Idiots Guide to Creating Blogging Ideas and Staying Motivated
Generating Writing Ideas and Staying Productive
A reader recently asked me how I manage to keep coming up with article ideas and stay productive. The strange thing is, repetitively coming up with fresh ideas for articles is my largest challenge by far. Besides just being a part-time author, I have a full-time job and a family. This creates a dual challenge of producing ideas and having the time to plan out and deliver them.
I have to make my own time to get the work done. I try to blog when everyone is asleep and when I get moving with something I don't stop until I finish or crash. As for the task of creating new ideas, I have a few tips that have helped me out a lot.
Here are my best tips for staying motivated and generating content:
Create More Ideas than you Need
More ideas = more production - period.
You need to develop as many ideas and concepts as you can. Then, pick the best ones from that pile. I am perpetually looking for ideas, inspiration, issues, challenges, arguments, and anything else that makes me want to write. Strangely enough, these things are around every corner; whether we're looking or not.
Capture, Store, Process, and Use Ideas - All Day - Every Day
Like I said, great ideas are happening all around us. You need to record these things in a way that you can take action upon them later. My two main tools for capturing and acting on data are a paper notebook and Evernote (www.Evernote.com) application. Evernote works on a Windows or Mac pc along with all smartphones. They also have a browser extension that will quickly send information from web pages to your notebook. Whenever I get an idea or see something useful, I immediately capture it somewhere. If I have my notebook, I write it down. Later on I snap a picture and send it to my Evernote app. If I just have my phone, I snap a picture and quickly type in something to help me remember what I thought. All of these notes get sent to folders like "article ideas" or "marketing" or "productivity".
Take in as much Content as Possible
If you want to get ideas and inspiration then you need to read, watch, or hear inspiring works. I read mountains of information every day. The best tool that I have found for massive, effective information consumption is an RSS Reader. RSS Readers allow you to subscribe to information updates from blogs, news sites, and just about anything else on the web.
I prefer using Google Reader because it is web-based and available everywhere. I am presently subscribed to more than 200 RSS feeds. I get articles, news stories, videos, shopping deals, and more pouring into buckets that I rapidly sift through. I group all of these feeds together by topic (Productivity, Gadgets, Sports, Economy, etc.). When I have some time to read, I can quickly crank through 30 or so fresh articles on a given topic.
For most articles I just scan the headlines and pictures, for others I read, star, and share them. I send the really good ones, to Evernote for future use. I have never seen a swifter way to consume reams of information, plus get a quick feel for how a topic is trending.
Step Away from the Computer and Meet Some Human beings
Nothing puts ideas in your head more rapidly than interesting dialog. I regularly force myself to find local functions where I can get out and meet real people. Some of these people might read my blog and others are involved in things that interest me. You get a surprising number of ideas that way. One of the places that I go to find interesting events in my area is Meetup.com. If two or more people want to gather and discuss a topic, you'll find them there.
Look for Ideas in the Situations and Challenges Around You
Think about your daily life experiences. What kind of things make life harder, easier, more fun, scary, or frustrating? Take those experiences and the emotion that they produce and try to relate them to your topic. I probably write some of my best stuff when I'm angry about something annoying.
What to do with all of these Ideas
I take action on some of my captured ideas right away and others I just save for a rainy day. Whenever I have writer's block or I'm just burnt, I comb through my notes and look for ideas. This has gotten me "unstuck" lots of times.
Christopher Masiello is an E-Learning Guru by day, Blogger by night. I write the VitaminCM.com blog, which features Video Tutorials and Step-By-Step Guides that help you do more with technology. Let him show you how to set up custom, professional blog.
About the Author
E-Learning Guru by day, Blogger by night. I write the VitaminCM.com blog, which features Video Tutorials and Step-By-Step Guides that help you do more with tech
How Many Days? Day 578 - An Idiot's Guide To Blogging
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