Time management is perhaps one top five discussed topics for bloggers and content creators online. In my time scanning the forums and other blogs, being able to focus and get work done on a schedule appears to be an essential element of success. It makes sense, right? If you can't produce content then you can't earn!
Everyone has a different opinion on how you remedy the scrouge of procrastination. Some people jot down notes and outline articles, some people set daily goals of articles "pumped" out, and some use timers to track their time. All well and good, but somehow this all turns me off.
I like to have room to breathe and space to think. Churning out articles like it is a marathon reminds me of working on the factory line. I genuinely enjoy writing and expressing myself in addition to earning money. In fact, I find that some of my worst articles are down out of a sense of obligation to some self-imposed time constraint. Most of us online content creators are not yet able to support ourselves on the money we earn. For many, it is a profitable hobby, but not a job replacement. Most of us actually GO to work and have to work the conveyor belt. Why put yourself through this once you get home and are finally free? Self imposed misery, I don't think so! Not for me.
I think an important caveat to this approach is if you are writing for a flat fee, not residual income potential. In this case, churning out articles as fast as yout can (and get away with it) may be your best option. I am not opposed writing articles for a flat rate, indeed I would like to try out some good sites for this, but I am against sapping your creative juices by giving yourself insane deadlines and unrealistic productivity goals. At least for me, writing articles and building websites is FUN as well as profitable. Consider it a profitable diversion. I just don't want to ruin a good thing by turning it into "work".
What do I do?
So you might be asking, okay, so how do you keep yourself organized? Well, this is how I do it. I give myself a "cycle". Usually it is about three days. I then give myself a lengthy list of things I want to accomplish creatively. You do need SOME structure after all. Then I go about accomplishing these tasks however I feel within the given three day time period. I might start an article and work on the outline, then feel my energy sapping, take a break, then move over to building a Squidoo lens or working on creating some backlinks. Not everything has to be accomplished in a linear fashion when you are working for yourself. That is part of the joy of being self employed freelancing! Do it on your own terms. That doesn't mean you take it as an excuse to slack off, but don't turn a good thing into a mindless activity without any creativity or excitement.
Especially if you are otherwise gainfully employed, there is no rush create content and replace an income. be CONSISTENT, but do not overburden yourself. Burning out is potentially more destructive to your long term profits than you think. Sure, you can write 15 articles today and post them on InfoBarrel but you may actually make yourself detest the keyboard and the thought of writing so much that you are forced to take a few days off just to re-charge. If that works for you, then great. But I would venture to guess that taking it slow and STEADY wins the race in terms of quality and even long term quantity.
What do you think? How do you manage your time?
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