Getting Back on Track with Daily Blogging

I usually look at my blogging as something that can’t be cut. I mean, I can post a picture of my baby, or a daybook, or a quote. There’s no reason to cut and run and let it gather dust.

Except…

Except that sometimes, life gets in the way.

Because of that, I’ve spent the last few weeks getting out of the habit of daily blogging. I had all this other stuff that had to be done, and the blog had to wait.

Now, I find myself facing something that’s as hard for me as exercise: discipline.

Writing daily isn’t just an inspiration, at least for me. It’s not just something theoretical: it’s work. As work, it requires discipline.

Here are five tips I use when I’m in this scenario, trying to get back in the swing of things:

1. Schedule posts.
Scheduling helps me distance myself a bit and gives me a cushion. It also helps me work a day ahead. (Try as I might, I can’t usually work more than one day out. I just get overwhelmed and I lose all my steam.)

2. Keep it under 500.
It’s not the long post that takes a lot of time, is it? It’s the short post. The 500 mark is one that I stole from someone else when I did a guest blogging gig. I noticed, after that, that 500 seems to be a golden point in my own attention span. It’s not set in stone, but it’s a benchmark. If what I have to say is important, it’s worth editing. If it’s not important, it’s probably going to be even better shorter.

3. A little every day.
I tend to prefer a binge method when it comes to crossing things off lists. I want it all done NOW. But that makes the whole nature of regular blogging really overwhelming. So I do a little bit (usually one post) every day. That’s all.

4. Sometimes a schedule, sometimes not.
Nothing’s set in stone. This is helpful…and not so helpful. On the one hand, it appeals to the PsychoManager in me to have a pattern for each day of the week. On the other hand, I find myself a little annoyed when I start to notice this on other blogs. When it’s helpful, I have a schedule. When it’s not, I don’t. And that is the most helpful thing of all.

5. Have fun, but don’t let fun run me.
Blogging is my fun writing. It’s my warm-up. It’s a passion of mine. (And apparently something I can ramble on about once a week indefinitely!) When it’s not fun, then, it’s tempting to want to walk away. It is then that I have to remind myself of the discipline part of the equation. It is then that I have to buckle down and remember that not only is there no such thing as writer’s block, but this is work that must be done.

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Sarah Reinhard, author of Welcome Baby Jesus: Advent & Christmas Reflections for Families, is a Catholic wife, mom, blogger, reader, and farm girl who can be found at SnoringScholar.com. You can also connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.