Bring Rain to Your Dried up Blog
Does writing for your blog give you dry, parched feeling in your mouth? When you think of a headline, does your brain return, “I’ll do it later”?
There are some things you can do mentally and physically to get yourself “back in the game” as it were. Unfortunately no matter what you do, you can’t substitute for creativity. Get some of that, if you can.
Don’t Procrastinate
Sound easy? Well, it’s not and never will be. Everyone one of us has put something off one time or another and will undoubtedly do it again. It’s not your fault- it’s human nature. Ok- it is your fault, but you can deal with it.
Set Goals
Something else you’d rather be doing? Make that your inspiration to get things done. A lot of people like to play video games or do something else while at their computer, or even (god forbid) go outside. If you’re looking forward to something, just forcing yourself to start writing a post is a sure fire way to get things done.
Once you’ve committed to writing of said post, the rest will fall in place from there. As you’re writing, you’ll always have he reward in the back of your head. This might cause you to rush, but you’ll just have to spend more time fixing things later.
New Design?
Some people like to release new designs like crazy (like me). In some cases it’s only because you’re unhappy with the previous one. You can use a new design to refresh yourself and as an encouragement to write more.
If you pay a guy to do it for you, that’s all the more reason to get actively producing content. You’ll have a few motivations to get things done, including the gap in your wallet.
The recent re-redesign of this site in particular helped me get back into writing, after a very slow November. I thought the first new design was going to do that, but it actually did the opposite, so back to the drawing board I went until I was happy.
You Could Always Just Do it
Nike style: just do it. There’s something to be said for a feeling of accomplishment. But when you’re putting things off, think about it: are you serious or not about your blog? You won’t last very long if you don’t enjoy the writing part. If you’ve been established for more than a few days, you probably do like to write. In that case, why don’t you do it then?
Putting off something you like to do for something you also like to do doesn’t make sense. Maybe one option sounds less like work, but a little discipline goes a long way.
Maybe if you keep putting it off, you’ll start to miss the whole process and interaction and that will be your motivation. Unfortunately for the uninspired writer, there is no set path leading back to victory, but if you put you mind to it (like seriously, actually do it) then you might surprise yourself how much you like to do it again.
Leave a comment
Henry
December 3rd, 2007 at 2:10 PM
*sigh* i suffer form the 1 - last minute syndrome, 2 - put it of syndrome.
What you just said is a perfect example of me! I’m not sure what to write about though, nothing new has happened recently so i can’t write about anything
well, i don’t know, there might be some inspiration up there somewhere.
Mike
December 3rd, 2007 at 8:18 PM
Hey,
I am going to be relaunching my blog in the next few days with a redesign and I hope to take what you said to heart. I am one of the biggest procrastinators in the world I think! I can do anything to not do what I should be doing. Oh look someone just sent me a message on gtalk… and msn… maybe I will start closing these messengers and put more focus on what I am doing.
Hopefully I will have a blog up with a new design soon!
Jalaj
December 4th, 2007 at 2:50 AM
I plan to relaunch my blog on its anniversary with no redesign but with new enthusiasm.
Adam M
December 4th, 2007 at 3:43 PM
I procrastinate a lot (like right now when I’m supposed to be studying). I find that waking up half an hour earlier and writing is a great way to force yourself to write articles. Thats when I get most of my writing done anyways.
If you’re getting paid to write you also find out that you procrastinate less…Maybe if you think of your own articles as a form of money (if you have good articles you’ll make more from advertisements), you’ll be less likely to procrastinate.
Ryan
December 4th, 2007 at 4:21 PM
That is an interesting take, Adam. But you also need to remember that when you start writing for the money your writing gets sloppier because you can be more concerned with quantity over quality.
It happened to me when I was a part time reporter, I would often find myself considering doing stories on the most boring and non-newsworthy things just to squeeze another job into my next paycheck. Although I’m sure that’s not really what you meant, I thought I’d add my two cents.
Jenny Wilde
December 5th, 2007 at 8:11 AM
Thanks for the tips. It can be hard to get motivated with blogging, but you’ve just got to remember the great results you see from doing more quality blogging, and make sure you remember to go for quality not quantity. That’s my take on it anyway.
Jalaj
December 6th, 2007 at 9:41 AM
@Adam - Yes there should be some driving force, either interest or money or anything else.
D Web Design
December 10th, 2007 at 3:17 AM
Procrastination is one of the enemy of bloggers, have you people found other enemies in views?
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