It’s no secret. Writing the perfect blog post takes time. There’s plenty of posts out there on how to blog in under 30 minutes, but sometimes you need to just hammer things out, and not stop until it looks right.

With that in mind, here are Eight blogging tips designed to help you save time:

  • Utilize drafts. When you get ideas, just throw a rough list into a WordPress draft. If you’re not using WordPress just use your word processor. It doesn’t have to be all flushed out and ready to publish when you’re done. It’ll just give you the best idea of how to pick up where you left off, and the post won’t take nearly as long to complete when you come back to it.
  • Work distraction free. Close out that Facebook tab. Commit to not answering emails for a given block of time. All of that stuff will be there when you get back. If you have lofty content goals (as you should) you will need to set the agenda for your work day, instead of letting emails and Facebook and other ways that people contact you set your agenda for you.
  • Set a routine. It’s like working out. You have to get in a routine to see results. For me, the early morning hours before people start writing emails, Facebook messages, etc. work well. I generally have an easier time focusing on my project at that point. Find the best time for you. It’s all about understanding what’s best for your mind and your schedule.
  • Strategize. Figure out what activities give you the best results. Rinse, repeat. If you’re driving the most traffic and interactions from your G+ communities at a given point, focus the majority of your promotion/social time there. Stop just endlessly flipping back to your news feed and staring at nothing. That is a waste of your time.
  • Stay organized. I mean this in a mental sense. Outlines, mind maps and rough drafts are all ways of figuring out just what it is that you’re trying to say. Bigger, more complicated posts may take some time to think out. Do everything you can to organize your thoughts ahead of time to stay on task. This can make edits much easier, and give you a better final product for the time you invested.
  • Find the topics you are passionate about. If it doesn’t really interest you, it becomes work, and that will inevitably become a chore that takes longer.
  • Edit after you write. When you try to edit as you are writing the post, it can stifle creativity and take longer to produce. Get everything written and then go back to make the necessary modifications after you are finished.
  • Keep a notebook or jot your notes down digitally. When you spend time with your ideas at this juncture, they’ll be in better shape by the time you want to use them. It will also give you something to refer back to, so you don’t spend too much time staring at a blank screen, wondering what you’re going to write about.

Conclusion

I used to exercise with a guy whose favorite phrase was “You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when you’re done.” Well, the same thing goes for writing. There’s a gluttony of web content that’s just OK. Your goal should be to provide something awesome.

That can take more work. When you are a little smarter about how you produce it, you can learn some of these basic techniques to shave off some time.

Hope they help. Let me know in the comments below if there are other ways that you have saved time on your blog posts.