Tag: advice

How To Keep A Blog Going

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A lot of people have spoken to me about how to sustain a blog. It can be easy to be enthusiastic for the first month or so and then let life take over. For me though, I wanted to make my blog an integral part of my life, so I had it in my mind that this was going to become embedded into my daily routine. Of course, life throws things at you from time to time, but if blogging is what you love, then time can be set aside easily.
I decided to share some ways that you can keep your blog going, even when you are rushed off your feet.

  1. Bitesize it.

    Sometimes I don’t have the time to sit down and write a blog post all at once. The way I deal with this is by doing it bit-by-bit. For example, when I wake up I often have an idea for an article and jot down the title and introduction. Then later on, when I have time for a break, I begin to write some content and look for relevant information. Producing bitesize segments of blog posts, I eventually have a publishable article by the end of the day.

  2. Have a back-up

    Because you can never tell when you are going to have an emergency to deal with, I find it useful to have a couple of evergreen articles up my sleeve ready to publish on a day when things go suddenly downhill. For example, when I am Ill, I can then publish pre-saved material which is about a subject that doesn’t depend on a particular season.

  3. Keep momentum

    Blogs grow because of consistency. There is no doubt that there will be times when ideas run dry and you may be tempted to not bother writing a new post for a day or two. The trouble is, when you start to lose momentum, you can become lazy and slow down your rate of blogging. Your blog readers are very loyal and come to expect consistency, so reducing the amount of articles you produce can result in less interest and make your blog less visible.
    There are many brilliant bloggers who produce lists if ideas for blog topics each month and they can be invaluable when it comes to sparking ideas. Producing a shorter article on a dry day can be one way to maintain interest and keep your momentum.

  4. Don’t get trapped in a niche.

    This is probably contrary to so many other blogs that you read but ultimately, if something outside of your usual niche takes your interest, then why not write about it? Now and again I drop in an article about something which is on my mind and I make no apologies for it. I respect bloggers who can divert from their niche now again and stick to things they are passionate about, rather than just try to fit a mould.

  5. Enjoy it

    You have to love what you do for it to be a beneficial process. If you find joy in blogging then go for it! Keep the pace and maintain the quality. If not, then perhaps the truth is that blogging isn’t for you. Either way, follow your heart.
    For more information on starting your own blog click https://jamieadstories.blog/2021/07/11/how-to-start-a-blog-easily/.

Working From Home – In The Mix

As Boris announces today that he wants everyone to return to their offices again to enable the economy to keep growing, it made me think more about this. I am lucky enough to do a mix of work, but the majority of it is not working from home. My dream is to eventually work mainly in writing jobs, but even then I hope to have a good balance of work in a workplace and at home.

There are so many advantages and disadvantages for working at home. I like the idea of finding a reasonable balance between the two. Here are the pros and cons of home working:

Advantages

1) No travel. Good for the environment and saves time being wasted. Why travel for meetings when you can still cover the material with online professional appointments?

2) No need to spend on snacking. All the food and supplies you need are already at home. This can be a downer too as you may be tempted to eat and drink more when working so close to a fully filled fridge.

3) You can take better control of your timetable, unless you are unlucky enough to have been given back-to-back zoom calls all day.

4) You are your own boss. Well, not literally, but at least nobody is actually breathing down your neck as you try to hit a deadline. At least if you need to buy some time you can say that the internet is down. Who will know?!

5) In theory you will get much more done. No distractions from chatty colleagues or noisy photocopiers can be used as excuses for a lack of productivity.

Disadvantages

1) Although you don’t use any fuel, you may find it harder to make a distinction between work and home. Travelling to work is often a good way to disconnect from your home life and give yourself the brain space needed for a day at work. I often unpick a day on my way home from work and usually by the time I reach my house I am ready to move on and chill.

2) Pets and family members can get in the way. At work you won‘t be dealing with fighting cats or intrusive dogs. Kids won’t be arguing over computer games in the background. Of course office hours are longer then school hours so there is bound to be an overlap.

3) I found that when I had a period of working from home I missed the social interaction of being around my colleagues who always give me a sounding board and regularly cheer me up with their humour. Let’s face it, nothing beats a good face to face gossip either.

4) You are using your own supplies. At least at work everything is there for you. Working from home leads to dealing with printers, restocking ink and regular trips to the post office. Although you can claim for these, they can take up a lot of valuable time.

5) You can get tempted to relax whilst at home. I know people who end up getting up later and staying in their jogging bottoms all day. Sitting around can lead to bad backs and putting weight on. That trip into the office can involve walking or cycling and getting your daily dose of fresh air and exercise.

So yes, I like working from home a lot but it comes with a down side. Personally I have a mix of both and like being able to have some days at home and others in a busy environment. Perhaps in future I will manage to make it a 50:50 split between them both.

For a related article about working from home click here.

If you enjoyed reading this post please comment below your thoughts about working from home. Also please consider following my blog. This will help me build a platform so that one day I can work on it from home more.

SEO For Dummies #2

Thanks for this valuable article about SEO. As a new blogger I am still learning and Pooja has some helpful hints in this. I think keywords are fascinating but difficult to get your head around.

Originally posted on Lifesfinewhine: SEO For Dummies I did a post about two weeks ago called SEO For Dummies and I thought it would be beneficial …

SEO For Dummies #2