I often find that many bloggers, including myself, wish they had more time to work on their blogs. It's so easy to lose track of time on the internet with all the new social media, instant messaging and viral video sites out there, so I figured I'd make a list to help you free up some time.

Some of these may be very simple and by all means may be very fun and intriguing but I'm strictly talking about cutting out things that take away from time you've dedicated to working on your blog, as well as helping you to stay on track and focused.

1. Make A To Do List

I made a post on this a long time ago but just wanted to reiterate how handy this can be. When you have a few hours to work on your blog go grab some good old fashioned pen and paper and write down what you want to accomplish with your time. Once you have the list use it to stay on track by crossing duties off as you finish them, this way if you ever get thrown of coarse you can get right back where you were.

2. Stop Checking Your Analytics And Statistics

I must admit this one gets me sometimes, I love to check out how my blog is doing. I check my inbound links, my Google Analytics, my Alexa ranking and plenty of other fun statistics about it. Don't get me wrong checking these stats are crucial to the development of your blog, to know where traffic is coming from tells you what's working and what's not, my point is don't get too carried away with this. Dedicate the time you have left over at the end of your blogging time to check these out.

3. Outsource Your Blog Duties

There are tons of services out there that you can hire for building links, advertising and even writing content for you, which would technically make this list pointless to you. The problem is they cost money and it's all a matter of time vs. money to decide if you want to outsource.

4. Start A Link Building Campaign

If you haven't already started a link building campaign now is the time to do it. A link building campaign is pretty much a list of things you're going to do to build back-links to your blog. Instead of randomly roaming around the internet and building links write down what you're going to do everyday to get them. It could involve plenty of things but making a list will keep you on track so you know exactly where to go and what to do.

5. Stop Roaming Forums

Forums can be an excellent source of problem solving and even link building for your blog, but don't get caught going through every single thread on there. It can be a very time consuming place for bloggers, especially the forums that help you with blogging and SEO related stuff. So my advice is just keep it as an outlet for solving problems and building links.

6. Make A List Of Blog Posts

Time to turn to the pen and paper again and make a list of possible blog posts. Don't wait till your logged into your blogging account with a blank screen in front of you, get into the groove now and think of 20-50 posts that your going to make. Odds are you probably won't use all of them but just having a reference to look at before you post helps a ton.

7. Stop Wasting Time On Social Media Sites

Social media sites can be a great value to your blog, they can help you make connections, build links, drive traffic and let your readers connect with you on a more personal level. The point I want to make about them is that although they are an essential to every blog, make sure that your doing only the essential in order to benefit your blog and readers. Nowadays social media sites are branching out and getting bigger and bigger, and at the same time introducing more and more ways for you to waste your time... especially with Facebook Apps.

8. Stop Watching Youtube Videos

This one is fairly straight forward, I personally love youtube there are so many different types of videos on there, even some that will help you and your blog out. I suggest leaving this till the of your blogging time as somewhat of a payoff, just don't get distracted by it on your blogging time.

9. Minimize Your Distractions

The surroundings of where your blogging can take tolls on the amount of time it takes to get things done. When I start working on my blog I like to get "in the zone", I don't have any instant messagers on like Facebook or MSN Messenger, I'm purely focused on blogging. It's especially hard to write content while there's multiple distractions going on, this includes on and off the computer. If you have a laptop, find a place where you can work comfortably like a coffee shop or a more isolated room in your house to work on your blog. The bottom line is "minimize your distractions and you'll maximize your time".

10. Stop Reading Other Blogs

I saved the biggest time waster for last and it's exactly what you're doing know, reading other blogs. Not to say that you shouldn't be reading this blog but there's just so many on the internet these days with endless amounts of content that your bound to run into them and waste some time. Try to decrease the intake of other blogs until after you've spent some time working on your own.


What's your biggest time waster? how do you make time for blogging? and let me know any other tips that help you save time while blogging.

-FBI