If there’s anything I constantly have trouble with, I am unable to properly manage my time. No wonder time has been managing me more times than I would care to admit. But that’s not to say I am unproductive. I am productive, but I’m not as productive as I hope to be.
To me, productive means being able to write 5 – 6 posts on a day I’m off my 9-to-5 and 2 – 3 articles after work. Pretty unattainable by most standards, but that’s how I keep myself focused on getting things done: set high enough standards and see how things pan out.
Image credit: Stuart Miles | FreeDigitalPhotos.net
On a normal day when the standard is set at 5 – 6 posts, I usually get 3 – 4 done. Not bad, if you ask me. And then after work, I get about 1.5 posts written on average. (We’re talking about 500-word articles, just so you get the picture.)
Recommended reading: 4 Things to Keep in Mind to Become More Productive as a Freelancer
Oh, if you’re new here and wondering why I need to write that much number of articles, I’m a freelance web writer and I do content marketing for small to mid-sized businesses.
And then, of course, there are days when I just laze around and spend time with the kids. If you’re a parent like me, some things you just can’t take for granted.
I was reading through Zac Johnson’s PDF file about blogging and affiliate marketing (the one you get for subscribing to his mailing list) when my attention strayed to an article written by one of the BloggingTips.com team member. (I have this feeling that I probably am already developing an attention span syndrome, if that even exists.) I pretty much liked what he wrote and decided to check out his website.
Right there sitting on his site’s home page, written about two weeks earlier, is an article that hit home like a sucker punch: Are You Writing for Everyone But Yourself?
Indeed, I was writing for everyone else but myself. The last time I hit “Publish” in my own dashboard was exactly two weeks ago, and the article wasn’t even written by me. It was actually a guest post.
Recommended reading: Why Self-Doubt Is Bound to Take You Nowhere
As a freelance writer, my blog serves as my online portfolio. I may not have snagged paid contracts through my blog yet. Still, it serves its purpose. If people need proof that I do write, I can just send them my URL, right?
Well, some things got to change. If I can manage to write 1.5 posts after work, I should be able to manage a regular post day for this blog, too, just like before when I was short on resources and I only got to write for this blog on weekends.
Writing for this blog, my portfolio, my domicile, my own platform, should become a focus of mine as well, not just writing for everyone else.
Talking point
I recognize that if there’s anything that’s always running short nowadays, it’s time. That being said, how do you manage to keep fresh articles posted on your blog? Do you have a regular post day? Let’s talk in the comments section.
Latest posts by Maricel Rivera (see all)
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Well said.. I used to wake up at 4am just to have time to write, not necessarily for writing gigs. It was just to suffice my hunger to write..
But for the last few weeks, I fell off from that routine because of overwhelming workloads in my day time job. Now, I am trying to get back to that routine.
Cyra, thanks for dropping by, girl. Glad to hear from you.
Same here. Workload really can be a hindrance to writing. 😀 But as they say, if you really want to do something, you have to make time for it.
Maricel recently posted…How Much Is Your Time Worth?