7 Reasons Why You Don’t Blog Even When You Have the Time

Did you have more time to write blog posts during the COVID-19 pandemic? I heard a lot of bloggers say they didn’t write a word after the coronavirus forced them to stay home. Others, however, took advantage of the opportunity. They used the hours gained by not commuting every day or running errands, for example, to make huge strides toward achieving their blogging goals.

And maybe you changed your lifestyle like so many did during the pandemic, and you still have more time to blog. But are you writing posts consistently? Do you publish on your blog regularly when you have time?

Use Your Time Wisely

If you don’t blog when you have the time, you likely won’t write posts when you don’t have the time…at least not consistently. And I’d bet you definitely won’t write when times get tough or unforeseen, challenging situations arise. You’ll just say, “Life got in the way.”

If you really want to be a successful blogger—and to write and publish posts consistently, you need to use your time wisely. Right now…not tomorrow or the next day…learn how to become a consistent writer and blogger. Whatever free time you have (or time you designate for blogging) is your opportunity to develop a habit of writing posts no matter what life throws your way. It’s your chance to learn how to eliminate distractions and create strategies that allow you to blog despite anything…and everything…that threatens to stop you from being a blogger.

Consider this my blogging challenge for you: Use the time you have wisely. Learn to write posts consistently in the time you have.

But before you tackle this challenge, you need to understand the reasons why you don’t write posts or publish on your blog consistently.

1. You are in your own way.

First and foremost, realize that the only thing stopping you from blogging consistently is you. You are in your own way. Your current mindsets and habits don’t support the achievement of your blogging goals.

Get out of your way by doing the hard work of changing how you think and behave, what you believe, and how you approach life. You need to work on you. That means deep diving into a personal development program and taking an honest look at yourself. Then, decide how to do things differently than you have in the past.

The following six reasons for not blogging consistently can be eliminated with a commitment to your personal development.

2. You are making excuses.

How many times have you said you don’t have the time or the energy to write a post? How often have you complained that life continually gets in the way of your blogging plans?

Too often.

Let’s be honest: These are just excuses. I know it, and you know it. And excuses do not help you publish blog posts consistently.

There will never be a perfect time to write a blog post, which is why you have to learn to write even during imperfect times.

I get that you may not think you have more time right now. But don’t turn your circumstances—whatever they are—into an excuse for not blogging. When you do that, you become a victim of circumstance. (And I know you don’t want to be a victim.)

Learn to write despite the kids playing outside your office door, the meals needing to be prepared, your day job, or any other obligations you have. Learn to write no matter what.

If you can do that now, you will be able to do it every single day—no matter what unexpected situation arises. When you have no excuses, you have no reason not to do what you say you want to do—blog consistently.

3. You are focused on doing the wrong things.

Productivity relies on you focusing on the right things—your priorities. If blogging is a priority, put your time, attention, and energy on it daily.

I understand that your children are a priority. Your elderly parent is a priority as well. And, of course, your dog’s walk is a priority—just like your daily exercise, client work, or whatever other “fires” need to be put out. But if blogging is a priority, too, you will do it—just like you manage to walk the dog even when you feel tired or sick. You make it happen. You make yourself do it.

So, prioritize your blog. Then, notice how you become able to write posts consistently every week. And notice that you are focused and productive while you are writing.

You will likely have to learn how to reduce or eliminate distractions since they steal your attention and make it hard to be productive. However, if you can’t do that, you have to learn to write despite distractions. Try some noise-canceling headphones, or pull a chair into your walk-in closet. Both strategies work well.

Don’t make excuses. Instead, find a solution, and focus on blogging.

4. You haven’t developed a habit.

If you aren’t writing posts consistently now, it’s because, to date, you haven’t developed a blogging habit. Habits are…well…habitual. You do them without even thinking.

Consider the habits you do have. You brush your teeth every morning. You take a shower after breakfast. You drink your coffee every morning while reading the newspaper. You watch the news at 6 p.m.

Is writing a post each week one of your habits? If not, make it one.

There’s no time like the present to begin developing a blogging habit—especially if you don’t have kids to care for, a job to go to each day, and dogs to walk and feed. But if you do have these other responsibilities, you can still develop a blogging habit. In fact, it’s all the more critical that you do so.

You need to develop a blogging habit despite the other tasks that could fill your entire day. When you accomplish this goal, you will be able to write blog posts no matter what happens or is happening around you.

Find a time to write. Write at that time every day. Do this day in and day out for 40 days or more. (A habit can take between 40 and 200 days to form.) Start now, and you’ll have a habit long before the New Year rolls around.

And then next time a pandemic hits, your kids are home sick from school, or your boss gives you an unreasonably short deadline, you will write posts anyway. In fact, no matter what happens in your life, you will blog just like you will continue to brush your teeth every day.

5. You don’t really want to blog.

Wannabe bloggers hate it when I ask them if they really want to blog.

“Of course, I do!” they exclaim.

“If that were true, you’d be blogging,” I reply.

Bloggers blog. (In other words, they write posts.) What more do I need to say—except, if you really wanted to blog, you’d be blogging.

So, stop talking about blogging and blog. Find a way. That’s what you do when something is important to you, and you really, really want to do it.

6. It’s easier not to blog.

Let’s face facts: Blogging consistently is hard. If it weren’t, as the saying goes, everyone would do it.

Yes, sometimes, it’s fun and easy. When you get in the flow, it’s fabulous! But most of the time, it takes effort…lots of effort.

If you haven’t been blogging consistently (or at all), then it’s going to feel more comfortable to do what you’ve been doing—not blogging. Doing something different always feels hard at first.

And writing blog posts seems most difficult when you begin developing the habit. Then, as you continue to write posts every day or week, it starts to feel easier. But you have to get over the initial hump.

You can equate this to the first day you begin an exercise program. It feels so damn hard to lift the weights 10 times or run a mile. As you do the exercises, you think, “I’d rather be sitting on the couch watching television or reading a book.” And the next day, you are so sore you swear there is no way you can get up and do it again.

Yet, if you get up and do it again; you get over the hump. After a week or so, exercising begins to feel easier. You may even start to like it. You get over the hump.

Blogging is the same. Do it when it feels hard, and eventually it gets easier.

7. You are afraid to blog.

A blank page or screen can appear terribly frightening. It’s almost as scary as seeing your words published on your site.

Some bloggeres are afraid of failure. Others are afraid of success. Maybe you are scared of being judged and rejected or of the responsibility that comes with having an adoring audience. You want to play big, but you are afraid to put yourself out there. You want to remain anonymous, but you want to make a difference.

No matter what you fear, that fear stops your hands from flying across the keyboard or from hitting “publish” on your next blog post.

If you want to blog consistently—and achieve your blogging goals—you have to act boldly. Bloggers are courageous.

Find Reasons You CAN Blog

It’s time to stop using the seven reasons described above to explain why you can’t blog…now or at any other time, is it not?

How do you do that? Find reasons why you can write and publish blog posts.

Here’s another way to complete this challenge: Get out of your own way.

How do you do that? Commit to working on yourself. Do the hard work of developing the mindsets and habits that support you and your blogging goals.

Then, when life happens, blogging will still happen.

How will you make sure you write and publish blog posts when you have time–or don’t have time? Tell me in a comment below. And please share this post with other bloggers you know so they, too, will get motivated take on this challenge.

Photo courtesy of Life-Of-Pix