Do you ever have so many thoughts going on in your head that you don’t know where to begin? Do you have a blog and wonder how to create content with those thoughts?
I’m talking mental diarrhea folks, no joke! My brain is bursting with so much STUFF! Creative blog posts and ideas, brand/company partnership and pitch ideas, conference sponsorship ideas, conference planning ideas, conference attendance ideas, vlogging, monetizing, Â – you name it, I’m thinking about it! Â I seem to be in a constant brainstorming mode and creating content from it all seems like a daunting task. I love the challenge but I need to harness these thoughts and ideas ASAP! I know that I will turn them into something magical.
I know, I know, there’s probably an ‘app for that’ right?! I use Evernote, Awesome Note, Dragon Dictation, but a lot of the time I still have to get the info INTO the app itself! I wish there was an app that would sit me down and make me take the time to release the gazillion thoughts and processes that have overtaken my head-space lately.
Maybe I just need to schedule that much needed and elusive ‘ME time’ to organize my brain? Hmmm, how much time will I need? In a fantasy world, probably a minimum of 8-10 hours, in reality, 2-3 hours might allow for a nice head-start.
Ok, so here’s what I’m going to do:
- Breathe and relax – It’s all good, everything in its time as they say!
- Vomit on the page! haha I’m all about the visual imagery eh? What do I mean? Old school pen and paper folks! I will put everything I can on a traditional to-do list. I know I have all of these wonderful apps and tools that can do that for me thanks to my smartphone BUT I also have access to all of my social media and email etc on that same phone – gotta lose the distractions!
- Get some much needed alone time! Tell my wonderful fiance I need a 3 hour window of time to get caught up OFFSITE without him or the children – He wouldn’t be my fiance if he wasn’t supportive, right? (wink, wink)
- Prioritize – What tasks do I absolutely have to complete first, in order of importance? Finish one task to completion in 15 minute intervals, before moving on to the next.
- Shut off the social media and turn on the music! No Facebook, No Twitter, No Pinterest , No Instagram, NADA. Â I work best with tunes playing in the background, that’s how I knock off household chores and it works just fine!
My goal is to take a good chunk out of that list and start on my next goal of blog planning and organization with the help of some amazing blog exercises I’ve been following. Wish me luck!
What are your time management tips? How do you harness your creativity? Share your tips!
I admire all the bloggers out there and I joined many, I like reading, but myself I could never be able to have a blog, I have lots of stuff in my head but when it comes time to sit down and write I totally suck..lol
I could never be a blogger! I really admire you for being able to do it!
haha I know exactly how you feel! I feel like that every day and yet so much stuff has to come before all of that unfortunately. I need to find more time to get that stuff on my blog, but might be easier once both of the kids are in school this year 😉
I feel like this daily! Which is probably why I have problems falling asleep at night because my brain won’t turn off! I use Evernote too but somehow I get lazy transferring the notes there onto my blog. HA!
I’m a good list maker. Bad with follow through apparently. Or lazy blogger?
That is a hard one. I definitely try to jot down a few points because I usually can get going once I’ve started. But, sometimes the only thing that will work for me is a walk or something that clears my mind a bit.
Fellow pegger here! Found ya on the new fb group for savvy moms! As a new-ish blogger this is great post to read. Still on a learning curve but loving it…great tips!
.:Marta:.
OMG another Pegger! WOOHOO! So glad to meet u! we should meet up for a bloggin session 😉
I don’t know how to do it all. I am writing books but still haven’t made enough money to pay for the cost of making and promoting the first three. I have three kids, a husband a cat and a dog. I have also recently took on two children to watch during the day to pay for the illustrations for my third kids book. I can’t do it all. By the time night falls I am so exhausted I don’t even have time to write or read anymore. I need some serious help. And on top of that of course my husband needs a piece of me too. If you have any bright ideas on how to make this writing career continue with all these extra duties please let me know. I’m pooped and not writing nearly enough. I also have a million great ideas but have no time what so ever to get any of them started.
Brilliant advice!
This is also not much different from professional writers. We research and gather information, write some of it in our heads, then do what I call a “brain dump” or “download,” getting it all out on paper as fast as our fingers will let us – no stopping, no distractions, just vomiting, as you so eloquently described it.
Then comes the hard part. The magic is not in getting it all out of your head. The magic is in the editing. The rewriting. The cleanup. The examination of the content from a perspective outside of your head, from the reader’s perspective. That’s when the real wizardy happens.
I love this. The first step is get it out of the head. Good for you!
PS: I tried multiple times to post this comment. Whatever Plugin you are using to manage comments or the Theme is broken and not allowing me to publish. It recognizes that I’m logged into WordPress.com but won’t allow the comment to work, saying I have to submit my name and email address. I try to log out or change and nothing is happening. I’ll keep trying. I finally tried logging out of WordPress.com and the email/name form appeared.
First and foremost: OMG!!! THE Lorelle commented on MY post!!! Aaaaaggggh!!! Ok, I’m ok now – had to get that out! 😉 Thanks so much for commenting, I’m honoured and grateful for your insight, glad you enjoyed it! I’m making it a goal of mine to continue on with the amazing exercises you post. As for the actual act of commenting, I have no idea what happened there as I don’t have any extra plugins or anything other than JetPack, so I will continue to investigate. Thanks for the heads up! Until next time, let the magic continue…
So happy that I am not alone. The sad part is my ideas most always never get written because sponsored posts take the front seat. I use #2 a lot huge help for me.
I use an editorial calendar to keep track of everything I have to do & all my thoughts for future posts. It helps keep me on track.
Awesome – what type of editorial calendar? A plugin or just paper copy?
I think it is important to schedule out your day with everything you have to do – and make sure you have scheduled your “thinking time” – make it a priority. That can be challenging I know, but it can help 🙂
Its really hard as a blogger to collectively organize our thoughts. But I agree that prioritizing is key.
I have the same issue. I am currently in the same process of finding time to get the “stuff” in my head out. LOL