Clever and Effective Tips on How to Work Smarter as a Blogger

Last updated on February 7th, 2017 at 12:21 pm

Whether you are blogging full time, or part time, there are some fundamental steps to best assure success in your career. Taking it seriously and treating it like a business is the first one.

Many people believe the harder you work, the more successful you will become. This isn’t necessarily true. While hard work definitely pays off, working smarter has proven to play a large role in reducing the need for having to work harder.

Keep in mind, I said hard-er. I am not going to waste anyone’s time by declaring we don’t have to work hard, because we do. That would just be silly to assume success comes to us. What I mean by working smarter to organize, plan, and invest in ourselves, as well as our careers.

So, let’s take a look at what we can do to blog smarter.

The Importance of Organizing Your Workspace

Have you ever tried to do a project at home, but couldn’t remember where you put a certain tool? Or have you tried to make dinner, but realized half way through that you don’t have all the ingredients? Sure, you could eventually get the task done, but how much time did you waste when you had to stop midway to search for the hammer, or the pasta?

If you have all the tools, as well as the directions…out and organized, the project will get done much quicker, and probably more efficiently. Just as the recipe, having the ingredients all ready to go with the recipe on hand, dinner preparation will go so much more smoothly…and might even taste better in the end.

The same can be said about our work environment. Organize your workspace, with your tools and equipment set up for convenience and efficiency. If you have to search for papers, a book, or telephone number, you are wasting valuable time that could be used to produce, rather than search.

Another area I like to organize is my actual plans for the day. I look to see what needs to be done, what should be done, and what can get started if there is time left. Next, I make a list of things in the order of importance on a ‘check-off’ list.

One important tip; make sure to place anything you dread doing at the very top of that list. Once you get it checked off, it frees your mind and leaves you with the rest of the day to accomplish the easier tasks.

The Option of Working Remotely

Telecommuting is a great option for some employees, and it’s increasing in popularity. Employees such as billers, bloggers, or transcriptionists are finding that working at home is much easier than it used to be, thanks to technology.

To effectively work at home, you need the proper tools and equipment, which is the investment that I briefly mentioned earlier. As technology evolves, so does our options for working at home. So, when we invest in equipment, such as computers, web conferencing software, tools, or Voice Over IP (VOIP), then it’s pretty important that it’s all protected, and not just with warranties.

Other forms of protecting our work and equipment include the following:

• Surge Protectors
• Generators
• Online Backup Programs

A portable generator will help maintain the ability to use our electronics such as computers and phones, if we were to lose power. I once lived in area that lost power all the time. There is nothing more frustrating than to lose a few hours of work time when all you can do is sit there. I also lived in an apartment building that was hit by lightning, and lost all my electronics as a result. So, you can imagine why I believe in protecting our assets when possible.

For your online projects and work, programs such as Carbonite can help back up all your work automatically. It’s not expensive, and well worth the peace of mind that comes with it.

Perseverance is the Cost – Success is the Payoff

The following quote inspires me to make goals, work towards those goals, and to make more goals once I achieve them.

“Have the end in mind and every day make sure your working towards it.”  -Ryan Allis

I want to leave you with a few words of encouragement, because as a freelance writer, I know firsthand how easy it is to slip into our comfortable surroundings and lose track of our goals, let alone the time of day. So, I print out my goals and post them in my direct view. That way I can clearly be reminded of these each day. If I have a certain timeline in mind, I also mark each day off on my calendar that brings me closer to reaching that goal.

I also set a reward for myself for each goal met. This helps me to have my ‘eye on the prize’, and encourage me to work harder, pushing forward to get that much closer to the success I want to achieve. Sound simple? Maybe not exactly simple, but easier with the steps taken above.

Your turn. What steps and tricks did you do to be efficient and effective, may it be as a blogger or  as a remote worker.