A lot of the blogs I read talk about productivity. I appreciate the necessity of a topic like this. We need to be more productive so we can 1) make money faster, 2) see other kinds of goals or results faster, and 3) move on to other things faster.
I’ve seen people mention a lot in their comments here that they’re amazed at how much I get done here on Blogging Bookshelf. The “secret” of my “amazing” productivity really just comes down to three things.
- I spend a LOT of time actually working on writing and promotion (many hours a day).
- I live and breathe this blog, so even when I’m not actually at my computer working on it, I am always thinking about it and constantly coming up with new ideas and improvements.
- I make success my only option.
I think the first two are fairly self-explanatory, but I want to spend the rest of this post talking about the third.
More specifically, I want to talk about how I blog with a gun to my head.
[First off, let me say that I do not mean that I literally blog with a gun to my head. Please, do not try that! This is only a figure of speech. Again, DO NOT TOUCH ANY GUNS!!!]
What I mean by this is that I have certain mechanisms in place that FORCE me to get things done or else I will suffer the undesirable consequences.
First I’m going to talk about some specific ways anyone can force themselves to be more productive, and then I’ll talk little bit more about my motivation for writing this blog.
Stick to a regular posting schedule… and make it known
We’ve all heard this before. Pretty much everyone who talks about blogging tips has talked about the importance of having a regular posting schedule. This means consistently posting on certain days.
For example, here at Blogging Bookshelf I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I feel like any more often than this
- stresses me out too much
- causes my content to suffer, and
- takes time away from blog-related things I need to do other than writing.
I don’t post less often than this because, well, if I can post thrice weekly, why not do it?
Now I don’t have any hard evidence from my stats that tell me that it’s better to post on a schedule. It’s just something I’ve always done. And there are enough people saying it that I trust it as gospel.
Oh, and I forgot the most important part. Don’t only make a schedule; tell your readers about it.
That’s the key ingredient. Accountability is absolutely essential! You really need to answer to someone for your actions, or else there is no penalty for breaking your rules.
I know that I have to post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I know that if I don’t, some readers probably won’t notice too much, but a lot of others will. To me, it is unacceptable to miss a day. That’s like a plane being delayed because the pilot didn’t feel like flying. Unacceptable.
It’s that desire to create the best reader experience that keeps me sticking to my schedule.
Ok… But why am I so driven to succeed with this blog, anyway? Keep reading, I’ll get there.
Create deadlines for yourself… and make them known
I did this on Wednesday last week in my post asking what products you wanted to see from Blogging Bookshelf. At the end of the post, I said, “Oh, and here’s what my next ebook is going to look like. It’s coming out on Friday.”
I hadn’t even started writing the ebook yet.
Wednesday came and went and I hadn’t started writing. Most of Thursday came and went. Still no writing. Finally at about 8 in the evening on Thursday night, I sat down and started to write. By 3 am I had finished my ebook and posted it.
Why didn’t I just spend a couple hours writing a post, call it good, and save the ebook for another day? Because I had already announced that it was going to come out on Friday! I couldn’t go back on my word!
You could do this with every post. At the end of every post, you could say something like, “Be sure to come back for my next article on Thursday. I’ll be talking about an incredible, unknown way to make money with your blog.”
That plants the seed in people’s minds.
Of course for this to work effectively, your future posts will have to be good enough to entice people to come back. That one line saying what your next post is could redeem that last crappy post of yours enough to be a reason for people to come back.
Not impressed yet? Keep reading!: My two types of motivation
Ok, NOW I’m ready to say why I’m so driven to succeed with this blog. It’s something I’ve talked about a little bit but not in as much detail as I’m going into now.
I am driven to succeed with this blog because I have no backup plan. I have to succeed in order to survive!
Let me back up a little bit. Let me talk about two kinds of motivation that are working for me here.
They are short term motivation and long term motivation, and they are both an essential part of blogging with a gun to your head.
For me, it’s my current financial situation that I’ve put myself in by choice (short term motivation) coupled with my fear/hatred of working for someone else (long term motivation).
I am an unemployed recent university graduate with no plans to get a job. I have a limited amount of savings that I am currently living on as I try to build this blog. I would someday like to have a family, and in order to support myself and my future family, I NEED this blog to succeed. That is my short term motivation.
That is the gun that is to my head.
You’ve heard the stories of people having superhuman strength and being able to lift school buses off of children? People can achieve crazy things when there is no other option!
I want to live an internet business lifestyle (long term motivation) not because I want to be able to blog from beaches in Thailand, but because I just absolutely hate working for other people. It makes me 100% miserable and cranky, and… I just can’t do it.
So those are actually two guns to my head that are forcing and driving me to work my butt off. They’re both essential in what I’ve been able to accomplish so far (which is still small compared to other people’s feats out there, but it’s a huge deal for me).
Pinpointing your own short term and long term motivation
Obviously, this kind of thing to an extreme degree isn’t for everyone. But I feel like these are principles that anyone can apply to their blogging to some extent. And I’m talking about all of what I talked about above, including sticking to a regular posting schedule, creating deadlines, and realizing what your motivations are.
And speaking of motivations… To help you find your short term and long term motivation, I’ve made this handy-dandy little flow chart/worksheet:
You might want to print it out and write on it.
Deadlines and Consequences
Ugh. While creating that graphic I came up with a couple other things I needed to talk about, so bear with me.
I think deadlines are a really important tool to get you to work harder, but they’re pretty ineffective unless you have some sort of negative consequences that come as a result of not meeting the deadline.
I think the consequences are probably going to be different for every person. A couple general ones I can think of are making a bet of some kind, and being publicly flogged if you announce to people what your plans are.
Got any others?
Final thoughts
This post ended up as something wildly different from what I originally thought it would be. It started out as a post on public accountability and then morphed into a lesson in motivation. I hope it wasn’t too scatterbrained or disorganized and that you followed the common thread throughout.
There’s a lot more that I could say on the subject, mainly because it’s something I’ve struggled with so much. But I’ll save that for another time.
Let me say that your motivation for blogging is EXTREMELY important. I honestly don’t think that just “making money” is deep enough of a motivating factor for most people. There has to be a deeper reason of WHY you want to make that money. Otherwise, it’ll be hard to spend all of the time and effort working on the blog. And does take a LOT of time and a LOT of effort.
So that brings me to the questions:
- Do YOU blog with a gun to your head? If so, how so?
- What are some consequences/penalties that you could impose on yourself for failing to meet deadlines?
- What are YOUR short-term and long-term motivators?
- Do you make yourself accountable to your blog readers?
- How do you force yourself to get things done?
And my next post? It’ll be about pretty much all of Google’s tools (20 or 30 of ‘em!) that bloggers should be making use of. Believe me, it will be EPIC.
Oh, and I want to send everyone a card for the holidays! So if you’d like a postcard from me, use the contact form and tell me what your address is! I don’t know if it’ll get to you in time for Christmas, but I’ll send them out sometime… soon… And don’t worry, your address will be kept 100% safe and private and I’ll never send you any advertisements or anything other than the occasional card.
{ 91 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t usually blog with a gun on my head. Two reasons:
I don’t have any guns around! ;)I write 2 weeks ahead of schedule.
I have tried writing posts before 1-2 days before publishing but with me and my laziness, it always failed.
So, now I have made a habit to write at least 2 weeks in advance. I also publish 3 times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Are you my lost brother or what? I am saying that because #1) We have same posting schedule.
and #2) I also followed almost same routine for my book(soon to be released for readers, but keep it a secret, do not talk about any book in at least 10 meter radius around Blogging With Success! :D ). I had to complete it soon because of exams, so I sat down on Saturday evening around 7:30 PM and finished at 3:10 AM. That was really a “writing with gun on the head” experience for me.
You have some nice tips about finding true inspiration. Good post. Stumbled and Retweeted it.
Ishan, I WISH I could post 2 weeks ahead of schedule! Well… I know that I obviously could if I really wanted to, but it’s something I haven’t done yet. I’m really bad with procrastinating and putting things off till the last minute. I’m also really bad at planning ahead!
You know, we just MIGHT be long lost brothers :) And don’t worry, I won’t talk about your ebook at all! I’m looking forward to it, though!
Ah yes, I think that exams are a pretty good gun to your head! That’s some great motivation for getting things done.
Thanks for stumbling and retweeting the post!!
I like to think of things as though, my parents are going to cancel our internet connection and i will be forced to use the slow internet at our school :D , which is why i need to get everything done now. (I know it will never happen) I find it a good way to keep me going though.
Forcing yourself to getting things done is easy. Disable your internet, open up ms word and the throw away your mouse. Then it becomes just a tiny bit harder to do anything else :D
Isn’t throwing mouse getting a bit too far?
Anyway, it wouldn’t work for me as I have a laptop and trackpad is always there. Anyway, why are your parents disconnecting internet?
I have been known to be quite an excessive internet user, i don’t turn on my computer without the intention of accessing the internet anymore.
My parents aren’t disconnecting me from the net, i just like it as a good excuse towards forcing my way to an end result by looking at it as one of the worst case scenarios.
I’m glad your parents don’t disconnect the Internet! I’m sure the thought crossed my parents’ mind when I was at home, but hey, I turned out to be a pretty normal human being… Uh… Right?
I think you’re also right about turning off the Internet and just grinding out stuff in Word. That’s a great way to get stuff done. And to get the most from it, I’d sat that it’d be good to say, “I have to write this post before I go to sleep” or “I’ve got to get this done first so I can work on my homework and not fail out of school” :)
Thanks for the comment and ideas, Peter!
Lol, most people would say it should be around the other way “I’ve got to get my homework done first so I don’t waste time blogging and fail out of school” :P
Yeah… They WOULD say that :D
Hi Tristan
You always come up with a surprise! Be it in the blog title, blog content or both :-) Today, I sat down and wrote out some goals for 2011. They are there in my work diary for me to keep reading over and I have started on a couple of them.
Also, I have the same motivation as you. No Plan B! Have to succeed at this as really too old to be starting out all over again lol My previous career as a nurse and midwife are now over and I wanted my own business. This is the dream and I will work till the success comes.
Patricia Perth Australia
Glad you liked the title, Patricia! Or at least found it surprising :)
I think writing out your goals for 2011 is a fantastic idea, and it’s something I really need to do soon.
Cheers to us for not having Plan B’s! I love how you said, “I will work till the success comes.” What a great way of looking at it! I’m confident that we’ll both see that success.
Thanks as always for the comment!
Tristan thanks to your honesty we got here another wonderful article (I am not surprised I am just happy you are able to deliver quality all the time:)
Definitely being in the situation as you are could motivate you to work hard and since you have no job you can fully focused on your blog.
This is for me the disadvantage, I usually can not spend more than 3 hours on my blog and you can imagine how hard is to create content, reply on all comments, comment on other blogs, be active on twitter, writing an eBook, developing the overall look of my blog coming up with new strategies… It is really hard to schedule all these activities into 3 hours per day. Setting priorities is the only way how to manage this all for me.
But on the other hand, I can imagine if you are all day long behind the compute, don’t you miss some external stimulations to be creative and come up with new things? This would be my main concern if I would be able to work on my blog all the time.
I wish you all the best with your BB project it is going very well I would say:)
Great job here and retweeted!
Adam, I know how you feel. I’ve been in the “being able to only work a few hours a day” situation before. I know it’s REALLY hard to do everything you need to do on only three hours. Maybe I should do a post about on what to do when you’ve got a limited amount of time, like 1 or 2 or 3 hours a day…
I don’t spend *all* day behind a computer, though it can feel like that sometimes. I’ve got a girlfriend and I live in the same house as my 5 best friends, so there’s always something going on. I go out to eat and go play in the mountains and I just sit and read. Remember that with 24 hours in a day, getting 6 hours of sleep means there are still 18 hours to toy with! Even if I work on my blog for 8 hours one day, that’s still 10 hours for everything else.
Thanks for the great comment as always, Adam!
Such article could be a really good reading!:)
I agree Tristan it is always about the balance in the life, if you miss one thing you will not be able to succeed in other, everything is connected.
When we are talking about developing a successful blog, spending some time offline is very important. You will be able to forget about the blog for a while to get new inspiration and energy so you can return with new motivation and continue in your work.
I like what you’re saying here Adam. Like Ishan and Tristan, I post three times a week. I’ve been doing it for over a year now and so for me it’s pretty routine by this point. But, the only way I feel I’m able to come up with those 3 articles (and do a good job in terms of unique content) is as follows:
1. I write about anything that inspires me or teaches me a lesson, always basing it on a personal experience.
2. In order to make #1 happen, I put myself in positions to have said experiences.
#2 is really the key. For example, sometimes I’ll feel my mind and brain going into ‘rut’ mode and so I’ll hop out of my chair and tell the kids we’re going outside to throw the ball…or I’ll get a workout….or go for a walk….or call someone that I feel needs ‘an ear’.
It’s really crazy the ways in which we can get inspired if we’re open and listen and understand how every act really can be turned into a learning experience.
Like you Adam, I’ve got about 2-3 hours a day to invest in my blog. 4 kids, owning another company, and church stuff really takes my time…which is why I typically do most of my work between 10pm-1am in the morning, like many on here I’m sure.
Tristan, I really enjoy your enthusiasm, vigor, and honest approach. It’s great and I’m looking forward to watching all of your goals unfold in the coming months and years.
As you well know, your goals today with your blog will likely be very different in 6 or 12 months….and then even more different in 2 years. As we change as people, our blogs are a natural reflection of such change.
Keep up the great work Tristan. And thank Adam and Ishan for the fun conversation.
Have to agree with the point of telling others. That does put the gun to your head and allows you to get more done. If I have told others it always seems to happen but it is very easy to lie to yourself.
Good point, Mike. It is easy to tell yourself, “Ok, I WILL get X, Y, and Z done today or else BADTHING will happen,” but if you don’t tell anyone about it… Let’s be honest, it probably won’t happen!
Thanks for stopping by, Mike!
Hi Tristan. I should really start blogging with a schedule but I think there are two factors why I dont do it. Number one, laziness and number two, school. I guess I have to prioritize my time more.
With laziness… Yeah, sorry, can’t help you there! Just get at it! But I think prioritizing your time is really something to focus on. Blogging with a schedule really is beneficial for you and your readers, though, so I’d say try it out!
Hey Tristan,
I catch the drift of this post and I think it’s great for two reasons:
1. it motivates the unmotivated
2. it motivates the unmotivated to get cracking if they want any shred of success out of their blog
I think the issues you brought up (deadlines, schedules and consequences) are well applied to blogging because they are fundamentally applicable to anything in life that requires work and passion.
Blogs that are “just there” have an aura of being “just there”, and the attitude and dedication of the author comes through whether it’s a motivated one or an indifferent one. (Not giving a crap is easily detectible, don’t you think?)
In my case, I can’t have a clear posting schedule because my blog depends on the comments of others and I don’t want to risk compromising the story by posting unrelated posts and confusing my readers/writers. I’ve tried it and it hasn’t worked. Motivation is all there, though, and willingness to learn is high … that’s why I come here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday :)
thanks again, Tristan :)
Thanks for the comment, Carolina!
While it’s probably possible to have a popular blog if you just work on it an hour or two every day, I think the chances of it happening are VERY small, and if it IS possible, it’ll probably take a VERY long time. I think that in and of itself should be motivation for most people to try to throw in a few extra hours when they can!
YES! Not giving a crap is DEFINITELY detectable!! That is an AWESOME point. You can tell almost instantly if someone is half-heartedly blogging just to see if they can make a few bucks with AdSense. You can see it in their content. There’s just not heart or soul there, you know?
I think your blog is an exception in that you can’t post every day. Maybe one way to get readers to stick around more would be to offer them an incentive for subscribing to your posts. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of ways to make things visible only to RSS subscribers… You could just have a link at the end of each post that that leads to a pdf ebook of writing tips or to a “secret page” on your blog or something.
Thanks for stopping by, Carolina! I really need to pay your blog a visit and get caught up on the story!
One of the reasons I never posted a schedule is because I KNEW it would then force me to meet those deadlines, lol.
So yeah I agree that’s the type of motivation that’s necessary. The analogy is apt, too. It really does feel like there’s a gun to your head when you work under those conditions. I guess it comes down to “how bad do you really want it?”
Hahaha, yeah, I can understand how sometimes you just don’t want the deadlines! I mean, you’re the master of your blog and not the other way around, right?
You’re right, John, it does come down to “How bad do you really want it?” That’s a perfect way to sum it up!
Thanks for stopping by!
Great article on how to keep your productivity high when it comes to blogging. I love the tip you gave on not just making a schedule, but also tell your readers about it so you can have some accountability. I loved the short and long term motivations you gave that drives you to succeed. I too have similar motivations that makes me want to succeed with what I’m doing.
Above everything else, you make a great point that money alone cannot be your only motivation to succeed. If it was just money motivating me I would have given up on what I was trying to do a long time ago. Also, I wanted to print out the flow chart/worksheet and good job with this article.
Same here, John, if money were the only thing I’m after, I’d go be involved with sales or something! But there’s more to life than money, and I don’t want money just for the sake of having money. Sounds like you’re in the same boat!
I’m glad you liked the article and found it useful! I really appreciate you stopping by!
Hi Tristan,
I love motivational posts!
I don’t blog with the regularity I’d like because it’s not my #1 priority. For me, I write and sell PLR on another site so that is my money-maker. But you’re right, it’s not enough to say “I wanna make a lot of money.” So I break that down into – I want to make $$ per month. And the competitor in me tries to beat the previous month’s earnings.
What motivates me to write packs of articles is knowing that when I’m done, they will bring me in approximately xx dollars. This really helps when I’m getting bored of the subject and don’t want to write about it anymore (which usually happens at about the 3rd article on the subject).
I think for some people it’s not a lack of motivation but a lack of direction. I get tons more done if I have a To Do list sitting in front of me, staring at me, wanting me to check something off, like my dog does when she’s hopeful of getting a treat.
Thanks for the interesting reading.
Peggy Baron
P.S. Dang it, ComLuv still doesn’t like me. I must go see what’s up.
Peggy, are you sure there’s not something wrong with your end of CommentLuv? Hmmm… Cuz that’s weird! Is it still working for you on other blogs? After I write this comment I’ll just edit your comment and throw a link in there at the end to your latest blog post. Is that ok?
I can see that if blogging isn’t your #1 priority, it’s easy and perhaps not as necessary to not blog with regularity.
Writing PLR is something I’ve been interested in for a while, and it’s actually something I’ve considered getting involved with (I’ve got a couple domains floating around that I bought for that purpose). How do you get traffic to your PLR stuff? Is it mainly through the Warrior Forum? And if so, is it mainly through WSOs or is it as a post signature? Do you see much in terms of sales coming from your blog? If this is something you’d like to keep more private but are still willing to share, I’d love it if you emailed me at tristan at bloggingbookshelf dot com.
And I think you’re spot on about a lack of direction being a major contributing factor as to why a lot of people don’t get stuff done!
Thanks for the great comment, Peggy! I really appreciate it!
Just sent you an email, Tristan. :)
Peggy
my blog is barely a month old and i’ve been pouring my heart out into it since i started – speaking in my own voice and trying my best to give it my own personality. your tips on motivation are something i could do with. thanks Tristan! by the way, instead of a gun i opted for a swinging pendulum. c”,)
A pendulum works, too :)
I’m glad you found the post useful! Thanks for reading it (I realize this was probably a difficult post to follow) and leaving a comment!
Oh, and thanks for submitting your address :D
Tristan,
I know I can never be in your situation, cos I’m working a full time job while blogging. It’s pretty amazing how adverse circumstances in your life can motivate you. I’m not sure what I’ll do if I lose my job. I know I’ll most definitely freak out and yes that is when I’ll be on overdrive! Although I don’t hope to lose it, I’m thinking how become as productive as you without losing my job.
Anyway, you’re awfully inspiring Tristan. Love to see how far you’ll go as a blogger :D
Hahaha, yeah, not having a family or job definitely frees up a lot of time and gives me the opportunity to do something like this.
Sometime in the near future I’d like to have a post saying what I’d do if I only had 1, 2, or 3 hours a day to work on my blog, and hopefully that can help a little bit.
Hopefully we’ll both go far as bloggers, Bryan! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a great comment. I really appreciate it!
Commitment is the key to success in blogging. Everybody bloggers need to give all efforts and time just to make their dreams possible despite of so many challenges as bloggers that might come their way.
You’re right, ColeStan. If blogging is something that you’re serious about as a means of income, you’ve really got to get out there and work your butt off!
Thanks fro commenting!
@Tristan: Absolutely, nothing is for free these days :)
Every once in a while I will put the gun to my own head and blog under severe pressure, I honestly think I put out better posts with less fluff that way. Now in regards to what ti does for the stress level that’s another story.
I agree, John. It doesn’t do great things for the stress, but it definitely gets the job done!
Thanks for commenting!
Deadline are dreams with a time line i was once told. But remember, even if you don’t make it. You can still route your positioning and keep on trucking.
“Deadlines are dreams with a time line.” I REALLY like that! And you’re right in that even if you fail in meeting your deadlines, you’ve still positioned yourself well to keep going.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, Jonathan!!
That’s a pretty radical approach you got in place.
I like sticking to a schedule, even if I didn’t explicitly publish it, I am sure my readers notice.
Every way to find motivation in your efforts is always very welcome, sometimes you really don’t feel like doing what you have to do, so feeling like you “have to” is brutal but effective.
Yeah, it is radical, but I need to be pushed! Doing it halfway hasn’t worked for me so far, so I guess it’s all or nothing!
And exactly. Feeling you “have to” really is “brutal but effective.” Well said, Gabriele! Thanks for the comment!
Tristan,
It is interesting how each person finds a way to raise their necessity level to the point of getting things done. I like to set my own standards and meeting them. It is a personal satisfaction. I hate it when someone else raises my necessity level for me.
It does help to let others know what my goals are. Especially those who will help me keep on track. Recently I saw where a mastermind group helped each other meet deadlines by setting a consequence of having to make donation to a charity if they failed.
I’m the same way, Sheila. I do NOT like other people setting my deadlines and standards. Even if they’re similar to ones I would have set myself, I just don’t like it!
I think what that mastermind group does is awesome! That’s a great way to go about getting things done. Though I can’t help but wonder if it would be more effective if they donated to a charity they DIDN’T necessarily like :)
Thanks for commenting!
I was asking myself the following question when reading, “how do you tell your readers about your next post and your writing schedule?” You said that you do it at the end of the blog post, that works, but it will only work for this specific blog post.
What would be awesome is a wordpress plugin that would add a few sentences at the end of each blog post, this way it could be always updated. Saying that your next blog post will be on a specific date (and time) and with a specific subject in mind.
Or we can also add it to the sidebar, but not as many people look at the sidebar (but it could work as well, like you’re doing with “why people should comment”)
Motivation is clearly the key, and not working for someone else is a great motivation indeed. My motivation is different, although I’d like to end up working for myself someday as well. I started blogging because I wanted to learn more about marketing, and I wanted to share everything I was learning and connect with people with the same interests in marketing as me.
Now, I’m not blogging with a gun to my head, but I’m writing with a bazooka to my head. I am on a leave without pay from my job (still working 60%) in order to write a novel (my first one). I have set a deadline and I have a writing schedule, but it’s more related to the novel than to my blogging.
The consequences I believe are the best for motivation is to let people know what you’re doing and that you’re failing if you’re failing. I have told everybody I know that I’ll finish my novel on 1 February. And I really don’t want to tell them that I didn’t finish it. It doesn’t have any other consequences other than that, but I just hate to fail. So I tell people what I’m doing, and I’m very detailed when I tell them.
Jens! I swear, I think we’re the same person! We have the same ideas!
I actually went looking for a plugin like this a couple months ago. If I recall correctly, I think I found a plugin that had upcoming posts in a sidebar widget but not at the end of the post. I think it’s a great idea for a plugin. Maybe I’ll look into making one!
Hahaha, a bazooka to your head, eh? That’s what I’m talking about! It sounds like you’ve set up some great checks to ensure that you get ‘er done. Awesome!
And I like what you said about being very detailed when it comes to telling people about your plans. Great point.
Thanks for the comment, Jens! I look forward to seeing how else our minds’ paths will cross :)
You’ve rocked it out of the ballpark with the (long term and short term worksheet) that is awesome. lol.
My biggest issue right now is not motivation, it is overload. Crack head over the top overload. I have too many sites and blogs and desperately trying to manage them all. Insane!!!
Do you only run this blog?
Missy, overload (especially crack head over the top overload!) can be a HUGE problem. I used to run a bunch of different blogs, but I quit them all when I started Blogging Bookshelf because I wanted to be able to focus my attention on it. But I’ll slowly start building up little niche sites and blogs that will help drive traffic, etc. back here. They’re mainly for testing purposes and to help quench my ADD :) They’re not going to be moneymakers in their own right (though I obviously wouldn’t complain if that happened).
I quit all of my other blogs because I’d rather have one great blog than 10 crappy ones, you know?
Glad you liked that worksheet! Thanks for commenting!
Hey Tristan!
Just wanted to suggest… instead of bad things happening because of failure to meet deadlines and goals, how about good things happening when you do meet those deadlines and achieve those goals? Give yourself rewards as you pass the milestones.
If you have a chance, take a look at a 2 part series I wrote back in February about understanding motivation.
Another article you might enjoy is one I wrote about the mechanics of goal setting, but one link is enough for this comment. :-)
Kind regards,
Steve
Hey Steve! I’ve found that I personally respond much better to the threat of something bad happening than the promise of something good. I don’t know what that says about me, but I think part of it is that I’m usually pretty comfortable with whatever situation I’m at at any given time. For it to get better would be great, but not necessary, but I definitely don’t want it to get worse.
I guess it just depends on the kind of person you are. I wonder how many people would prefer/perform better under one versus the other?
I’ll for sure check out your posts on motivation and goal setting. Thanks!
Oh, and for future reference… I don’t mind more than one link in a comment every once in a while as long as they’re relevant (like yours) and clearly not spam :)
Thanks for commenting, Steve!
Well in that case, have an anatomy of a goal. :-)
Hi Tristan,
This is one of my favourite posts from you. I really enjoyed knowing your motivation. For some reason, for me, I now feel like writing a post called ‘Real Life versus Blogging Success -How To Stay Sane and Keep Your Blog Moving.’
I know this is just a momentary reaction from me, ‘cos my main response to your post is one of admiration and thanks.
You have really gotten to the essence of motivation (for anything) and it is great to that you have put it out here in a post to motivate others.
I also meant, at some time, to say thank you for motivating me to write an analogous post. As you know, it helped me reach the Top Posts on Wordpress.com’s Freshly Pressed page and that was a big deal for me.
Having the opportunity to connect with so many other bloggers after that and also receiving their comments, has also been another big motivator.
Cheers Tristan. Now….. I think I need to go and open up Word…..
Mon
I’m glad you liked this post, Mon! I was actually a little bit hesitant to publish it because I didn’t know how useful it would be or how well people would be able to relate. It’s odd, but it seems like those posts where I hesitate a little bit before pressing “Publish” are the most popular!
“How to Stay Sane and Keep Your Blog Moving.” Hahaha. I like that! I’d probably do well to read it! Actually, I feel comfortable right now. I’m working on Blog (as he is affectionately known) a lot, but I DO have some other things going on in life :D
I’m also really happy that you wrote that analogy post and that it helped you get so much traffic. Few things motivate like seeing success and wanting more! And If I remember correctly, hadn’t you not blogged in a while? That’s so cool… Man… Monica, this kind of feedback really, really gets me excited! I love hearing about success in the blogosphere, whether it’s mine or someone else’s. So again, great job!!
Again, thanks for commenting, and I’m so glad you liked the post!
Whew! Am I late for this party or what?
I do agree that proper motivation is essential for regular productivity. Usually my motivation comes in the form of “If I don’t get the project done on time, I have to give their money back AND I’ll be stuck with something no one else wants.”
My blogging is pretty erratic right now as I’m winding down another business. After the end of the year I’ll have more time to put into regular blogging. For now I have other commitments to keep.
I keep several guns under my bed, but I try NEVER to point them at my head! But I do keep a Chocolate Chest stocked with gourmet chocolates. Get my work for the day done; get a treat. Granted, not getting a chocolate is not as motivating as having my brains blown out by Guido the Enforcer, but… I do get my work for the day most of the time.
I *really* like chocolate!
Allan, I literally laughed out loud as I read your comment!
I can definitely see how having to give your customers their money back and being stuck with the unsellable final product would be undesirable :)
I do like your chocolate idea, too. Though I don’t know if I’d have the willpower to not just keep eating them throughout the day. I’d be one fat blogger.
Thanks for the awesome, enjoyable, and valuable comment, Allan!
I’ve enjoyed this post…and have also enjoyed the comments. Everyone seems to have their own way of “Putting a Gun To Their Head.”
I also have a posting schedule and so far, it has worked well for me. One reason I stick to a posting schedule is to provide food the Goggle Spiders. When you’re consistent with your posting schedule, it trains the spiders to crawl your site on particular days. I learned that little trick at SLC WordCamp in September. It’s also wise to post at the same time of day as well.
I push myself by “Just One More Thing.” Sometimes I’m real tired and I push myself to do one more thing before I take a brake. I often find that by the end of my project, I’m not tired anymore and can still push for “Just One More Thing.” I’m not sure my plan would work for anyone else… but it certainly seems to work for me.
I actually really like “Just One More Thing” idea! That’s something that I think would work pretty well for me, so I’ll for sure give it a try.
I just found out a few days ago that there was a WordCamp in SLC not too long ago! I told one of my buddies about it and he said, “Oh. Yeah. I meant to tell you about that…” Anyway, it’s great to hear that Google likes it when we post on a schedule! Great tip!
Thanks for the great comment, Kathryn!
Oh My Tristan,
I sooo want to leave you one of my ridiculously long comments here cause I have a ton to say about this topic in general plus the little things I do and don’t. But alas, I’m already late enough in getting to the airport so I’ll have to come back or post my answer as an actual post!
Just stopped by to say: If you’re getting tired of seeing your name on my blog, then stop writing awesome content that I not only enjoy reading, but that I can relate to!! Great idea for a post Tristan – pfff…as usual ;).
I’ll be back! (in a non-arnold kind of way)
Cheers
Ingrid, I think I can safely believe you when you say that you’d love to write a long comment :)
Now, I never said I was *tired* of seeing my name on your blog! I very much enjoy it!
Thanks for stopping by to read and leave a comment, Ingrid. You DO know that not ALL of your comments have to be huge, right? ;)
Hi Tristan,
Good motivational article. I don’t have a gun on my head. I am purely relying on self discipline. That to say i am sticking to my posting schedule i have set for myself.
You have published another killer article my friend. You are fast becoming an authority of your niche and that’s really awesome. Keep up the good work.
Thanks a lot for sharing.
Lye
Lye, I’m jealous of people like you who can rely on their own self discipline! I can’t, unfortunately. I need that looming threat of something bad happening!
Thanks for the kind words; I’ll try to keep churning the content out. Thanks for commenting!
Hi Tristan:
Now I am getting to know you better. it is your writing style that attracts bloggers along with the content, otherwise many bloggers write contents. Also no one writes with gun to their head except you. Therefore you have more value. I like your magnetism, your power of expression and contents in this blog post. Regular posting schedule is very important, when you are doing a million things online, and specially for others at times it is hard, to make time for your own blog. I write online and I have to meat dead lines, at times in order to deliver in time.
I enjoyd reading your post,
Make it an awesome day for yourself
fran A
Thanks for the very kind words, Fran! It’s funny… I get a lot of comments about my writing style. It’s just how I speak! I write like I’m having a conversation, not giving a lecture, and I think people respond really well to that.
And you’re so right; a regular posting schedule being important when doing a million things online.
Thanks so much for commenting!
Hi Tristan .. thanks for the link break nudge earlier this week – appreciated that!
Re schedule I did post every day .. and then once I had two sick people to look after – spend time with .. the whole thing went by the board .. I need to get organised again & probably do two a week on a regular basis .. I’ll probably trial and error next year – fortunately I have a few faithful followers who enjoy its uniqueness.
Good points you made though .. thanks – Hilary
I’ve had blogs where I do post every day, and I really don’t like it. I feel like the quality of my posts and my interaction with the readers really suffers. I think twice a week is a solid amount!
I think that the trial and error is one of the exciting things about blogging! There’s always room to improve and there’s always more to do. Fun!
Thanks for commenting, Hilary!
Hey Tristan – this was a really creative post – and so true! Some of us, like you and I, have the proverbial guns to our heads because we have a limited amount of savings that will run out if we don’t start making enough money to cover the bills. And that should be enough to keep us running full steam ahead. It’s our internal motivation.
In my field, the #1 reason why my fitness and weight loss clients don’t reach their coals is because of lack of motivation. As a coach, I can only help so much. If they do not have the internal motivation and passion they need to accomplish their goals then nothing I can do will help them in that area.
It’s the same with anything we do. We have to have the passion and urgency to achieve our goals. Otherwise our chances for success greatly decreases.
Hey, Susan! It’s great to see that someone else is working under pressure :)
Being the avid Biggest Loser enthusiast that I am (new episode tonight! Wooo!), I can see what you mean about a lack of motivation. People and other outside influences can be pushing on you all day long, but if you’re note 100% committed, it won’t happen (which I believe applies both to weight loss and blogging).
Great comment, Susan. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your insights!
For some reason I find setting times, schedules, and deadlines a hinderance to my productivity. I like to make lists of things that need to get done and tackle them whenever I have a free moment.
That’s really interesting, Jason! I think it’s great how we all work differently. I’ve tried the whole make-a-list-and-cross-the-things-off thing, but it just doesn’t work for me. Well, it works for me, but it doesn’t motivate me. Does that make sense? I mean, I do eventually get the things done that are on the list, but it doesn’t push me to get things done.
Thanks for your input, Jason!
It make complete sense. I find that the only thing that motivates me is momentum. It’s hrd as hell to start (and that just takes resolve and willpower), but once I do, I can’t stop for more than a day or the process starts over.
In the beginning, blogging was just a way to get a lot of the ideas that I had in my head finally out there to the world – it had the immediately gratification because it wasn’t so locked up.
In the long term, I want my blog to really promote my own business and leave a mark; sort of a legacy in many ways. Even if it’s not widespread, I just want to say that “yeah, I did it” – if it ends up paying and promoting my business than I’d be really happy but I’m okay with just being able to connect with people and have fun while doing it.
I hear ya, Murray. All of this obviously depends on what your goals for your blog are.
I’ve kind of got the same mindset when it comes to leaving a legacy with my blog. I want my kids to be able to look at Blogging Bookshelf and say, “Wow, Dad! I can’t believe YOU started that!” What does Gary V say in the last chapter of Crush It? I think it’s “Legacy is greater than currency.” But if I don’t have currency, there won’t be any legacy or progeny!
Thanks as always for the comment, Murray!
Hi Tristan,
Great post, and great advice!
Of course, I follow none of it, myself :-)
I have a 10 year old site where I analyze the stock market and explain what I believe led us to now, and then I explain what I believe is coming. I’m pretty good at it, too.
There came a point tho, when I realized that if the market is flat, I don’t need to write about it.
“As we discussed yesterday, and as you can see from the chart again today, the market continues to do nothing, just as we have been discussing in-depth for the last 2 months…”
The material I write today will be there tomorrow. I’m very new at this ‘blogging’ thing, even tho I have been writing for various sites for years. For now, I have little traffic to speak of. As I continue to grow, new visitors will see everything as, well, New!
Writing in the same tired way about the same tired things might bring me more traffic in the short term, but I am looking long term, and my own personal experience guides me here.
I totally understand deadlines, self-imposed and those thrust upon us by circumstance. In the past, I have always regretted rushing a product simply because its expected at a certain time. I much prefer to hear, “It was worth the wait.”
The corporate way, which I’m sick of, is: “Get it out. We’ll fix it later.” Later rarely arrives. At least not before customer anger forces the issue.
As a gardener, I have learned hard lessons about giving a young plant too much water, or too much fertilizer in feeble attempts to make it grow faster. Sometimes a plant simply has to be allowed to grow.
Great content doesn’t come easy for me. Some say it doesn’t come at all, but that’s a different discussion :-)
All my life I have read mountains of dreadful crap in magazines, newspapers, newsletters, etc, that I firmly believed each time was the direct result of deadlines. If you don’t know all the facts, don’t rush into print.
I see a lot of dreadful blog posts that were rushed. Misspellings, bad grammar, poorly constructed ideas… Rushing into print just to meet a deadline does more damage to reputation than posting when it’s truly ready. Unless you have a high income that would be harmed by missing a deadline, a case could be made that waiting until its ready would actually be more productive.
But that’s just me. I’m too old to worry about it anymore ;-)
We all have to make our own path. You have some really good advice here for success.
I just came by to stir up some debate, because, well… I’m a blogger, and that’s what we do!
Rick
Rick
Wow. Massive comment, Rick! Thanks!
I actually agree with a lot of what you have to say. I mean, it just makes sense to write when you have something great to say and not because of some sort of arbitrary deadline, right?
I agree that that’s how it SHOULD be. But there are two major reasons that that’s now how I’m going about things here on the blog.
1) People expect consistency with a blog, and it’s been my experience with past blogs that I lose readers when I’m inconsistent. When people buy a magazine subscription, they expect to get 6 or 8 or 12 issues a year. Would they pay the $12 a year to just get a magazine whenever the writers were able to fill it up with good content? No, I don’t think so. People tend to forget about a blog when they come back after a certain period of time and it hasn’t been updated.
As much as I’d like to shift that paradigm, it’s not something that I have enough influence to do right now!
And who says deadlines and schedules only work to make you get something done more often than you’d normally do it? I could post every day and have done so on a lot of my blogs in the past, but my 3 times a week deadline actually helps to slow me down.
2) I personally NEED these deadlines to keep me going. If I don’t have a deadline, I won’t get the work done. It’s that simple. When I’m trying to create a business out of this blog, I NEED to get stuff done!
Your example of the stock market analysis blog makes sense. If I were in that situation, though, and didn’t have anything to stay because the market was flat, I’d still try to write something on a consistent basis, just to keep the readers with me. I’d probably talk about trading tips or other things in the broader stock market category (I know nothing about the stock market, so I can’t really give a good example of what else I’d talk about).
I think there’s an interesting paradox here… What might be best for your blog… might actually not be best for your blog! I mean yes, you only want to create truly killer content when you’ve got it, but that will actually inhibit your blog’s growth if it’s not on a set schedule. That’s what I’ve seen on my blogs in the past. You lose that readership momentum.
You talked about killing a plant by giving it too much fertilizer or water. But if you wait two weeks and the give it some water and then two days and give it water and then three weeks and give it water… That’s bad for it, too! There comes a point where it doesn’t matter how much water you give it at one time, if you don’t do it consistently, it’ll die.
I think it all just comes down to your content. If your end product (content) is great, then posting on a schedule is the best possible thing you could do for a blog. If your content isn’t great, then even posting on a schedule won’t help you.
Again, great comment, Rick! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and replying to it. Thanks for spending the time to read this post and write the comment!
i like the title and the idea of this post, very creative:)
Thanks, Farouk! I’m glad you liked it!
Hi Tristan !
To be honest, i am always blogging with the gun on the head like what you said because when i write something for my blog, i feel very hard and sometimes even do not have any idea. That’s why i could not update my blog regularly because it take me really long time to have one article.Anyway, i love this article which is very useful.
Thanks my friends.
I hear ya, Ryan! I just finished writing a post that took me something like 6 or 7 hours to write!! But I said I’d do it so… I had to do it!
Thanks for commenting!
Hey Tristan,
I really enjoyed reading this article. You make some great points about being consistent with your blogging. I like how you’re open about your blogging schedule and keep yourself accountable to your readers.
Good luck with your blogging.
Allan
I’m glad you enjoyed the post, Allan. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I really appreciate it!
creating deadlines for myself is possibly the hardest thing for me to 2
i wont NOT be able to make a schedule 2 weeks in advance – hell i dont even know what Im going to eat for breakfast the next day!
you have a very tight schedule – but it works – u put time and effort into posts and people see that and respond in a positive way
kudos and keep up the great work
Hahah, I’m the same way Chris. No idea what I’m going to eat for breakfast tomorrow!
For me the best way to get stuff done is to just put in long hours. It’s hard for me to focus on any one thing for too long and I skip around between tasks a lot, but I eventually get stuff done.
Thanks for the comment!
I have committed myself to publishing a post every 2 days, but I might pinch YOUR schedule Tristan. ;-) At the moment I have to remember when my last post was, and check my diary to publish the next one. :o I always have a few posts written in advance, so I can pick and choose, as the mood takes me.
I like regular routines however, and Monday, Wednesday, Friday means that I don’t have to remember when to post. It’s automatic. 8)
Thanks Tristan, I shall be back.
John
Go for it, John! It’s not like it’s *my* schedule anyway. Having said that, I do really enjoy it. It’s often enough to keep me on my toes, but not so often that it becomes a burden.
Good on you for writing posts in advance! That’s something I really need to do more of…
Thanks for taking the time to comment, John. I really appreciate it!
Working for someone else… Now that’s a loaded gun I’m also running away from! :-)
Loved this, Tristan!
Hahaha. Yeah! You know what I’m talking about!
Glad you liked the post, Constantin! Thanks for commenting!
First off, great title, Tristan !
My posting schedule works like this :- Monday, Wednesday and Friday are the posting days Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday are my guest posting days Sunday is my regular checking day (just read blogs day). What I do is squeeze in social networking and promoting every day. (Once I began to stick to this schedule, my traffic started to go up).
I haven’t actually thought about creating deadlines. But I may try it in the future. I wouldn’t be able to publish an e-book in one day. (I began writing my e-book at the beginning of 2010, I haven’t finished it yet) (Recently I realized that it was a good thing to “not publish” because now – after a long break- I could edit it, revise it and write more).
I really like your post because you applied Psychology to blogging. For me, the intrinsic motivation (long term) is satisfaction. I don’t have any undesirable consequences (Unless you can consider “having nothing to do” as one).
Anyway, Great Read !
Thanks !
Sounds like you’ve got a busy schedule, too!
I’m glad you liked the post. I really enjoyed writing this one and making the graphics. Thanks so much for posting!
Awesome post Tristan. So glad I found your blog through Brankica at live-your-love. I agree with you re: a M-W-F posting schedule, and that is my content plan for 2011. Thanks for all your tips for time-starved bloggers like myself. With family and work commitments, it’s difficult to fit it all in! Love the mission map/flow chart, btw … gotta print off that sucker and fill it in.
Best to you,
Scott
I’m glad you found my blog, too :) Brankica’s great!
I personally love the M-W-F blogging plan. I’ve tried everything from blogging every day to blogging once a week, and I think M-W-F strikes the perfect balance that I am looking for and that my readers are looking for.
Thanks for the kind words, and thanks so much for leaving a comment, Scott!
Intriguing post. I’m with you in not wanting to work for anyone else; been 9 1/2 years now, so I’m being really stubborn about it all.
You asked some questions; I love answering questions:
* Do YOU blog with a gun to your head? If so, how so? I do and I don’t. With my main blog I don’t; things just come to me. With my business blog I do now, and it’s getting great results. With my last blog, nope; I blog when I feel like it.
* What are some consequences/penalties that you could impose on yourself for failing to meet deadlines? Actually, none. But that’s an intriguing issue to think about.
* What are YOUR short-term and long-term motivators? Short term is to keep making my blogs grow in the rankings. Long term is to have each of the first two help me gain business and speaking engagements.
* Do you make yourself accountable to your blog readers? I think so. On one I write almost every single day, so they don’t miss me. On my business blog I’m now writing 5 times a week. On my last blog… well, I’m not promoting it enough to get many readers anyway.
* How do you force yourself to get things done? This one I’ll admit is tough sometimes. The stuff I really like to do isn’t a problem. The other stuff… deadlines man! ;-)
Intriguing post. I’m with you in not wanting to work for anyone else; been 9 1/2 years now, so I’m being really stubborn about it all.
You asked some questions; I love answering questions:
* Do YOU blog with a gun to your head? If so, how so? I do and I don’t. With my main blog I don’t; things just come to me. With my business blog I do now, and it’s getting great results. With my last blog, nope; I blog when I feel like it.
* What are some consequences/penalties that you could impose on yourself for failing to meet deadlines? Actually, none. But that’s an intriguing issue to think about.
* What are YOUR short-term and long-term
I really admire your passion in blogging Tristan. But how do you manage your personal life? As I read through this post I learn so many things. And I believe a lot of things or principles explained above can also be applied to our personal lives. Awesome content!
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