In this post I want to talk about Time Management and Bloggers.  I’ve been a blogger for a long time now and there have been times in the past when blogging and running a business have totally consumed my life. If you aren’t careful, you can spend more time staring at the computer than spending your time with your family.

…Not always a bad thing ha!

I have recently started blogging again and I  have made a packed with my good self, that I will not concentrate on my blog or business for more than 2 hours a day.

(Unless my family have other commitments anyways, in which case I have a free pass!)

Hoorah!

You might be thinking…

…2 hours!  What the heck can you get done in 2 hours?

But honestly you’ll be surprised.   The trick is to be prepared.  You will need to spend 5 minutes, (preferably the day before) outlining what tasks you’ll want to concentrate on.  To do this I use my universe approach.  Something I have been doing for about 7 years.  Here’s what to do…

Take a piece of paper or a notebook and draw a line down the middle.  In the right hand column, write out your complete to do list. At the top of the column write ‘Universe To Do’.  Then on the left hand side, write the words ‘My To Do’s’ or your name.

Under your column write 3 things that you are going to realistically achieve that day.  They are normally things a bit bigger than replying to an email or making a phone call and they will be tasks that you would feel like you had really accomplished if you could them off your list.

Completing a do list (even of just 3 things) feels very satisfying.  Sometimes you will finish your ‘to do’s’ quickly and will then have time to do the tasks on your universe list, and other times, as if by magic the Universe will complete the tasks for you.

It all comes down to intention but you will be surprised about how things happen.  I’ve had a neighbour cut my grass or a member of my team complete something without me even asking them to do anything!

To make sure you don’t go over your 2 hours.  I like to use a free service called Toggl.  There are lots of different time management apps. But I particularly like Toggl because you can track time on multiple devices and mobile apps.  So if you are on the go, or at different locations you can still log all your time  You can also save your time  by project, client and task, which is really great if you want to bill your time or you just want to know how much time you spend doing different activities.

Throughout the week you’ll be amazed at how much you can get done in just 2 hours a day.  My to do list this week looked something like this:

Mon – Write Blog Post, Create Image, Share Blog Post

Tues – Re-connect with 10 bloggers, read 3 blog posts, respond to blog comments

Wed – Write newsletter, engage in community, mind map community image ideas

Thurs – Watch Webinar, mind map possible course content, mind map blog post idea

Fri – Review affiliate links, review business finances, reply to business emails

Sat – Read 3 blogs, engage in community, tweet and connect with new followers,

Sun – Send out newsletter, engage with 10 bloggers, draft new blog post.

Time Management and Blogging

Sometimes you’ll overestimate or  underestimate how long something is going to take and if that happens it’s OK.  All you need to do is rewrite your to do list and add in the things you want to concentrate on again.  I rewrite my lists every day.  It might seem like a lot to do, but it actually helps to concentrate your mind and also allows you to add in any new tasks that come to light, perhaps after a call you had an email you received or you’ve had another brilliant idea.

I’m going to keep persevering with the 2 hour approach.  In a years time, I would love to share some great successes and achievements I’ve had by doing this and maybe even make it a course!

If you’ve enjoyed this post you might enjoy a similar post where I explain how to write a blog post in 25 minutes, this blog post was technically 28minutes and 56seconds but who’s counting?

Oh wait I am!…

I hope you enjoyed this post about time management and bloggers.  Please tell us below how you manage your time and how often you spend on your business, please also share with your friends and followers if you have enjoyed this post.