Writing a blog post is seriously hard, okay? The whole process seems relatively simple, but in reality it can take 1-3 hours, sometimes more, to put together a post for the week. Because the weekly task can seem so daunting at times, it’s easy to procrastinate to the day the post is due.

But let me show you a few ways to productively procrastinate the actual writing of the article. All of these tasks need to be done anyway, so if you need a break from blogging or are just avoiding it entirely, doing these simple things will push you closer to hitting that “publish” button.

Let’s jump right in.

 

 

1. Make the cover image.

Graphics are essential to most, if not all blog posts. People are more likely to look at a visually appealing image than plain text. Because of this, a clean design with the title of your article is useful for posting on social media to direct people to your site. In the same way, having graphics for your post means that others can share the images to their friends, and therefore send more traffic towards your blog. You win!

 

2. Write the sharing message.

If you use WordPress to share your post to other platforms like Facebook or Twitter, you might want to write a quick message introducing your article and briefly summarizing what it’s about. This gives the reader more information on what exactly the post is about and why they should click on the link.

I like to ask questions, for example:

Are you looking for some good summer reads? (a book recommendations post)

Do you struggle with writers’ block? (a post on conquering writers’ block)

These target the reader and make them ask themselves if the post applies to a problem or question they have. If the answer is yes, they’re more likely to click on the link. You’re looking for people who actually want to learn from you, after all.

This is my sharing message for this particular post:

If you often find yourself procrastinating when writing a blog post, here are 7 ways you can make the most of your time.

Most readers don’t have a long attention span, so keep your message short and simple in order to hook the reader without boring them.

 

 

3. Fix the slug.

This is optional, but a short slug is necessary if you want to paste the link to your article on different social media sites, notifying them for a new post. Short urls look simpler and therefore more pleasing to the eye. And if the link is more visually pleasing, chances are, more people are going to click on it.

Sometimes, you can’t help long slugs. My general rule of thumb is that a url is okay if it takes up one line of my Instagram bio (on my laptop screen). If the url doesn’t go over your browser, you should be good.

 

4. Make sure your categories and tags are all good.

Check that your post is in the right category! You don’t want to publish a post and then have to go back and change the category it’s in. Not only is that a waste of time, but if you’re a growing site and people notice, it’s a tad bit unprofessional.

And when it comes to tags, add a few specific ones, but not too many. The number of tags I add to a blog post generally hit the five-and-under mark. This way, others can find posts they’re actually looking for.

 

 

OTHER POSTS YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:

4 Tips to Help You Crush Writer’s Block

How to Get Yourself Excited for Anything

Writing When Life Gets Too Busy

 

 

5. Insert images and breaks.

You’ll want to make sure there are enough images and breaks in your blog post before you publish. Why? Because a huge chunk of text with no white space screams “this is going to be a lot of work to read” to your viewer. If there are line breaks, white space, and quality images, it’s easier to read a post.

Only, don’t overdo it. Your reader is here for your content – not your pretty photos or cool graphics. Don’t bombard them with so many pictures they can’t find your content.

How nice your post looks matters, but content comes first.

 

6. Click on “preview” to check that your formatting so far looks good.

The “Preview” button on WordPress is such a lifesaver. The formatting of my drafted post and the finished result often look very different, so it’s good to see what my article is going to look like before I publish it. Many times, I’ll see a glaring error I didn’t notice before, and return to my draft to fix it.

Other times, the error lies with how the post actually looks.

Maybe there’s too much text in one area and you need to divide it with a graphic or line break. Or maybe the spacing is off in some places. Or maybe an image just doesn’t look like it’s in the right place. Clicking on “Preview” helps you avoid all of these mistakes and keeps your readers’ eyes happy!

 

 

7. Double check all the settings are good.

When you’re near the end of a blog post, check that all the settings are just the way you want them to be. Because I use WordPress, my settings are on the right side of the post. I have the ability to schedule posts, fix categories and tags, add a featured image, manage sharing messages, and change the post format among other options.

It’s possible to forget to add something to a post – like a cover image, for instance. Checking your settings lets you see what tasks you still need to do.

 

Bonus: Drink water.

As a writer, it’s super easy to get dehydrated and forget to drink when fully in the zone. So take two minutes to drink water and stretch or whatever. It doesn’t take long and it’s good to get away from staring at a screen for so long. Plus, you get to rehydrate and move around a bit more. It’s pretty great.

 

 

That’s all I have for you!

These are the all the tips I have for productively procrastinating when writing blog posts! Tell me, do you procrastinate when trying to create an article? Does the visual appearance of a blog post matter to you? And how do you conquer procrastination?

Let me know in the comments below!

All the best,