Today is Day 2 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge – I am committing to blogging every day for the month of July. (If you aren’t familiar with the challenge – I invite you to check it out!) This means – you will be getting LOTS of content from me this month!
Now, if you’ve been following my blog for awhile – you know that I’ve been posting about 3 – 4 times a month . . . so to jump to every day is a pretty big step. How in the world do I plan to do it? (Great question!)
Well – planning is the first step! Each night, as I set my priorities for the next day, I am committed to prioritizing writing my blog posts first. So, if I have a number of appointments through out the day, I will either wake earlier to write – or I’ll write my post the night before. We’ve all heard the saying, “What we think about, we bring about.” I’m focusing and thinking about posting on my blog each day. (If you are working on achieving a BIG, HUGE goal, I urge you to prioritize time first thing each day to work towards achieving this goal!)
Other than planning, I’m also going to implement my version of the Pareto Rule. See, one of the areas I’m focusing on in my life is self-care. So, if my plan is to prioritize writing my blog posts, and on “busy days” my back-up plan is to get up earlier to write or stay up later to write, this could be in direct conflict with my goal of taking care of myself. But, I’m also going to implement the Pareto Rule (also known as the 80/20 Rule). To paraphrase, the 80/20 Rule states that 20% of your effort will deliver 80% of your results. Conversely, 80% of your effort will only produce 20% of your results. This means that when I’m pressed on time, I’m only going to write short, insightful blog posts instead of long, insightful blog posts. The short posts will have ONE picture, straight-up formatting (no fancy text or tables!!), and minimal links. Thus, shortening the time needed to write each post! (See how I’m working on honoring my commitment to taking care of myself! Yeah me!)
For me, the key to implementing the Pareto Rule effectively, is the 80% result produced is still high enough quality to my readers still get value – and don’t really miss the extra 20% “bells and whistles”. (Do you miss extra pictures, links, and examples in this post – or did I successfully walk the line?)
I’d love to know your thoughts! Where can you use the 80/20 Rule in your day-to-day life? When does going the extra 20% really make the difference? I’d love to hear your comments below!
The 80/20 rule can be applied to so many aspects of life, when i speak to people about time management it is a tool that i always refer to, great blog
Mike –
Thanks for the kudos! I’ve recently starting using the 80/20 Principal when I talk about perfectionism. Where else do you apply it?
This is so interesting! I’ve never heard the term “pareto rule’ but I’m familiar with the concept. That proportion–80/20 is so common in nature, too, and in other areas. For example, I’ve always read that a typical person tends to use 20 percent of their possessions 80 percent of the time, so de-cluttering should be so easy–just get rid of the 80 percent you don’t use! Fascinating post!
Amy
So true with the de-cluttering example. I also find it holds true with marketing, prioritizing, perfectionism, . . . . truly, the list is probably endless! Thanks for the comment!
Lisa
Oh I love your website! Thank you for putting all this blogging into perspective. Long or short is not as important as being insightful, helpful and giving great value. Thank you for doing all three!
Maureen –
Thanks for the compliments! I’m heading over to visit your site now!
Lisa
Such a smart move Lisa and what’s funny, for me, is that I set out to write something short and end up writing more. Been an interesting one for me to do this blogging challenge stuff! Does change the priorities for sure!
MamaRed –
Look at us – covering both extremes!! Wonder if anyone has a “medium” post out there!
Lisa
What a great strategy Lisa! I love it! It is so important to make sure you are taking care of yourself! I can really relate with how easy it can be to get consumed with your to do list and allow your work/life balance to get a little out of whack! This is definitely one of the things I have been focused on recently. I am so glad to hear that you are planning to allow yourself to right shorter posts on busy days instead of sacrificing your sleep time!
One of the strategies I am planning to implement over the next month is to really focus on writing blog posts that feel fun so that I don’t begin to dread writing my daily posts.
I am really looking forward to reading more of your posts this month!
~Melissa
Hi Melissa –
I love your idea of keeping the “fun”. I sketched out an editorial calendar for my blog over the next few months – and (in my head) I’ve titled Friday as FUN DAY! It’s when I’ll share quotes, pictures, etc. Writing every day this month . . . I may need to add additional “fun” days! :)
Thanks for stopping by!
Lisa
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