10 Tips that will help you blog more; on your smartphone…

As I sit here watching my youngest at soccer practice, it dawns on me. I have 60 mins with nothing better to do than sit on my phone.

Now I could just scroll through social media, but I despise being unproductive and this time can be better used to blog. Then the thought dawned on me “when were other good times to blog and how could I make it easier?”

Dead hours :
These are hours or short pieces of time, where you have no other choice but to be on your phone. There are lots of these, like public transport, kids sports, doctors waiting rooms and even while the family watches TV. I am not suggesting you become socially awkward, but anytime that you would normally be on social media is a great time to blog instead.

Social media:
What about social media, um, delete it! “Wait, what did he just say?” I hear your internal monologue scream! Let’s be honest, social media just gets in the way and does nothing to improve you as a human being. Exiling it from your mobile phone means no distraction. Now everytime you want to check your socials, use this as que to blog instead! I’m not suggesting you delete them entirely, but remove them from your phone and keep them restricted to your iPad or Laptop.

Blog from your phone:
Now that you no longer have those pesky socials distracting you have time to write instead. Blogging from your phone might be the single best thing you can do to increase your blogging output. It just makes so much sense, your phone is always on you and it’s so convenient to anywhere. You will be surprised how much you can get done in about 30 mins. Hmmm… 669 words to be exact 🙂

Reward yourself for doing it:
This is generally going to be done in times that aren’t exactly working hours. So make it an enjoyable process and get motivation from the fact that you are being productive rather than scrolling through other people’s photos.

Don’t make it about volume;
Make it about creativity and consistency. Quickly jotting down an idea or expanding on an existing idea. Small amounts often are easy to do and breeds creativity, this very easily leads to getting hooked into creating more. Whereas committing or pushing yourself to write 300 or 1000 words before you get off the train will stifle your creativity, because it brings a different atmosphere that feels too much like work.

Easy to start and stop:
Your phone is always with you and super convenient to just throw down a few notes and pop it back in your pocket for later. A laptop takes and isn’t as inconspicuous.

Don’t commit to finishing:
This is controversial and I’m not sure on this one just yet. But let’s run with it for now. When I sit at my desk, I start and finish the same piece before moving onto anything else, or I end up with a number of unfinished pieces that never see the light of day. Your phone should be seen as an ideas hub that breeds creativity not a chore or place of work.

Enjoy the process:
I can’t stress this enough. Your phone will soon become your secret productivity weapon, rather than a time suck, but be sure to focus on creativity and not production.

Get a content buddy:
Much like anything else in life, it’s more fun with friends. Share ideas, tips and tricks with each other. Motivate and congratulate each other on achieving something many others could not.

WordPress smartphone app:
WordPress has an app that allows you to blog directly to your website. I am still a fan of blogging to an editor first, but this might be a good option for some.
Bonus Tip: Use tools that sync with your computer, so you can continue without fuss when you are next back at your laptop or desk.

Make sure your new content ideas are easy to find when you finally sit down at your desk for editing, so use tags, titles and folders to keep them organized and accessible. There is nothing worse than writing a great piece and not being able to find it!
I use Notes on my iphone with a folder called Blog ideas. Google Docs will also work, then just copy and paste your new blog into Grammarly or Language Tools for a quick editorial.

What are you waiting for?
Tell me your favourite hacks to get you writing more often.