I’m sure you have heard of that statement before. K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid). It is used in quite a variety of fields and seems to always be very very true. It is not uncommon for me to have to remind myself of this every once in a while.
Today as I thought about my blogging time, I again had to remind myself. Here is what has gone on with my blogs as my business gets busier and busier.
I love to communicate and help people and that is why I started blogging in the first place. But, over time I started to add more and more to my blogging in order to make the posts nicer. Like adding a picture to each post, nicer headings, and trying to make sure that the posts are long enough and packed with info.
Wise Use of Time?
This all sounds great and sure the posts look good but there is a problem. The problem is that all of those tasks take extra time. Because of all the extra time needed to get the posts up I have found myself blogging a lot less. I can actually write a blog post rather quickly but the other items take time.
Some would say it is not that big of a deal to go get an image and add it to a post and it really isn’t. But, when you add up everything and look at the real numbers it actually is. Let’s look at what I actually do to get an image in a post.
I will usually use the creative commons pictures on Flickr because it is the easiest. Sometimes I may try to find some stock images. So I have to spend time finding the right image that adds to the post. This in itself can be time consuming (usually what takes the longest). Then I need to add it to the post. Sure I can just link to it but then if the picture ever gets taken down or removed, I am left with a dead spot. So I download the image and upload it to my server and then insert it into the post. Then I have to make sure it is formatted correctly for the post. Granted, Windows Live Writer makes this very easy, it still needs to be done. Then I need to give the photographer credit for the image. Sometimes I will also have to reformat my first paragraph so that the image fits correctly with the text around it.
On average this will take me about 15-20 minutes. Maybe on a good day I can do it in 5-10. I also have another blog that I do and most posts from this blog are carried over my business blog.
On top of that I have my daily tasks for clients I do, as well as consulting and phone calls. I am currently writing for two publications, a newsletter and working on more books and products.
So those 15-20 minute tasks can really take a toll on my day and make it a huge burden to write a blog post. So to remedy this I have decided to just write and get something out there as often as possible. There may be an image, there may not be. There may be 500 words, there may be 100.
Over Complicated?
The point is that there are probably a ton of tasks in our lives that we over complicate and we cannot afford to. Then we simply do nothing instead which is far worse. Sure, I could pay a VA to add images to my posts and format them, etc. But, right now I cannot justify paying someone for such an non-critical task.
The busier I get the more I see the need to be wiser with my time. So I cannot afford to over analyze things which lead to inaction. So what are you doing that can be simplified. Keep in mind this does not mean to do crappy work. But, how can you do great work more efficiently?
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