I’ve written a lot lately about why I think your pastor and your staff should blog. Sure, it’s easy for me to encourage you and your church staff to do this. It’s an entirely different endeavor to actually go and write content for a blog or your church’s web site.
Don’t worry, I’ve been in your shoes. I’m not a prolific writer. I’d say that I’m mediocre at best, but I’ve learned a few tricks that make blogging much easier for me. I’ve learned that I don’t have to be a night owl, or have the latest software. Instead, I’ve learned two very important things that have helped me double my output of blog posts. Here they are…
Do Some Work While You’re Sleeping
I’m a big fan of sleep, but also know that I’ve only got a few precious hours in the morning until my two year old says that he’s ready to start the day. In order to best use that time, I prepare myself the night before. I begin by looking through my blog drafts and determine which post I want to write about the next day. I then sketch a short outline of where I want to go, and only then I go to sleep.
Then something funny happens while I sleep. My mind begins to do the work for me. I begin think about unrelated items and how they could be connected. I start dreaming about graphics for the post, it’s like my brain has already started writing the post.
At this point, I often wake with what I hope is some sort of unique take on my blog post. If this goes according to plan, it makes my writing effortless.
For example, I wrote a blog post about Taylor Swift and social media. It was triggered by reading an article about her Twitter account being hacked, which made me think about how this could applicable to my audience. Then while I was sleeping, I remembered two more things I read about Taylor’s use of social media. By the time I woke up, I knew where I wanted to go with the blog post and it only took me about 40 minutes to write.
Create the Producer Mindset
When I wake up the first thing I do is open up my laptop and write. I write whatever comes to my mind and I don’t edit myself. I just write for about 20 to 30 minutes. It’s okay if my mind or writing wanders, the point is I need to write.
Now why is it important that I write first thing in the morning? Well, most people start their mornings by consuming not producing. They consume social media, email, the news or radio.
By starting my day with writing, I’m activating my mind to be a producer not a consumer. I’m preparing my mind to produce throughout the day. This gives me the mental inertia that to know I’ve already produced something today and the day is not even over.
I find that these unedited writing sessions can often produce some of my best work. It’s amazing to see what pops up and gives me a whole new set of ideas to work off of to create content for this blog.
You see by practicing these two habits, I’ve been able to start my day with a producer’s mindset, which has enabled me to write more and even better content.
How do you start your day? What do you do to create better content? Click here to share below.