Working from home as a solopreneur is something that brings with it the luxury and freedom of
setting the schedule (and wearing the wardrobe!) of my choosing. There is also the isolation and void of having no one to bounce ideas off of and no one to be accountable to. I don't have a boss hanging over my shoulder expecting resutls by 5 pm. Of course, I have clients that expect results, but as long as they're delivered in a timely fashion, it doesn't really matter if I perform at 6 am or 6 pm or midnight, right? Wrong... if I want to have any kind of a lifestyle.
Last week I made the leap and "got" an accountability partner. My partner,Anne McAuley, is involved in the same field of expertise that I am and that's a boon as we know the obstacles faced in that career path and we can help each other brainstorm and our connections feed off of each other. We sent messages to each other of the items to which we wanted to be held accountable and when we got on the phone we hashed them out, set goals and planned for another talk. I think it's going to work!
Google, it sometimes seems, is the be all and
end all for business owners looking to be found on the Internet. While the
rules change, sometimes before you’ve even implemented them, there are ways to
remain relevant, be found and up your Google rankings when you write a blog
post.
Always write original content. Don’t be
redundant – even if you write and post on more than one website in the
same niche market. While you don’t have to recreate the wheel with your
posts, you do want to make certain the content has been rewritten even
though the ideas may be the same.
Do you read blog posts because you want to learn something from the blogger? Chances are, that is why you read. In a world crammed full of work, life, spending time with family and pets, giving your time to a blogger and her blog post is a gift. If you like to walk away from a blog post having learned something or if you write blog posts and want your readers to walk away having learned something, writing a great how-to article is the way to go.
There are days when I am faced with the blank page, the blank screen and words simply do not want
to come out. It doesn't matter though, as a full time writer I have no choice but to write whether the muse graces me with her presence or not. She is a fickle bitch at times, but I have learned to work around her moods and lack of showing up when I need her.
Knowing that you have to write, as I do for a living, means that I have trained my brain to be "on" whether I am really feeling it or not. On those days when my energy is flagging I make certain my inner editor is turned on full force because I will formulate run on sentences and even use words that might not make sense.
Today's blogging prompt is to research what blog tasks take the most energy and which ones drain you. This one took me a while to determine (lol maybe that's what my post should be about!)
When I stepped back and gave it some thought I believe what drains me when it comes to blogging is the "What Am I Going To Blog About Today" syndrome. Some days I am chock full of ideas; they overflow my thoughts and I can't usually write them quickly enough. Other days, finding an idea is a long, slow slog through quicksand.
I believe, though what drains me on those "what am I going to write about" days are outside forces. Outside stressors that pluck at me and tug me in directions from which I'd like to not travel. Taking advantage of my high energy days and formulating ways to get more of those high energy days has been a recent. on-going quest.
2013 is the Year of Me and of Conquering The Overwhelm. Onward and upward.
I'd love to hear... are there any blogging tasks that drain you? How can you make them less draining and more enjoyable?
NaBloPoMo prompt: Talk about a time when you used up an extraordinary amount of energy and were exhausted.
This question/prompt brought up a lot of "stuff." To say the past eight months have been trying and challenging and energy-draining would be an understatement. From my diagnosis on April 9 to rounds of surgeons, oncologists, treatment options, etc. etc. dealing with life following a cancer diagnosis and simply trying to get back to "normal" whatever that means right now drains me almost daily.
Has anyone ever asked you: How do you blog? That question was asked of me recently during a
blogging seminar I was leading, prompted me to go through my blogging process to try and break down the process. This is what I came up with:
Write the post aimed toward a “you.” What this means is when you write a blog post use the word you not “we,” “them” or “I”. Your blog posts should make the reader feel as though he is sitting in your kitchen, sipping coffee, and hearing the information you are imparting.
Okay, this is a long prompt for NaBloPoMo, "If you could be given the option to never sleep and also
never be tired, would you take it if it meant you'd also never dream again?"
If you'd asked me this question a few days ago I would have said, "Sure, I'm fine with not sleeping." I rarely dream -- I realize everyone dreams -- but I rarely, if ever remember them. However, the other night I had a night full of nightmares -- waking up screaming and shaking nightmares.
In the ongoing quest to complete NaBloPoMo, the question posed for today is: "What is your favorite song that gives you energy?" This question really stumped me because I honestly don't listen to music other than on rare occasions when I am in the car and there's nothing good on talk radio.
The last song I listened to in the car was "Some Nights" by Fun. It energizes me in the car but would distract me if I was working. For me it's background talk radio.
How about you? What do you write/work to?
Enjoy this great video and tell me... could you possibly work with this going on?!
Are you an early bird or a night owl? Do you thrive on jumping into tasks before the sun is even up
and the house is still quiet or are you better suited to working when the moon is high in the sky and the rest of the household and the world are asleep?
Knowing the type of individual you are will help you be more productive and energized. If you're a night owl, forcing yourself to get up and jump into a complex task first thing in the morning will likely lead to frustration and burn out. Once you understand your inner workings, it's easy to schedule your workday and plan your most energy draining activities for the part of the day when you're most alert and productive.
I know that I work best in the morning, after I've had a cup of coffee. As a matter of fact, as I jumped into NaBloPoMo on January 1, I spent quite a bit of time writing several posts and scheduling them ahead of time. My energy and enthusiasm were high and I didn't have any client work pressing so I took advantage of both of those benefits.
When do you perform at your peak? Have you structured your day to take advantage of that?
