blog post on advanced blogging from Sue Waters explaining how to structure the important elements of a blog post. I was happy to realise that I have been already doing what she recommended so I decided to delve deeper into the nature of the work flow itself. While her amazing graphic at the end of the post was inspiring, it didn't help me clarify exactly how I could save time and get to the nitty gritty of writing more consistently.
Looking deeper, I found this great site by Shamelle Perera that gives suggestions on how to use Evernote to organise the blogging process. Her clear instructions on how to label and use the folder structure have helped by organise all of the half written brainstorms I have on my computer! (Happens to you too, huh?!)
Click below to read more!
There were two excellent blogs, one from Chris Brogan about a Sample Blogging Workflow and one from Daniel Sharkov about Media Workflow, which gave very similar advice. Both reiterated how important it is to stay focused on your blog's purpose, create small tasks within the larger task of creating the blog, and to get inspired by reading and commenting on other blogs as a way to "spread the blogging love" around the internet. I especially liked the last part as a new blogger hoping to receive some love in return!
Finally, I thought about my recent foray into trying If This Than That (IFTTT) and thought it could be a way to make posting and tweeting simpler. According to Stan Smith from the blog Pushing Social, he states that IFTTT could be the best blogging tool ever! I decided to try the recipes for automatic post to Twitter and Linked In once I post to Blogger. After some initial tests, I'm still not sure if I've got all the recipes correct, but we'll have to wait and see how it goes! Fingers crossed that it works!
I am hoping that these new suggestions, strategies, and tools will take away some of the "housekeeping" time of blogging and free me up to get my burning ideas out there more consistently!
Looking deeper, I found this great site by Shamelle Perera that gives suggestions on how to use Evernote to organise the blogging process. Her clear instructions on how to label and use the folder structure have helped by organise all of the half written brainstorms I have on my computer! (Happens to you too, huh?!)
Click below to read more!
There were two excellent blogs, one from Chris Brogan about a Sample Blogging Workflow and one from Daniel Sharkov about Media Workflow, which gave very similar advice. Both reiterated how important it is to stay focused on your blog's purpose, create small tasks within the larger task of creating the blog, and to get inspired by reading and commenting on other blogs as a way to "spread the blogging love" around the internet. I especially liked the last part as a new blogger hoping to receive some love in return!
Finally, I thought about my recent foray into trying If This Than That (IFTTT) and thought it could be a way to make posting and tweeting simpler. According to Stan Smith from the blog Pushing Social, he states that IFTTT could be the best blogging tool ever! I decided to try the recipes for automatic post to Twitter and Linked In once I post to Blogger. After some initial tests, I'm still not sure if I've got all the recipes correct, but we'll have to wait and see how it goes! Fingers crossed that it works!
I am hoping that these new suggestions, strategies, and tools will take away some of the "housekeeping" time of blogging and free me up to get my burning ideas out there more consistently!
I'm still wondering about the end of the process; finding time for blog reading and commenting on other blogs? Do you have any suggestions for apps for making blogging and reading more streamlined? Have you reflected on your workflow and have tips to share?
Looking forward to seeing how others do it!
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2 comments:
Good to see you're back!
My suggestion is write regularly. Set aside a time say once a week and write a post. It doesn't need to be long and it doesn't need to be perfect. The regularity develops the habit :)
Thanks @whatedsaid! I've already got some things lined up for the next two weeks! I'm trying to keep ahead so I can keep the regularity! Thanks for all the help with the comments! :)
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