Do you get overwhelmed every summer because the kids are home and you can’t do as much as you usually do?
Many blogger moms feel the same. I can already see people panicking on Facebook groups. They are counting down the days until the holidays!
So, you know, you are going to have some time off work for holidays but you also have to deal with having the kids at home.
In my next blog post, I will give you some ideas for the kids to do while you are working. But for now, I am going to go over some tips that will help you get more done over the summer.
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1. Get more done before the summer
This is the most obvious solution. You can do a few extra hours here and there. But you have to start now and give up a few things in order to do it.
This means you are really going to need a holiday by the time we get to the summer!
2. Plan for the summer weeks
We tend to plan our quarters or our years and make a list of tasks and projects that we want to complete. But do we really look at the holidays and take into account that we may not have as much time as usual?
We usually don’t, and it’s easy to overestimate what you should be doing when you are looking at a piece of paper with all your projects as a whole.
When it comes to the summer holidays, plan now what you need to do but don’t think of a whole project.
You know you are going to be busy with the kids.
Ask yourself: How many emails do you need to send to your list? How many blog posts do you need to write? How many videos to record? etc.
You will feel it’s easier and more achievable to get them done when you know the number of items you must complete.
Here are a couple of blog planners you can use for the summer or for the whole year:
You'll find these even more helpful during the summer because they are printables and you can take them with you if you need to, so you can keep on to of things. Even when you're out and about.
3. Get up early
I know. It’s the holidays. You don’t have to get up early and get the kids to school.
But first thing in the morning is one of the best times for you to do some of your more creative tasks.
And if you are working while everybody else is still in bed, you will not get distracted. I work on my laptop from my kitchen, so I usually ask that nobody comes down before 8:00.
If you have little ones, and you cannot do this, work around their timetable. Work while they are having a nap or work when they’ve gone to bed, but you already know that, don’t you?
#PRODUCTIVITYTIP: Don’t get up early every day, if you have organised some playdates or some activities, you know you can work while they’re out. But getting up early really helps. #productivity #timemanagement
4. Work offline
The fourth of my summer productivity tips for blogger moms is to try to spend some of your time working completely offline.
I usually work online because a lot of the tasks I do are online. But over the summer, when I need to do the same amount of work in less time, I try to do as much as I can completely offline.
Because I have planned what I need to do, I spend as much time as I can working offline, and have designed periods for doing online tasks.
Even if you have no intention of going browsing when you start, you are going to be tempted to check your email or look something up, or go into Facebook.
So don’t do it. Turn your WiFi off if you have to.
5. Batch your tasks
Batching is something that you should already be doing.
Doing similar tasks one after another means that your brain is ONLY focusing on one type of task. It doesn’t seem like it should make that much of a difference but your brain takes a little bit of time to change gears and start doing something different. And you could be losing up to 20% of your time every time you change tasks.
So start batching your tasks now. For example, you can start batching your writing or creative work.
Once you have enough material, batch your editing. For me, getting this done before the summer means I don’t need to use as much time to “finish” things. They’re mostly done.
6. Repurpose your content
If you’ve been going for a while, you already have a wealth of content or emails written. Why don’t you reuse them?
For example:
- You can use one of your blog posts and turn it into an email or the other way around.
- Get one of your older blog posts and do an update.
- Get one of your longer blog posts and divide it into smaller ones
- Email your list your 3 most popular blog posts for the past 3 months. Chances are they haven’t read them all.
- Do a summer sale campaign with some of your products
7. Do easier, simpler things
For example, write shorter blog posts. Not every one of your blog post has to be 2000 words long.
I find shorter blog posts harder to do because you have to condense everything in fewer words, but they work for certain things.
Or if you have a long blog post, split it into two: Part 1 and Part 2.
Another thing you can do is write listicles. They’re easier to write than reviews or how to guides.
8. Collaborate
Why don’t you collaborate with other bloggers and get some guest blog posts for the summer?
You get an extra blog slot filled in and your guest will get links to their own blog, so everybody wins.
Or if you can’t get a blog post, what about a short interview to somebody in your niche? They can be done quite easily: Decide on the topic, think of 5 questions and ask a few bloggers in your niche to complete them in exchange for links to their site or their products.
TIP: It doesn’t have to be difficult to find guest blog posts. There are plenty of collaboration threads in Facebook groups.
9. Take it easy
Yes. You’re on holidays, so don’t think you have to produce the same amount of blog posts as you do during the rest of the year. The rest of the world is also on holiday!
We’re obsessed with how many blog posts we have to create. Who told you had to write one blog post per week for the rest of your life?
I know that is what’s recommended and that you have to be consistent but: Come on! It’s a recommendation!
Ask yourself a question, what happens if you write 3 blog posts instead of 6 during the summer? Is the world going to end?
I don’t think so. Besides, it’s not how much content you have, it’s what you do with it, so get promoting!
That’s why you have Tailwind, SocialBee, Smarterqueue! Load them so you don’t’ have to worry!
If you found these summer productivity tips for blogger moms helpful, please share!
These are great tips! I think I will work on collaborating with others and trying to get work done while my daughter takes a nap or when she goes to bed. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! It’s harder with little kids, I spent a summer waking up at 5 to get things done before everybody else got up. Taking advantage of naps and doing some evening work is probably better for your mood… 🙂
All great tips