It starts with procrastination.
Enthusiasm drains. Post frequency decreases. The motivation you once had is gone.
You stare at the blank page, hands poised over the keyboard, and wonder if it all even matters. You’ve lost sight of the goals and dreams you once had for your blog and begin to wonder whether or not your blog is even worth it.
Then you question your credibility.
Questions roll through your head, making your shoulders slump and your head downturn. Can I really call myself a blogger? How can I possibly compete with my competition? Why should anyone listen to me?
You pause, hesitating slightly. If you stop blogging now, then what’s to become of your blog? Is all of your hard work and effort to create a successful blog now wasted?
Motivation is a problem many writers face at some point in their blogging career. Myself included. However, if there’s one thing that makes a successful blogger, it’s the ability not to give up. But how can you keep at it if you don’t have an ounce of motivation left in you?
Lucky for you, there are many ways to increase your motivation to blog.
- Set easy to achieve goals. If you set goals that you know you can accomplish, you'll feel more motivated to do each task. Break complex tasks up into little bits or steps to make them easier to accomplish.
- Determine the post frequency right for you. Instead of posting multiple times a day, try to post once daily. Or, if posting daily is too stressful for you, post every other day or 4 times a week.
- Schedule your blog posts ahead of time. By planning ahead, you don't waste time every day thinking about topics to cover, and you can get right to work. You're more likely to procrastinate during the thinking process, so do the thinking ahead of time.
- Work at your productivity peak. You're at your productivity peak when you're energized, focus and motivated. So, for 5 to 7 days, record how energized you are, when you're more focused and how motivated you are to blog during the different hours of each day. Blog during these times, and you'll be surprised with what you can accomplish.
- Do what you enjoy. You won't be motivated unless you enjoy what you're doing. If you're blogging about a topic that you don't enjoy, either create a blog about something else or tweak the blog up a bit. For example, I started my own blog with the mindset that I would just blog about general money topics. However, that wasn't working too well for me, so I changed it up and made the topic more specific and on something that I enjoyed and could talk easily about - making money through freelance writing. Now I'm more motivated to blog and don't mind posting in the blog regularly.
- See how you're progressing. Take a look at Google Analytics every now and then. If you have a certain income or readership goal, make a bar graph and fill it in as you progress. By seeing that you're actually progressing, you're more motivated to write.
- Take breaks. You can't work non stop and still maintain motivation. Take breaks every now and then and you'll feel more motivated once you've relaxed some.
- Change your daily routine. Change is good. The same old routine may bore you, so do something different. For example, I was tired of my daily routine, so I started showering in the morning rather than at night and opening my office window blinds to let the sunlight in. The change really brightened up my mood. Try taking a few minutes to think about how you can change your daily routine. Sometimes a little change is all you need to get moving.
- Reward yourself for your hard work. If you've completed an especially difficult task, reward yourself! Doing so will get you excited to complete the next task.
Keep blogging. It will take time to develop a good routine where you'll be able to work day after day and still maintain motivation. Whatever you do, don't give up. If you need to take a break for a short while, then take it.
But don't stop altogether. A successful blog was given a chance to grow. Won't you give your blog that chance?
I am absolutely with you!!
I also keep everything with my blog naturally (traffics or earning).
I notice i am more calm, and peaceful, and most important is i am more focusing on contents than result, i guess this is important, since if we have a good content, result will come from alone. naturally.
Love your post Christina!
Thanks for sharing Kimi!
I completely agree.
If you focus on providing quality content, the results will come. If you focus on just the results, you may not make any progress at all.
Christina
I totally agree with setting easily achieved goals. Instead of having long-term goals that takes a long time to achieve, why not divide that long-term goal into bite-sized nuggets of easily achieved short-term goals. It will surely make it look easier and much more realistic.
Hey Andrew,
Wonderful advice! That's something I do as well.
I first think about the long term goals that I want to achieve in 3 months. Then I determine what I should achieve in a month to bring me closer to each long term goal. I break them down further into weeks and then days, so that I have a daily list of tasks to follow that I know will bring me closer to my goals.
Thanks for sharing!
I agree with all your points Christina, I guess each and every blogger face such situation no matter how successful he/she is. Taking a break and knowing the productive timing is really important to give your best work. nice share
Thanks!
You make a good point. I've found that if I work at my productive peak and take breaks every now and then, I usually do more quality work.
Hi Christana,
Very nice post! Setting short term goals really helps us stay motivated. Also, scheduling posts is crucial. We won't stress over what to write and post. I do all of the 9 points you mentioned. Thanks for sharing
Hey Dia,
That's great! I'm so happy that it's working for you.
Short term goals definitely do help.
Been there, done all of that! The procrastination, the self-doubt, the "why would anyone want to read what I have to say?" I needed that reminder that it's okay to fall down once in a while, which I've done for a couple of months now. Your advice will help me to honestly evaluate my situation, and get back up again, even it means changing direction.
Hi Cheryl,
I'm glad that you found this article useful. No one likes to fall. But then, when you get back up again, you're even more stronger for correcting your mistakes.
Christina
Thanks for sharing these insights. I agree with what you said that lack of motivation is something all writers have to face every now and then. I like that you included taking breaks when you have to and rewarding yourself for completing a task. That's what I usually do.
Hey Anna,
I agree. I also take breaks and reward myself at the end of the money for an especially productive month. It definitely helps.
Christina
I've found that the best thing to do is guest post on another blog. If you can't get your word out on your own and its not working, then publishing somewhere else will always lift your motivation.
Hey Peter,
Thanks for sharing. I completely agree. The spike from traffic for guest posting can also boost motivation, since you know those people enjoy what you have to say.
Christina
Thanks again for allowing me to guest post on Blogging with Success. I'll be back here to answer any questions readers have.
Looking forward to the comments!