04.29.11

10 Tools to Help You be a More Productive Blogger

My guest post today is from Bernice, author of the blog Living the Balanced Life. Bernice is a very supportive blogger and certainly knows how to encourage other women and mothers to find that balance that we all seek daily! She is a huge dose of inspiration, sharing her tips on how to make the most of your blogging time.

As mommy bloggers (or moms who blog) we have multiple areas of our lives we are responsible for. Our kids are a huge part of that, as well as our spouses or significant others. And then of course, somebody has to take care of the house so caring for ourselves may get thrown in there somewhere. As we are working to be successful in blogging, we are trying to keep everything in balance. One thing we can do is learn to be efficient and productive, making sure that the time we set aside for blogging, we’re able to get as much done as possible.

Tools to Help You Make the Most of Your Blogging Time:

Google Calendar: Google calendar allows you to layer in multiple calendars for all different areas of your life. I write for several blogs, plus have my own projects going. I have each blog layered as a different color so I can see what all I have coming up at a glance, but I can turn off layers if I am looking at other areas of my life. This is great for families to use as well. You can share access with other family members so everyone can see and add their own activities.

Google Reader: Reading and commenting on other blogs helps you build friendships and bonds with other bloggers and readers. Reading also gives you ideas that you can write from your own twist and angle. Using Google Reader works really well for me. I have a list of blogs organized by titled folders. Play around with it until you make it work for you. If you find you are not reading a blog that is in your reader, delete it!

Google Analytics: This is a great tool to help you see your traffic. It will tell you how many visitors came to your site, where they came from, how long they stayed, and from what page they left. I know I still have not mastered all the data that is available in GA, but it is very helpful. One of the biggest pieces of data I look at is where are my readers coming from. This helps me know what blogs fit my niche well, and if I should spend time there and time looking for others like it. It may also be a good place to look for options for guest posting. 

Feedburner: Using Feedburner will allow your blog readers to subscribe via RSS reader.  Setting it up is not difficult, but it’s essential for helping to make your blog easy to read through this subscription option.

Windows Live Writer or Microsoft Word: I had been using Live Writer as a blog writing program. You don’t have to be online and for me, it’s better to write offline so I can stay focused. I liked the features it has and then I realized my new version of Microsoft Word has a blog writer option in it as well.

Photography: Photos are important to your blog posts, but not everyone is a photographer. Good quality, eye-catching photos can make a big difference, but you shouldn’t just grab something off Google Images, since many of those images are copyrighted.

Facebook: You want to be sure you are utilizing Facebook. Share a link of your latest post. Share a picture you took. Interact with your fans/friends. Depending on whether you are growing a business/following, you will want a Facebook Fan page.

Twitter:  Interacting with your readers via twitter is vital to growing a blog. For additional info on social media, see Theta Mom’s post Build your Following through the Power of Social Media.

YouTube: Some people may actually be more comfortable on camera than writing. Either way, video blogging, or vlogging, is becoming more and more popular. I found it was quicker to do vlog than it was to write and edit and format a written post! Consider giving it a shot, and it doesn’t have to be perfect!

Skype: One great thing about blogging and the internet is that it allows us to do business across thousands of miles. If you are collaborating with other bloggers on a project, or you want to interview someone for your blog, Skype is an awesome way to do so. Consider how Skype may work for you.

Don’t try to jump in and start all these at one time! Look at each one and see how you may be able to benefit from it and work it into your plans. If you feel you are overwhelmed and you need help balancing out your life, you would benefit from my recently released ebook, Find Your Balance.

{ 30 Comments }
04.26.11

Meet the Council of Media Moms

momAgenda is committed to designing and providing functional products that meet the needs of a busy lifestyle. Whether you want to capture big moments or need the tools to organize your personal life, momAgenda has created various products to fit every need and budget. Each product is carefully developed to ensure that quality meets both style and function.

This company is always in the process of developing new products based on substantial feedback provided by consumers so this level of communication is of upmost importance. momAgenda recently announced the exciting new launch of collaborating with the most passionate and engaging media moms in the industry to assist the company in reaching this goal.

Council of Media Moms (better known as COMM) was formed to build important relationships consisting of women and mothers who will assist momAgenda in further establishing an important online presence. This partnership with members of the COMM team will garner important insight into the needs and wants of the momAgenda community. The relationships formed in this space are paramount; momAgenda strives to cultivate a supportive community of bloggers and media moms that embraces this initiative and is dedicated to high standards of integrity and excellence in the digital world.

I know many of you were excited to hear about the opportunity I announced right here on this blog, collaborating with momAgenda, and I have to say we were absolutely blown away by the response of applicants. There were SO many amazing, talented bloggers that applied which required us to make some really tough decisions.

We are pleased to officially announce the launch of the Council of Media Moms! You’ll be able to read the full profiles of each team member as well as ways to connect with them throughout social media. I am so honored to lead this fantastic team of ultra talented ladies!

Thanks again for your support as we begin working on this initiative! To stay updated on the latest COMM news you can follow the hashtag #momAgendaCOMM on Twitter.

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04.25.11

Investing in ME Again

I give my kids everything. I meet every need known to man and I try to be the BEST parent that I can. I am far from perfect but I am proud of the fact that I admit when I’m wrong and I learn from my mistakes because parenting, for me, is a PROCESS…one I am still learning through daily.

And there are times, like right now, when I feel like I need to put MYSELF back on the priority list. I am everything to everyone else including my husband and my kids, so it’s the age old question, “Where does that leave time for ME?”

Those of you who have been with me in the early days of this blog know that I had a fun meme called “Time Out for Theta Mom Thursday” and the idea was to take one hour per week to do something for YOURSELF – without the kids – something YOU enjoy. Encouraging moms to bring back a little time for themselves…

Well, I’ve fallen away from that philosophy recently and although I am not reinstating the meme, what I am doing is bringing that hour back again for ME – but this time? I’m going to try to do 30 minutes each DAY.

I know.

Gasp.

TOTAL gasp.

How the hell will I pull this off?

How will I manage to squeeze in thirty minutes of daily me time when I can barely use the bathroom without a little person following me? Well, I’m a very motivated person especially when it comes to a challenge and I am challenging myself to bring some peace back into my life and getting some well deserved ME time on the calendar.

I know I will be a better mother for it.

I know it will give me more energy, strength, and patience – things I am sure lacking these days.

I know it will be hard to do at first, but that’s something I’m willing to try because I invest in everyone else in my life so it’s about time I invest in ME again.

So if you’ll excuse me, there’s thirty minutes on the clock waiting for me.

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04.22.11

Punching Clocks

My guest post today is from Kim, author of The Fordeville Diaries. She recently left her corporate suit behind as she officially transitioned to become a SAHM. Here is a glimpse of her short journey so far, one that I know will strike a chord with many Theta Moms.

I recently left my career to stay at home with my kids.  Really recently.  As in, two weeks ago.  It was a huge change, and one I wrestled with for a long time, for many reasons.  For me (since it’s so different for everyone) here’s what had to stop:

  • Seeing my kids for less than three hours a day (and that was on a good day).
  • Talking to my kids with one eye (and both hands) on the work Blackberry.
  • Not having any idea of what was happening at pre-school. I mean, it’s not trigonometry and sex education, but still.
  • The feeling of an impending stroke whenever I had to stay home from work for doctors’ appointments, school functions, snow days or a sick nanny.
  • Those things don’t make the rest of the company stop functioning and, by extension, stop looking for me.
  • The increasing sense that no one thing was being done exceedingly well. It all kind of hung together by a thread toward the end – and it took just one little thing for an unraveling to begin.

{Also, if I never have to pump breast milk in a filthy airplane bathroom somewhere over the Atlantic, amidst significant turbulence, so I can attend a meeting overseas, I will die a happy woman.}

Everyone’s reasons to leave work and stay at home with their kids are different and valid.  But it’s a hard leap to make.  I went to school for a long time.  For a much longer time, I’ll continue to hold the related student loans.  I also worked really hard in all of my jobs – nights, weekends, vacations, middle of the night conference calls.  I’ve been summoned to my Blackberry after Christmas Dinner.  At 4th of July parties.  And at countless birthday festivities.  It took a long time to get the position I wanted, in the company I wanted.

And now I’ve given it up.  It’s gone.  That piece of me that was such a big part of my identity is no longer there.

People say “You can always go back.”  Surely I can go back to something – but maybe that something is not what I always did.  That’s a little scary.

And a little freeing at the same time.

I’ve seen judgment in people’s eyes on both sides of the equation.  I’ve heard “Well, it’s nice that you’ll be focused on your kids,” as well as “It’s hard to understand why you’d give up everything you’ve worked for.”

But here’s the deal:  I know that I’ve always been focused on my kids, even if I sat at a desk during the week and was held hostage by a Blackberry.  I also know that everything I’ve worked for is not dead and buried.  It’s just taking a back seat for the foreseeable future.  Nothing has to be set in stone — and this thought is what finally set me free.

And you know what?  Some of the key skills I needed to succeed at work were the ones I probably refined the most while being a mom.  Patience. Delegation.  Dispute Intervention.  Multi-Tasking.  Prioritizing.  Selective Response. Authoritative Decision-Making.  And, of course, Faking Confidence.

You know that expression – “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world”?  So true.  (But not the creepy movie derived from the same title — forget about that.  Gah.)

Turns out I was always training to be a mom – I just practiced on adult infants at desks for years beforehand (too bad I couldn’t use time out and a binky on them, though).  And then I became a mom, and honing those maternal skills prepared me to do better at work.

What I’m saying is maybe, really, there is no divide.  It’s all a matter of which clock you’re punching – the alarm clock, the billable hours clock, the time out clock, your biological clock – at which point in your life.

So. I think we can agree, just two weeks in, that I don’t have a lot of valuable wisdom to impart on making a successful transition between these worlds.  But it’s obvious to me that my job is certainly no less important these days, even without a title, a business card or a fabulous suit with heels.  The payroll may be lower, but the stakes are far higher.

What about you? I’d love to hear your experiences and perspectives on this. Which clock(s) do you punch and do you think about changing it?

{ 40 Comments }
04.19.11

An Interview with Theta Mom

Today, I am sharing tons of insight over at Daily Sugar Mama’s place. She’s got a fabulous blog and she’s featuring me on a new series she recently began. I’m talking all about blogging, social media and my life as a WAHM, so please take a moment to check it out – it’s a wonderful interview!

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