Setting a Schedule & Plan to Execute a Daily Blogging Goal

Last week I announced here that I had set a goal of [almost] daily blogging.  So, my first challenge is to figure out how to make that an attainable goal for myself and for me that means planning and scheduling.  I already use a daily to-do list that I make at the end of every workday for the following day’s tasks to be completed.  It’s a bit of an old school tactic in that it is an actual handwritten list that is posted next to my desk.

My first step is to place “daily blog” as the first item on my to-do list each day.  When I sit down at my desk each morning to get ready to work, instead of checking my email first, I will write a blog post.  At least this is the plan.

Step two in my plan, is to continue with my old schedule for writing blog posts.  Although I try to keep a strict no weekend work policy to keep a healthy work/life balance, there is one exception to this rule.  I dedicate one weekend a month to write blog posts.  Since I was only publishing four posts a month on average (for every Friday of that upcoming month), it was not too time consuming to write.  I usually split this up into two on Saturday and two on Sunday.  I am going to keep this in place with the hope that it may put me ahead or give me a small reserve for days when I have writer’s block or nothing that I feel is of value to say.

My third step is to continue jotting post ideas in a running Evernote note.  I use Evernote to jot down ideas that come to me in the middle of the night, when I am out and about, or while I am working.  I have an open running note called “Blog Post Ideas,” where I put ideas that pop into my mind for something to write about.  This has been helpful when I sit down to write, because I can just see what topics I have previously come up with and write about them.  It eliminates the step of trying to figure out what to write about.

The fourth step will be to open my blog up to guest submissions.  This is something that I had been thinking about doing for a while.  I was planning to do this for 2014, but why put off for tomorrow, what you can do today?  While I do not expect to have a lot of submissions, I figure any that I do receive will help to take some of the pressure off of myself.

By putting together a plan and a schedule for doing things, I feel less anxious about this undertaking.  It makes me feel warm, snuggly and safe.  My next goal will be to conquer the self-defeating thoughts that are attempting to attach my psyche about this goal!