This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no cost to you. You can read our full Affiliate Disclaimer here.

3 Reasons You’re Not Creating Content (and How To Fix It)

Last Updated on November 3, 2021 by Kelly Thoreson

Despite a life spent writing, I found out the hard way that creating content for a blog is difficult work.

When I first started blogging, I struggled to produce 1 post per month, which will get you a fat lot of nowhere as a blogger.

Through a whole lot of trial and error, I was able to pinpoint and sort out what was holding me back from creating content, the results surprised me and I want to share them with you!

Below we’ll look at the 3 reasons I wasn’t creating content and what I did to CRUSH them and become a blogging MACHINE so you can learn from my mistakes.

Problem #1: You’re Distracted AF

I get distracted easily. Like, ruh-eeeally easily.

I see a squirrel, I chase it, no question.

Squirrel GIF from Squirrel GIFs

Solution #1: Prep & Will Power

The solution is so simple it will make you want to puke: preparation and will power.

I know, that seems like a lame copout that your 5th grade teacher tells you after handing in your essay late. Alas, it looks like Mrs. Hobbs was right!

How to Prepare for Creating Content

Before you sit down to write, prepare EVERYTHING you need to ensure you do not get up from that seat until you’re at a logical stopping point.

Here’s a shortlist of the distractions that will cause you to, a little too eagerly, abandon your post:

You have to go potty (Yes, I said POTTY … don’t judge me, I’m a mom)
You’re cold
You’re hungry
You’re thirsty
You need coffee
You drank too much coffee
It’s too loud
Your office chair sucks
You keep getting interrupted
Your phone keeps going off
You just need a damn break

Let’s take a look at how to prepare for common distractions so you can crank out high-quality content like a pro!

ALWAYS use the bathroom before you sit down to write.

Bio-breaks are a must, writers!

Take care of business before sitting down.

Ask yourself: what’s the temperature in my writing space?

Cold?

Wear socks and bring a jacket.

Hot?

Grab a table fan, turn on the AC. Done.

Just in case, I keep in my office:

Fan
Heater
Socks
Jacket

A bottle of water + cup of coffee are writing essentials.

Don’t show up to the desk without them.

Bonus: keeping water at your desk will encourage you to stay nice ‘n hydrated!

Not a coffee drinker? Grab your drink of choice before showing up to write. I just switched to Cocotropic and guess what’s in front of me right now…

That’s right, there’s a steaming up of it on my desk!

Welcome to no-excuses-ville!

Eat first or grab a snack for later.

Again with those pesky biological needs!

If you get up from your desk to grab a Lara Bar, you’re going to get distracted by exactly 1 billion tasks on the way to the kitchen.

Plus an additional 5 on the way back (if you ever make it back).

Ask yourself: is my writing space noisy?

Most of us bloggers are working amidst a sea of screaming children and otherwise noisy household members.

This is why I:

Always.

Carry.

Earplugs.

My favorite are Hearos cause they’re super-affordable, crazy-soft, and punny.

For under $10, there’s no better solution to drown out the noise and get your focus on.

Stand up to write.

Too much sitting is bad for you.

If you know you get uncomfortable sitting, like I do, get a laptop desk and place it on top of your regular writing surface so you can stand once it becomes uncomfortable to sit.

Observe:

3 reasons youre not creating content for your blog

Boom, baby! Instant standing desk for under 25 bucks, can’t beat that!

Note the bottle of water and Hearos that live at my writing space. 🙂

Tell your family to leave you the F alone.

Repeat after me:

I will not feel guilty for prioritizing my business when necessary.

The mom/partner guilt is real, friends, and most of the time it’s our own inner critic telling us we should be able to do it all at once.

That’s bullshit.

It’s ok to tell your family that it’s blogging time and you need to be left alone.

Now, I realize this is a dangerous thing to say to your children.

My daughter has never needed my attention more than when I’m on the telephone, blogging, or (god forbid) in the bathroom.

To children, the idea of their parent not being completely at their disposal triggers some sort of evolutionary-based scarcity reflex that manifests in the form of extreme neediness.

Me GIF from Baby GIFs

What I have found to be particularly effective here is exercising my right to say no.

If you give in to their demands, the demands will never end.

Here are some requests you can promptly decline:

Can you make me a snack?

Nope, you have two hands and a full kitchen. Love ya!

Can you review this app I want to download for appropriateness?

Not right this moment, wait until blogging time is over, please!

I’m bored, can you find something for me to do?

You’re bright and capable and I believe in your ability to entertain yourself with one of the THOUSAND toys in your room. You complete me!

Same rules go for significant others, who (let’s face it) can be just as needy as the children!

IT’S OKAY TO SAY NO, bloggers! Boundaries are good. You’re busy building a blogging empire, here!

Practice the 20-20-20 rule for eye fatigue.

Every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. It works! You can set a gentle 20-minute interval timer for yourself.

I use Insight Timer for this, which is actually designed for meditation. However, it does the trick and the alarm noise options are nice instead of annoying. Also – it’s free!

You can read more about the 20-20-20 rule in Medical News Today’s post: Does the 20-20-20 rule prevent eye strain?

Turn your phone on silent.

That’s right, sever the umbilical cord between yourself and your device. Turn the vibration off and place it screen down.

Better yet, leave it in another room (after silencing it)! You won’t die without your phone and the world won’t come crashing down if you are not constantly reachable, I promise.

All smartphones have an option to let certain numbers through (if you’re waiting for an important call) even when your phone is on silent so NO EXCUSES. Sound: off!

Problem #2: Boredom Sets In

I’m going to let you in on my dirty little secret: I used to get bored with creating content before I was finish with the blog post. GAAAASP!

As bloggers, we’re not, “supposed” to admit that we’re not utterly enthralled with our niche 100% of the time.

Well, that’s a load of crapola, friend.

I am always excited about creating content when I start the process, if I weren’t, I wouldn’t bother because if I’m not excited about what I’m writing no one else will be either.

I can’t (and no one should) BS my way through a blog post. I must genuinely be enthusiastic about the topic, or it will be like trying to wrestle an unwieldy toddler into a car seat: nearly impossible and sticky.

Adding to the problem was that I had an all or nothing attitude, I would force myself to, “power through” the fatigue and keep writing.

Of course, this tactic didn’t work, I’d just make myself SICK of the piece.

Often, I would never finish that post I had become tired of writing. What a waste of time and energy!

I changed my mindset and now I write posts like a badass and enjoy every minute of it!

Solution #2: Giving Myself Permission to Flex

Confession time: I’m writing this post right now because I got bored while writing a different one!

No one can be excited about their niche non-stop. Our power lies in being willing to admit this and allowing ourselves to flex into a solution.

I had to find a way to work around my writing style so that I could not only FINISH my posts but write them in large quantities on a consistent basis.

Sometimes you have to compromise with yourself to get shit done and there’s no shame in that.

Everyone has their own writing style, don’t try to force yourself to sit down and write a whole post from start to finish if that’s not your gig. You do you, boo.

The solution that worked for me was accepting my natural writing jenesequa and allowing myself to move onto a different project as long as it was another post.

Now, when I find my interest in the current project waning, I move onto writing a different post for the day and come back to the current project the next day. This has been extraordinarily effective!

Problem #3: I Spent My Time on the Wrong Tasks

Like I mentioned above, it wasn’t that I didn’t devote enough time to my blog. I was all over it.

The trouble was, I spent those 30+hours per week performing blogging TASKS (not necessarily writing) in a disorganized manner.

I write best first thing in the morning so I would wake up extra early to get lots of quality writing in before work.

Instead, I would end up building my brand, pinning content with Tailwind, or creating high-quality images on Canva. All super important tasks buuuuut …

I was WASTING prime writing time on tasks, essential as they were, that can be performed later in the day when my creative writing juice was all used up.

Solution #3: Create a Blogging Schedule & Write Your Ass Off

You’ve got to get organized, the sooner the better!

Create a schedule for the non-writing responsibilities, slot them outside of your prime writing time, and stick to it so they’re not nagging at you while you’re trying to create.

Since I’m a dive-right-in kind of person, creating a schedule and sticking to it was a bit of a challenge.

I picked up a copy of CREATE Blog and Editorial Planner by Meera Kothand and it did the trick! Thanks to this planner, I’m now laser-focused!

Next, take a break from everything else. Once I realized the bells and whistles of blogging were keeping me from writing, I took a drastic measure.

I challenged myself to completely step away from the tech/social media side of my blog for a WHOLE WEEK and instead use that time to write posts.

I put everything I could on autopilot and walked away.

Ummm yeah, it was torture. But also, it worked.

Not only did I crank out 7 high-quality blog posts in one week but also, I got myself into the habit of writing a lot of content every single day.

You and I both know that every sentence written is not perfect. In fact, a lot of them are garbage that gets cut from the end product.

One key to writing tons of high-quality content is to write a shit-load of content all the time.

That way, when you’re done trimming the fat off your pieces, you’re still left with a substantial and thoughtful post that is going to benefit your audience (after all, that’s why we’re here!).

This writing challenge worked, I now produce a 1,000 word (minimum) post about twice a week – that is a 800% increase over what I produced before I established a writing routine. Holy cow!

A book that has helped me create a writing routine is called The Artist’s Way.

In this totally badass book, author Julia Cameron covers not only a more spiritual side to writing but also how to create a writing habit in which you’re producing A LOT of words that then get whittled down into quality works.

It’s a must-have for your writing toolkit!

Conclusion

There’s no one-size-fits-all way to blog. Stay flexible, but committed, in your pursuit of an effective writing habit and use these tactics to SLAY your blog writing routine!

If you loved this post, you’ll go crazy for my free blog writing Facebook group, Badass Bloggers! See you there!