How To Write a Blog When You Don't Feel Like Writing

Ding!  My Mac's iCal program pops up the tickler "Time to Write Your Blog!" I say, "Oh crap, I don't have time for this.  Now what am I going to write about?"

Like any blogger worth her salt, I keep a list of things that I think are interesting topics to write about.  The problem is, when I look at the list out of context (meaning, when I am not motivated to write) NOTHING seems interesting to me.  All I care about is getting the darn thing written so I can go back to my other work.

So here's what I do:

1. Read my idea list and see if anything strikes my fancy.  If so, I just write about it.  I open a text program and I just start writing... anything.  It always flows eventually.  Granted, this approach usually takes longer than my allotted time (30 minutes).  But it's better than not doing it at all.
2. I google.  I go to google (or bing or yahoo or twitter or whatever).  What are people saying about my topic right now?  My topic is e-marketing so I google that.  I can even use keyword specifiers like "news: internet marketing" and I'll get thousands (no, actually millions) of results. I merrily scroll through and look for ideas.
3. Visit my fave blogs. I don't read blogs religiously but I do have a handful of bloggers that I really like to check in on occasionally.  I have them in an RSS feed folder in my email program.  So I go look into what they are talking about.  If I have an opinion about what they are saying, which I usually do, I can just write a quick few comments that describe what I am thinking about that.
4. Sometimes all I have to do is remember that blogging is simply sharing my opinion.  I am considered an expert in my field, and my opinion is certainly valued by many, but it's still just my opinion.  I don't feel the need to be "correct" all the time.  I am simply stating what I believe or how I feel.  People who read blogs know this.  Reminding myself of this can inspire me.

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