To Blog or Not to Blog? What to Do When Time is Against You

Well, I dropped off the face of the Internet AGAIN.

There's always a reason... Like this time it started because I was hardcore avoiding spoilers for the final season of Game of Thrones. I hadn't even begun to watch when the last episode aired because I was still so far behind and rapidly trying to catch up on my rewatch of the entire series... (I finished the series about a week ago and I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT).

Then it morphed into.. Gosh, I've been away so long and have so much to catch up on where do I even start?

Not to mention the fact that LIFE is always entirely hectic, and this year has been the craziest one for me... Moving, setting up a new house, office, loads of international travel and..... Let's just say it's been a LOT. 

And let's face it... BLOGGING TAKES TIME. 

It's not just coming up with content.

Even though the content is everything that people see and is arguably the most important part of a blog, there's SO much more behind the scenes.

This is a book blog, so in order to blog about books I should probably READ some books, right??? That takes TIME. I should also know a little about what's coming up from authors and publishers... Again, that takes TIME.

Also, the whole reason I started blogging in the first place was to INTERACT with like minded people, and to have a place to talk about some of the things I love the most: my favourite characters, plots, twists and devices! When you love something so much of COURSE you want to talk about it forever, right? So there's visiting other blogs, there's chatting to other bloggers both on their blogs and on yours and there's participation in promotional activities for your favourite books/authors/publishers/book tour company.

So now, with such a crazy LIFE schedule, where can I find time for blogging? 

In the past year I've found myself with less and less time for bookish hobbies: Blogging, Bookstagram and even READING.

But the thing is, all the reasons that I started blogging for all still stand. I LOVE chatting to people about books and there is nowhere that I can do that more than right here, on my own blog.

The question I guess I have to ask myself is, can I post once a week and still call myself a book blogger? Will I be happy at one post per week? Is it not too little for people to keep stopping by? How many times will you top by a blog and see no new content and yet keep coming back?

When you first start blogging, most of us come in with a schedule we can't even keep up with - blogging every day or every second day and pushing ourselves to come up with content that's interesting, edgy and that will get some interaction. It's almost impossible to keep going this way (although some crazy wonderful bloggers still manage to post content DAILY). I realised pretty quickly that I don't have the time or the creative energy that's needed to make a new post every couple of days, and not only that, I can't reciprocate as a blogger on that many posts a month.

But I do still want to post a couple of times a week if possible... And I guess once a week will be enough if I can't manage more in any given week.

So here's my action plan to remain a contributing book blogger for the rest of the year:

1. Spend a few minutes every day on blogging

Even a few minutes every day will add up and it won't take away too much from anything else in my life. Am I early for an appointment? Why don't I check out a blog and even if I don't have time to comment at least I will have read the post and in my next spare five minutes I'll be able to leave a comment. Why don't I pull my laptop/tablet/phone out while I'm cooking dinner and work on that new post? Every little bit counts.

2. If I have some extra time/creativity spurts I should blog ahead. 

It's amazing how much having a few posts ready to go can help. It relieves the stress that inevitably comes with blogging and even if you use up a couple from your reserve without replacing them, hopefully you'll get a few moments to build that stock back up again.

3. Remember I'm only a blogger because I read

There has to be some sort of magical formula for me for spare time - how much should I allocate to reading and how much should I allocate to blogging? Obviously I need to keep reading in order to keep blogging... Unless I keep going on, and on, and on, and on about previous books that I have read. Don't get me wrong, I could do that (ha ha, can't we all?) but at the same time I might end up sounding monotonous (nobody mention right now just how I often I talk about my favourites like Annette Marie!!!)

4. Focus on the small wins

It's all too easy to feel overwhelmed with the workload and just how much it takes to be a book blogger. I mean, we are pretty incredible creatures when it comes down to it. Not only do we have real lives but we also have a digital life that takes a lot of time, effort and possibly some tears to maintain.

Did you get a few more hits/comments than usual on a recent post? Maybe someone just mentioned how much they loved something you pointed out in a recent review. Someone might have taken the time to leave a super long comment on a post (which is always AMAZING because, as I said, interaction is key for me with blogging). Maybe it's something as simple as the fact that you stuck to a planned schedule for the entire week/month/however long! SMALL WINS.

5. Remember that while there are responsibilities that come with book blogging, it's still just a hobby

Yes, I have ARCs and I have accepted ARCs since I was first able to receive them as a blogger. I must read these ARCs and review them as timeously as possible.

HOWEVER, it's not the end of the world if I don't get to post 2 or 3 or 4 times a week. ONCE WILL BE FINE. Two or more is ideal... But once will work. It will also give me time to do some blog hopping to the blogs that I love and hopefully even keep up with my bookstagram!

Do you have any hints/tips for blogging on a tight schedule? Any amazing time saving skills/apps I should know about? How do YOU manage YOUR blogging time?