Are you running behind blogging goals but not achieving them? Or are you running so fast that you do now know where your goals stand? In both cases, you need a “pause” button. Press Pause Please!
The pause I am talking about is a temporary stop. In blogging terms, this refers to stopping a bit and then looking back.
This helps you to analyze and keep up with your blogging goals.
Press Pause And Analyze your Blogging Goals
A pause may refer to a rest, hesitation, or temporary stop. – Wikipedia
Why Pause?
Remember VCRs?
When you fast-forwarded them, what happened?
Everything moved very fast. Twice or thrice the normal speed.
As a kid, I used to do this a lot as seeing people doing things very fast was kind of different and enjoyable.
Ahh… Little did I know that I will live a lifestyle where this “fast forward” mode would be normal!
Our lives are becoming fast and we are doing a lot of things at the same time.
The problem?
We are doing the same with blogging!
As bloggers, we are in fast-forward mode doing a lot of things at blazing speeds. As if God has pressed the fast-forward button.
Wait, there’s one thing that I did not tell you about VCRs.
When fast-forwarding, some frames were missed too!
And guess what, too, is missing many frames. We are missing many important moments in this speedy life.
We are forgetting many aspects of blogging in what has become fast blogging.
The pause button will just stop everything and let you think. Let you reflect on your actions. Let you analyze the situations and make better decisions.
Most of us are either:
- Forgetting the goals and running ahead without any sense of direction.
- Obsessed with goals up to a point where they are stopping our growth.
If you are from the first group, you are applying a lot of effort but not getting much result because it is spread in every direction.
If you are the second type, you are putting in less effort but expecting too much from those. You are also spending a lot of time watching every goal. A good example is checking AdSense earnings 20 times a day!
The pause button will help you. It will let you get your direction back.
How To Use The Pause Button?
First, go to your doctor, ask him for a complex brain implant and remove one of your eyes to make space for pause button….
OK, now that’s a bit too much! (But isn’t it a perfect plot for a horror movie?
Seriously, here’s how to use the pause button:
First, you need blogging goals. Set up some realistic goals.
Next, write your goals in a notebook or spreadsheet.
Maintain A Spreadsheet Or Notebook
Now comes the most important part. Maintaining that spreadsheet or notebook.
I’d advise using a spreadsheet and making columns for different stats like analytics stats, AdSense earnings, or other things.
At regular intervals, update it to see how you are progressing. This will keep up you on the path and let you know if you are doing something right or wrong.
But what do I mean by “regular intervals”?
How Often To Update
Updating frequency is very important. This is when you are in pause mode.
I’d advise doing it monthly or weekly.
By doing it weekly, you can make sure that you work six days at your full potential, and then on the seventh day, rest a bit and analyze what you did and what output did it produce.
Doing it monthly is an option for those of us who are busy. This will give you the bigger picture and tell you which things to repeat to keep the momentum going.
Does It Work?
I have analyzed my goals and stats monthly since November 2019 and just finished compiling results for December 2021. I am now even more energized to write more.
What are you waiting for? Go, press pause, analyze goals, and then share what it’s like!
Remember: Only analyze the stats on weekends or once per month and then forget about them. This will help you stay on track.
10 Second Version
Need to leave fast? Then just read the 10-second version of this post:
- Pause In Blogging = Stopping for a moment to analyze your goals and statistics.
- Why? Because it helps you to save time otherwise spent on repeatedly checking stats and staying on goal.
- How? Maintain a spreadsheet.
- When To Check? Monthly or weekly. Apart from that, forget the stats!
