Anthony asks – “Hi Darren, I’m very interested in your work flow and routines. What is a regular day in the life of a ProBlogger like and how is it different from when you were first starting out.”
I’m especially curious about how you split your time between many blogs. Do you work on one blog at a time or do you work on one task (brainstorming, writing, marketing) at a time.
Instead of writing a long post in answer to this question let me start by linking to two posts I’ve previously written on my workflow:
- A Day in the Life of ProBlogger – April 2005
- (Another) Day in the Life of a ProBlogger – February 2006
My day is still similar to this in terms of the workflow that I use to actually blog – however these days I’m spending less time actually blogging and more time working with bloggers and thinking strategically in my management role over at b5media.
On the two main blogs that I’m active on (ProBlogger and Digital Photography School) my approach at this time is to work on one blog at a time. I spend most Monday mornings (and usually one other morning a week) in a local cafe where I aim to write 5 posts for each of these two blogs (in fact I’m writing this post there now). These posts are what I consider to be cornerstone posts – generally ‘how to’ in focus and often the longer posts that I write.
Then during the week I’m able to release these posts one per weekday to enable me to focus on my other tasks. I’ll supplement these posts with more newsy items here at ProBlogger each day but the newsy stuff is generally less time consuming.
In terms of marketing and strategy for my own blogs – this is very much still done on the run. I’m a pretty impulsive and spontaneous person who does a lot of this on the fly as ideas come.
I’d love to see what others work flows are like. Tell us how your blogging day looks in comments below.
Excellent post! It’s always interesting to see how the professionals do it! I like your idea of making 5 posts on Monday then sending one out each day that probably frees up your time during the week. I might try using that technique with my blog :) .
This makes perfect sense. I’d love to hear more about your ‘management role’ at B5 Media and how that builds on or is the evolution of your blogging work. Are you missing the the blogging full time? Do you envision leaving blogging for management at some time or is blogging something you feel is here to stay for you?
This blog is so informative and engaging. I really enjoy it.
This is why Darren is the “ProBlogger”. You ask him a question and he answers you. Even if the guy asking the question is blogging about compost, he still takes the time to provide an answer. :) Thanks Darren!
I wish I was able to sit down Monday morning and dedicate a large block of time to writing. As a semi-Problogger who still works a 9-5 to make ends meet, I tend to get my blogging in whenever I get the opportunity, which leads to a pretty irregular schedule.
My blogging day starts around 4 am when my infant son wakes up for a feeding. It is usually easier to just get up then, so I start in by reading my blog feeds (you are on the list), and then check emails, all things I can do with one hand while feeding the baby!
The baby goes back to bed with his papa at 5 or so and I get into writing articles (my blogs aren´t earning yet, so I´m still working as a freelance writer) and do that until my other son gets up around 6:30. The rest of the day, I do research, etc. when the baby needs to be fed or held, and write during naps.
I also write blog posts ahead of time for the week for my At Home Mom blog and add daily posts as I find new information. My other two blogs get posted to when I have the time and/or inspiration, although I hope to start pre-writing them as well.
My day ends around 8 pm, when I am just too exhausted to deal with anything. I check my email one last time and hit the sack, only to wake up another three times during the night with the baby. I´d be interested in hearing how your daughter has impacted your blogging life, do you still stay up all night working?
Of course, all the rest of us have to have a whopping big schedule item for “reading Darren’s blog and then checking back every few hours to stay tuned into the comments discussion”!!
I usually write six articles a week. But they take a lot of thought. They run in length between 700 and 1200 words. By the time I get one finished, I need some time to recharge my brain.
I can’t imagine sitting down and writing 10 in a day at a cafe. Wow! I guess I have something to strive for.
I really like the idea of writing five posts in one day and then releasing them over the week…
Like John Wesley, I also work a day job, so I can only write when a significant window of time opens up.
since I use Blogger, when I do have time to write, I write my posts and email them to by blogs, where they are saved as drafts. a backlog of drafts builds up over time.
then, when little windows of time open up, I pick a draft, polish it up and release it into the wild…
I find that putting some distance between writing and editing helps.
thanks for inviting us backstage!
I am trying to post at least 6 times per week. As I have a demanding day job, 3 kids, and mucho activities (church stuff, etc.) I do most of my blogging after the kids go to sleep. I am always reading blogs in my niche (Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma) which inspires me with ideas. Also, Google Alerts is my bud! I do start posts to capture an idea and then finish them up later. So I have some work in process most of the time. As I just moved over to WP I am still working on installing plugins, tweaking ads, and other stuff. As I am a one man show this takes a lot of time too. I work on my blog about 3 hours every night. But love every minute of it.
Since I’m a freelance writer/blogger, I don’t exactly have to work blogging into my workday. I usually do a couple posts a day in between writing longer pieces for print pubs – needless to say, I spend a lot of time with my laptop!
I do try to get on a roll and write multiple posts at once and then schedule them, or save them for days when I’ve got serious bloggers block.
Of course, I spend plenty of time checking out other blogs too! That’s usually what I do first thing in the morning, and I write in the afternoon/evening (I’m not at most creative until I’ve had the chance to thoroughly caffeinate myself with multiple cups of coffee).
Well, it’s fine to think everybody is trying to organise its agenda to save time for blogging. As far as I am concerned, I have a note book everywhere with me and each time I have 5 mins, I write blog posts… I try to have one post a day, which is already difficult for long post. I use ‘postpone publishing’ (is it clear?) to make sure that the posts will be published once a day… Then, I am very open of what ‘s hot in the news and on others blogs to post some small buzz or articles during the lunchtime…
As feed inspiration, I use Google Alerts and many dailynews newsletter, and also radio information I listen in my car while going to work.
I try to preserve my family from my blog addiction, but it is sometime hard…
I’m freelancing at the moment so my schedule is pretty flexible. But I really need to work on my time management. My routine is:
8am Publish blog post written the night before.
8.05 Check Analytics stats and Technorati ranking and emails.
8.15 Read RSS feeds and leave some comments if applicable.
8.30 Check Analytics stats and Technorati ranking and emails.
8.45 Do some work.
9.15 Check Analytics stats and Technorati ranking and emails.
9.45 Check self into stats rehab.
I run 3 different blogs in addition to my website and found that the blogs were too taxing to maintain while running the site as well. What I did to combat this:
Outsource – for two of my blogs I have guest posters who contribute monthly columns. They provide a fresh perspective and I give them recognition on the site. They also help me keep the site up to date.
Advance post – for two of my blogs I also advance post. I sit down on a Sunday and go through my Google News updates as well as the other ideas I have had during the week for what to write about. I create multiple posts and then during the week I slowly post them. WordPress has a cool feature to automatically pre-set post times but Blogger doesn’t so I save it as a draft and post during the week days.
These two initiatives have really freed up a lot of my time and I hope they can help you!
I’m trying to get to the point where I write my posts on the weekends. I’m also hoping to come up with a schedule for the times I market my blog as well. I have a day job and am also trying to develop other web-related projects in the hope that one day, one or more of them start generating enough income to work for myself – or be a basis for my own consulting.
I also spend alot of time reading feeds on blogging and SEO. The more I learn, the higher chance I’ll be successful in my goals.
I find that I am usually more productive if I write a few post at a time. I like to keep a list of topics I want to cover and links or clippings of any supporting material. Then when I sit down to write I have it all there in front of me.
I come up with ideas for posts throughout the day and have a list in a notepad file both on my work and my home computer. So i add to it whenever i think of something, or i write it in my notebook if i’m not in front of a computer.
I usually blog for half an hour before going to work in the morning, though not every morning as i like doing vocal exercises during that time too. During this half hour, i write a fairly long post, or two shorter ones, and i publish them. I use WordPress and if i write 2 posts, i set up the second one to be published at a later time on the same day, or on the following day.
I also try to blog when i get home from work, before cooking dinner. Again, i try to keep it to half an hour – the less time you have to write something, the faster and more efficiently you will write (within reasonable limits obviously).
I also sometimes write some of my posts on my lunch break at work if i have nothing else to do, then i email myself the txt file (i can’t access my blogging back end from work, they block it).
My blog is about music, from songwriting, to promoting, via recording, performing etc, so very few of my posts are news-based. I can write my posts without being on the internet (i write some on the bus ride back home sometimes).
I don’t blog much at the week-end, prefering spending time away from the computer with my partner, my friends and my guitars.
As usual when I visit this site I learn something. Thank you for the tip about writing all of your posts in one day and then posting them throughout the week. I need to do it. This is the second time I have heard this tip, this week. Thanks!
Being a University Student on summer break I’ve got a lot of free time but no structure to my day. I already make money online via other methods so I can afford to stay home and work on the blog (always good).
I’ll try to write a main post at least once a day, ideally I’ll write multiple posts and time stamp them. This gives me time for promotion!
Building relationships with similar bloggers is probably number one on my agenda.
Having a stock trading diary type blog my aim is to produce one or two short posts a day, followed by the longer post at the end of my trading day.
I am also usually writing a couple of general posts all through the week with the aim to post them over the weekend.
Working almost 20 hours a day can sometimes be such a nuisance when it comes to producing quality posts for your blog.