Being a Better Blogger: One Thing at a Time
Last week, we talked about being a better blogger through focus. This week, let’s talk about something that I’m struggling with even as I type: doing one thing at a time.
It’s no surprise that as I was looking for an image to go with this post, the word “multitasking” seemed synonymous with “stress.”
There’s a reason for that, and if I sit down for more than two minutes at a time, it’s clear why: I can’t get anything done when I’m multitasking!
Yeah, yeah, I know. Juggling is part of my vocation and part of who we are as a people. What I’m talking about here is a certain kind of multitasking, the kind that forgets my core purpose and reason.
I posit, though, that in our blogging, we need to concentrate on one thing at a time. You can drive yourself batty trying to build a perfect and complete blog all in one hour, one day, or one week.
Here are some of the “one things” I’ve considered over time on my blog:
– quality of writing
– guest posts
– linking to others
– design
– ease of use
– interacting with readers
Is it more important to do them all, or to do them well? It is a quality vs. quantity question, and both answers are correct.
For your sanity, I suggest you focus on one thing at a time. You’ll get to a point in your blogging, down the road, where you’ll be doing everything at the same time and you’ll be doing them well.
What’s your first goal? Great. Do that. Do it well.
When you’ve done it, ask yourself what’s next. Do that, and do it well.
Repeat. You may find that you are going back to revisit earlier goals…and that would make you normal.
Pretty soon, the package comes together. It may take hours, or days, or weeks, or months, or, for some of us, years. With time, it gets easier to juggle more than one task in the blogosphere. At the beginning, do one thing at a time.
As you get more comfortable with blogging, you’ll find yourself revisiting things. Just like the laundry, some of these things are never really done. For example, your design might need some attention, and you work on that this week. Then you move on to focus on some categories and then on to another goal. In a few months, you find yourself revisiting your design.
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Sarah Reinhard is the author of Welcome Baby Jesus: Advent and Christmas Reflections for Families. You’ll find more of Sarah at her blog, SnoringScholar.com. You can also connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.
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When I set up Rocket Science for the Rest of Us (http://fabianspace101.blogspot.com), it was really with one purpose: to learn more about the space industry to support Rob. So I took a few short cuts, like finding a nice template to download. I threw up a quick links page with sites I'd be visiting anyway and some Rob recommended.
Now, the focus is fun informational articles, which is kind of a challenge because there's been a lot happening in space, so balancing current events with deeper issues is being a challenge. Each blog is taking me a couple of hours to research. However, I'm learning, which was my mission.
Sometimes I think that I embarked in something that is just not meant for me. The only thing that I can cope with is the quality of writing. I don't even really understand how to accomplish any of the others, because I'm terrible with computers. I've tried and so far I've only made a mess, delated, sweat, got frustrated!
Antonella, I really enjoy your writing. I think strong writing a great place to start! As the newness of using the blogging software wears off, it will be easier to add some more computer skills, one at a time. Don't panic right now. You've already got the attention of some top-notch bloggers — did you see that Julie at Happy Catholic linked to your talk for C&L — that's a good sign. She knows good writing when she sees it. Keep up a steady stream of quality posts, and then as time allows, you can build on that foundation.
Good question, Sarah. (scratching head in thought)
I'm super-new to the personal blog thing, so my focus is to just write about stuff that makes me think.
I figure readers will start trickling in and showing up and commenting in time (I hope), but the main thing to focus on, for me, as a newbie blogger is to be enjoy what I write, have fun with it, and maybe the joy of it all will be infectious.
Now, how do you write that down on a to-do list? 😉
Karina, your new blog is on my "to-read" list, and Antonella, your blog is, too! I have to say, without apologies, that I'm in the busiest season of my life so far (little kids, writing work, chaos) and reading (sadly, including blogs) has had to suffer.
That said, it sounds to me like you are all on the right track. For me, at the root of it all, there's a need to be intentional. And I guess that's the theme of all my writing about blogging. It's okay to be accidental (even necessary!), but the more intentional I can be, the better I think I do with blogging (and with, well, everything).