This is a guest post by Ainslie from StudySkillsMentor.com. Learn how you can guest post on Teenius.
Simon had a Call to Action!
As a student who is two subjects off completing a degree I understand his pain. As a fellow blogger I have the skills to help keep his blogging schedule. As writer of Study Skills Mentor I have the guidance he may need.
As a teacher I had to answer his call!
I understand that many readers of Teenius.com are also students. Here are my thoughts on studying and blogging. This is Part 1 and how you can find a study / blogger balance.
Being a Student Blogger is Hard Work
Most bloggers I know moonlight in this gig. They work by day, blog by night. Me! I blog around work, study, spending time with my husband (who is also studying) and tea parties with my two year old.
Everyone has the same story. But we all find time because blogging is fun. Blogging is our passion. Blogging is our dream profession.
Student bloggers have extra burdens. Firstly there are family commitments. Now before you adult readers come breathing down my neck, just stop and think. It is much easier for me to say “No…I will play with you in a minute” or blog at night after my daughter goes to sleep. I can take time to respond to emails and twitter during her nap times. I actually have a fair bit of flexibility in my day because I get to set the routine of the day. Many students don’t get that luxury. I don’t think it would wash too well if a student blogger said “No….just one more minute” to his mother.
Students also go to school or university. Then they need to go home and complete homework, assignments or exam revision. And when will this take place? At night or weekends when the rest of us are blogging. Some adults have work that needs to be finished when they get home. Most do not.
Being a student blogger is hard work!
To make it work you need to find a balance between being a successful student and being an awesome blogger. I believe the two simple, yet necessary, principles needed for this to occur are:
- Blogging is not your first priority
- Know when to mute the Blogging Noise
Blogging is Not your First Priority
Blogging is not your first priority. Neither is school. Family isn’t either.
You are your own top priority.
Your world is filled with wonderful distractions and opportunities: friends, family, parties, exams. The list is endless. And the best part about life is you get to experience all of it. The worst part of life is that you need to make a choice. You either do everything half-heartedly or make some sacrifices.
For a student that means understanding that exams and homework do take precedence over the rest of your life. (Not all the time though)
Know when to mute the Blogging Noise
Say you are a blogger who is about to sit down to write an assignment, or cram for a test. Do you know how to keep focussed on your school work when your blogging world is only a key stroke away?
WILL-POWER
Turn off / Mute / Hide anything blog related. That means twitter, email, facebook, mobile phone. It is time to work. Don’t trick yourself into thinking “Just one quick look”. We all know what happen after that. You will look up and realise you just spent the last 43 minutes answering email and tweeting about Avatar.
SELF-ASSURANCE
Believe in the blog and the community you have created. It will not be the end of the world if you miss a night, or a week or posts. The beauty with blogs is that they don’t go anywhere. Remember that once the exam block is over, and the assignments are finished then you will have lots more time and energy to blog
PLAN AHEAD
If you know when exams or assignments are due then plan ahead.
- During holidays write some generic posts that you can use during peak study periods
- Don’t take on extra clients or new blogging opportunities
- Ask for help
- Use automated twitter software
Find the Balance and you will succeed in life.
Simon’s previous post was the perfect example of what I have just described. He has put a lot of work into Teenius.com and created a wonderful blog. But at the moment it isn’t his top priority. He has paused his writing and asked for help.
Have you any other ideas on how you balance studying and blogging?
How To Find Part 2
I hope this post has given you some ideas on how to achieve a balance between study and blogging. Part 2 of this series in over at my blog, Study Skills Mentor. It is called “Why Bloggers make the best Studiers”. This post will show you how your current blogging strategies and techniques can also be used as powerful study strategies.
 About the author…This was a guest post by Ainsle Hunter from StudySkillsMentor.com. She is a great blogger with a lot of awesome tips to share, so I definately recommend you visit her site. To connect with her, you can follow her on Twitter. Also, don’t forget to check out the second part to this post! |
[...] The idea for the post started after reading Teenius. Simon is a student blogger who currently has exams to deal with. So he sent out a request for Guest Bloggers. I replied with a post called Student Blogger Balance. [...]
Blogging does take lot of time. Finding a right balance between blogging and study is a really difficult task. People often ruin there study because of the blogging which should not happen.
Ricky´s last blog ..Professional Web Designing For Your Business-Review
I agree Ricky, and you just gave me an idea for a blog post “10 ways students ruin their study”
Cheers
Ainslie – Study Skills Mentor´s last blog ..Bloggers Make the Best Studiers
Veru true Ricky, and it seems that if it’s not blogging it’s Facebook or something! Man the internet wrecks student’s studies lol.
I am student too and I have been blogging for over 3 years now. This article gave me some new insight. heading to the part 2.
Agent Deepak´s last blog ..Blog with a Sex Appeal
Glad you enjoyed the post but after 3 years of blogging and studying you must have some great ideas on how to balance both.
Ainslie – Study Skills Mentor´s last blog ..Bloggers Make the Best Studiers
I am no longer a student, but I now have work in the mix and usually it means early mornings and late nights blogging. But I think the point you made that we are more important than our blogs is something that a lot of people need to take a hold of.
Tom´s last blog ..Squeeze Page Tips For Better Conversion
Yeah, it’s true (very good point Ainslie!). I must agree that often, people get very wrapped up in their blogs to the point where they’re spending hours on end trying to improve it without even noticing the time has gone missing.
I’m not a student blogger and find it difficult to find the time sometimes. I can only imagine how hectic your life may be. God speed.
Must admit, I love that phrase ‘God Speed’, nice one!
Both students and working people face this situation. They need to set a perfect schedule in blogging… Time management is very much needed.
Prioritizing our works is a great technique. Once we do that, definitely we will be a successful person
Deepika´s last blog ..Contest @FamousBloggers: Win Prizes worth Over $500
Thanks for the awesome guest post, Ainslie! I really enjoyed reading it, and it looks like the readers did too
All valid points Ainslie. I have found that the opportunities to seize are holidays. These are when you can really make waves with your blog. Write lots of material in advance and brainstorm all your ideas. This makes it a lot easier to post new material regularly during the semester.
James | Cogroll.com´s last blog ..4 Websites That You Should Start Today
Great tips, Ainslie. I think every blogger should have some kind of schedule or the whole thing is going to be so crazy.
Shirley´s last blog ..Technorati Blog Claiming Fixed
Schedules are definately the key. But only if you follow them.
Ainslie – Study Skills Mentor´s last blog ..Bloggers Make the Best Studiers
I’m lucky enough to only have to do 3 days at college, the rest of the time I’m messing around with Internet Marketing stuff.
Karl Hadwen´s last blog ..Limited time offer on my FREE report
3 days at College – Lucky devil. I had 4 back when I was at uni.
Ainslie – Study Skills Mentor´s last blog ..Bloggers Make the Best Studiers
3 Days?!
I have 2 full days and 2 half days, then one day where I only go in for an hour :p
Wow, absolutely awesome. My University has recently started and I know how hard is it to keep the balance. Though I’m not a full time blogger but a freelance designer. This article was really very true how hard is to keep balance between these both..
I get too tired when I come back from my University, I have worked almost 3% this week only.. Its really hard to manage. But I’m trying to schedule my time table for working, family, studies and all. That’s surely gonna help, but it’s gonna take time to implement !
Thanks, nice read !
Enk.´s last blog ..180+ Awesome Wordpress Tutorials for Developers
Hi Simon,
I also have this problem though im done with school. It’s between my work as a part of an SEO group and my 2 blogs. Of course I have to spend most of the time in my SEO job as it is my first source of income but I should not forget and give a care with my blogs.
Even if you have a time allocation and management you can still experience difficulties in between. After work I have to sleep as it is really exhausting even if you are just sitting in front of your computer. [sucks up my brain
]
Jp @ Beginners Blogging Guide´s last blog ..Removing NoFollow Attribute Results to Traffic Increase