- Make a list – Nurses are masters of list-making. Lists are the secret to time management. At the beginning of every shift a nurse makes a list of every thing she will do throughout the day. If it’s not on the list, it doesn’t get done. There are days when I am lazy and don’t make up my list. Those are usually the days that I fall hopelessly behind. Add blogging to your life list. If you don’t use a list in your regular life, start doing so now. I even go so far as to put blogging on my calendar to ensure that I won’t forget to do it.
- Write as if you were giving report – Short and sweet. Bullet Points! I swear by em. Give me the facts, just the facts, because I don’t really have time for anything else. Try writing your posts that way – Edit, edit, edit! I am devout consumer of blogs but I have to say, once a blogger starts to ramble I click right on through to the next blog. Like it or not, our attention spans have been steadily shrinking and so now instead of the 4-5 page magazine article, people want the 2-3 paragraph blurb.
- Know your resources – A great nurse always knows his resources. He knows who to call in radiology get his patient in faster. He knows the quickest way to get missing meds from the pharmacy. He knows where to find the 12 x 12 xeroform. This holds true for blogging. Know where to get stock photography to spice up your posts. Know how to use google reader to search for pertinent news items. Know how to make quick changes to your blog’s template.
- Leave it behind when you are finished – Nurses are excellent at this. You work a grueling 12 hour shift, surrounded by high acuity patients and what do you do when you get home? Kick back, relax, and leave it all behind. Try this approach with blogging. (Not that blogging should in any way be considered grueling!) Write a post and walk away from it. Don’t keep checking your stats, don’t keep peeking to see if anyone commented. Don’t dwell on whether or not you should have hit that “publish” button. Just walk away from it, and wait to be inspired again.
- Write a Care Plan for your Blog. Okay, so this one is pure silliness. I just couldn’t resist:
Assessment – My blog sucks because I don’t get enough hits, visitors and comments.
Diagnosis – Blog suckiness r/t lack of frequent posts.
Plan – Increase blog posts by three per week.
Implementation – Add blogging to your weekly calendar.
Evaluation – Increased posts = increases visitors, comments and hits! Whoohoo!