“I don’t have time.”
This is the most common excuse that people give for not starting a blog or investing time in social media. Here’s my response to that: There’s always enough time if you spend it properly.
You don’t have to quit your day-job. Invest in your project (your new blog) after hours. This is the kind of passion Gary Vaynerchuk talks about in his book. Skip watching tv. Don’t play any video games (or whatever other distracting activity). Instead of going to bed at 10 or 11pm, go to bed at 12am. You don’t need to pull an all-nighter or anything. What we’re looking for is just a few extra hours a week to write and engage via our social networks.
Give it two – three weeks. Heck, give it a whole month. Squeeze out an hour or two Monday through Friday in the early morning or late at night. Do that for a month and you’ll discover soon enough whether social media is a resourceful marketing avenue for you or just another fad (a passing phase). And if it is just a passing phase, well, it’s back to work as usual. You didn’t lose anything other than a couple of hours (no big deal).
The point is this… If and when you want something bad enough, you make the time. If you don’t want it bad enough, and most people don’t, you use time as an excuse. You need to stop making excuses.
A Word About “Perfect Timing”
There’s no such thing. To quote a favorite book of mine from 37 Signals:
You’re always too young or old or busy or broke or something else. If you constantly fret about timing things perfectly, they’ll never happen. – Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
So, what’s stopping you? Have you started a blog recently? Drop a link to it in the comments below…I’d be happy to take a look at it.
I have two kids under two, work full-time, volunteer, and am involved in my Church and I still find time to blog and use social media. I agree that it is worth it to give at least 5 hours a night to social media for a month and see what you get out of it.
Alicia: that's quite the schedule! Congratulations & kudos to you for having the passion and finding the time to make it work. You always find time for things that you want bad enough (things that you're passionate about).
Thanks for stopping by to comment and share your experience!
Great stuff! I spend an hour a week blogging, it just has to be on purpose.
Drew: Thanks for the comment. You just reinforce the fact that we all find time for things we want. Even if it is only an hour a week 🙂
When I am asked by someone or a small business on how to start I tell them to schedule 30 minutes a day even if it to stare at the Facebook or Twitter login page. Find things online you like, hobby or TV program, and test the online conversation. Use a tool like http://www.monitter.com and search for local Twitter content or your brand mentions online. You will find a digital party just waiting for you to jump in.
That's the most important part – what is really important to you? If TV or Rock Band take precedence, then you'll continue to stand pat with social media while you watch and play. But if you really want to get into it, it can be done over time if not all at once.
Ramon: that's awesome advice! 30 minutes a day whether to write, comment, interact or familiarize yourself with a network is a wise way to start. And as you suggested, I think surrounded yourself around people with whom you share a common interest is an excellent way to grow a network/community.
P.S. Thanks for the tech tip on http://www.monitter.com.
I'm addicted to blogging (writing and connecting with incredible people – same thing, right?) – I work full-time, have a family and have two blogs: http://www.peaceandprojects.com and http://www.amazingwork.net.
In the past, I always said, “I don't have time to write, I'm too busy,” etc. etc. Well now I'm much busier than ever as a wife and mom, but find the time. Passion uncovers time. Thanks for the reminder!
When your strategy is clear and you know exactly where you are going with your content and why it is much easier to produce quality content quickly… I make the time because I know how important it is to my overall results. I also make sure I write at prime times for my body clock (mostly early morning) And I never watch tv! Finding time really is that easy…
Tommy: Agreed. It's all about prioritizing your day and paying attention to the tasks you value more in level of importance. I agree that it's something that you can invest in over time, little by little.
For me, I don't watch tv as much. I listen to the Pandora station and read, write, etc. I allocate time blocks wherein I turn off all distraction and pay attention to what needs to get done and that works well for me.
Thanks for stopping by and thank you for your comment!
Melissa: that's right! We find time for the things we're passionate about. Clearly, that's what's making it work for you (a passion for connecting with people). Kudos to you for finding the time to make it work! And thanks for stopping by… Hope to see you around some more 🙂
Defining your goals/objectives up front are definitely a necessary step! Answering “Why” you're writing and “Who” you're writing for makes it easier to develop content for your audience which of course means less time as well since you have a clearly defined objective.
Great point about writing at your “prime time.” Knowing what time of day that you're most creative is definitely important! My creative time is at night (whereas yours is early morning). People should time-block and write/create when they're most productive.
“people that give excuses are seldom good for anything else”
You need to ask yourself what are you willing to compromise in your life to commit to social media. If you are willing to give up TV and some sleep, then you probably have extra time. If you are willing to spend less time with your family, or you are not that super busy at work, or you do not have many other time consuming hobbies, then you can probably find time for social media.
For example, you can't be a “Chris Brogan” (edge case example) without compromising something in your life. You cannot commit hours to social media without giving up something else. What you may be giving up is just TV time, but if you are giving up quality time with people in your life, you need to determine if that is worth the sacrifice. There is no set formula for how much time you should invest in social media. I do agree, you get out what you put in, but that is like many other aspects of our daily lives.
Regardless, I do agree with your article. 🙂
I really don't have time to comment on this 🙂
I think we have only begun to scratch the surface of the possibilities of social media. It's a living organism that is constantly growing and changing and the excuse of not having time is nothing but fear of the unknown.
The only way to find the time is to make the time. Everyone is busy but when all is said and done it is the relationships that we have have nurtured in our lives that will be remembered. Social media gives us the opportunity to multiply those relationships exponentially. Those relationships can grow into friendships, customers and job opportunities. I think that's worth carving out a couple hours per week.
Chris: welcome and thanks for your comment! You're correct. You do effectively get what you put in (to an extent anyway). Garbage in = garbage out. Contribute in a meaningful way on the other hand and you get a meaningful result.
Ultimately, yes, you have to compromise. Finding an hour or two here and there is possible if you eliminate the other trivial things like American Idol from your day (unless of course you're a big Idol fan). Using Chris is an extreme example but I see your point.
If at the end of the day, quality time with loved ones is a priority, then maybe you find 30 minutes at the office before you begin the rest of your work day. My point of course being that we find time for the things that we value.
Thanks for your comment and insight! Hope to see you around again…
Jeff: very much agreed! Those relationships do create opportunities for friendships and work. With time you build visibility and influence. Even if it's just a few hours a week.
I agree that most people use time as an excuse for 1.) fear of the unknown, 2.) a lack of passion for the medium. And that's ok too. You stick to what works. But being dismissive up front is a mistake in my opinion.
Thank for taking the time to read and comment Jeff! Always appreciate your time and input 🙂
This is the most common response I get when I talk to people about social media. I'm glad you're pointing it out. Don't bother starting a business if you're not going to invest in marketing and don't for a second think that social media isn't a part of your marketing.
Not only that, but in my personal opinion/experience… It has the potential to be the most cost-effective form of marketing.
I never thought I knew anything worth writing about but now I've actually made the effort – well what can I say. A friend of mine gave me the push I needed and here we are
Sometimes that's all we need, a little encouragement and an extra push from out friends 🙂
I agree with you that you can make time for the things you want to do. No matter how hard or difficult. But honestly, it is so difficult to do so.
The moment I make some time (tough) to write my blog post draft, I have my 2 year old kid banging his hands on the keypad – for more attention.
Im not a night bird and love my sleep. But the way things are during the day, I guess I have start burning midnight oil if I want things to happen.
Where do I go, pal?
And to think, I want four kids someday 😛
Well, I wish I had an answer for ya but I don't. If you're blogging for business, I suppose you find hours in the day by doing as you say “burning the midnight oil.” Do too much of it though and you eventually run out of the steam the next day which can be a bad thing.
If your blog is a hobby, then I'd say that you can forgo writing one day or the next and do the things that matter (go through your day, work, sleep, etc.) without it affecting your blog.
4 kids…. yeah sure! Let me talk to you after one. LOL.
Im still figuring out the best practice for myself. Like nature intended – day is for work and night for rest. We are indeed messing up our systems. Will let you know when I figure it out. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
See you around – keep me posted on the kid count.
ok so I just read this back and I mean 5 hours a week… not a night! (though I usually do put in that much time)
Tell me about it Ricardo
Time, time, time… where does it go.
I think you already gave us the solution when you said,
“…when you want something bad enough, you make the time.”
That applies to anything in life.
We find time for the things that we want to do.
QED if you can't find the time, maybe you don't want to do it!
You are right Many People use this excuse for blogging
I maybe have the time, but when I start a new blog, I lose interest after a few weeks and I don´t have any new ideas to write about. Being creative everyday can be really hard…
I think it is easier to tweet or use other social networks (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and so on) Are we all meant to be bloggers?
Good point. And no, blogging isn't for everyone. I see you interacting all of the time on Twitter (you're comfortable there and it works for you). That's great.
Finding ideas can be difficult but it can also work your way at developing a habit of finding new things to write about. When I see something useful on Twitter, I save it as a favorite to reference for later. Often times, this triggers new post ideas for me. Make sense?
In any case, thanks for the visit Moniqa and for taking the time to share your perspective 🙂
It's been a long time in the works, and is well underway:
samolive.net
All about Santa Monica and encouraging those who love living here.
Great post. I guess by the time I spent reading all the comments, I could have had a new post on my blog! Whew!
@westsideDB
Thanks for the reminder and nudge!
Thanks for the comment Jason!
Some people dismiss the effectiveness of a blog without giving it a fair shot and that was my point here.