News By Tom Brownsword

Right now I have twelve “active” blogs that I like to post to at least once a week.

Of those, I’m embarking on a project to make at least one post per day to at least six of those blogs.

How in the world do I do it?

First, as I mentioned a few posts ago, I’m starting to work on voice recognition. However, I’m going to hold off until I can get a copy of Microsoft Office 2007 and install it on my computer. According to this post about speech recognition software on Steve Pavlina’s blog, the voice recognition features of Windows Vista are much more accurate than anything else that he has tried. I also suspect that Office 2007 plays a role in this. I currently have Office 2003 installed on my computer and it, not Windows XP, is where the voice recognition software resides. Of course, Vista may be different.

I do have an inexpensive Vista laptop (I bought it to do some training videos on Windows Vista — a “way long term” project) and will install Office 2007 on it as soon as I get a copy. I also need Excel 2007 — which is included in Office 2007 — to test Microsoft AdCenter’s new keyword research tool.

Another way that I can keep up with so many blogs is that I have all of them set up to blog by email. I can type literally anywhere, then email the contents to the blog. If I can get five minutes on a computer, I can type a blog post in Gmail (using the web interface). If I don’t have a computer, I own a Palm Tungsten E2 with the optional keyboard that fits neatly in a small bag that always travels with me (except to the security area where I work!). I can pull it out and knock out a quick blog post any time I want.

How fast can you type? I don’t know exactly how fast I type, but I do use all ten fingers and have been typing for so long that I’m not sure if I could write any other way. I know that I type at least 60 words per minute.

Do you still use the “hunt and peck” method of typing? If so, why not invest in a good typing tutorial and learn how to type faster? Just 15 minutes a day, done consistently, could have you typing incredibly fast in just a month or two.

Here’s an example: let’s say that you can hit one key per second using the “hunt and peck” method. That’s 60 keys per minute, or about 10 words per minute. If you can get up to just 20 words per minute via touch typing, you just cut your writing time in half. Get it up to 40 words per minute (which is not that unrealistic) and you are now getting your writing done in 25% of the time it used to take. And my take on the whole thing is that IF YOU ARE A WRITER AND DON’T KNOW HOW TO TOUCH TYPE, YOU ARE WASTING TONS OF TIME THAT COULD BE SPENT DOING SOMETHING ELSE.

When I first joined the Army, one of the requirements for my technical specialty was that I be able to type 25 words per minute with five or fewer errors on a five minute typing test. They gave us one week (40 hours) to learn; if we didn’t meet that standard, then we would have to spend our own free time to practice typing until we met the standard. I went from not being able to type to passing the test in just under 40 hours — and this was on those old manual military typewriters (the ones that would withstand a nuclear explosion!). Compared to them, typing on a computer keyboard is easy. YOU CAN DO IT.

Of course, the best way to write is to simply dictate it and have a secretary type it. I don’t do it that way because I can’t think unless I’m typing (but could probably learn). For most of us, learning how to type is going to give us a huge return on our investment in terms of time saved and productivity gained.

Another important item is getting the right equipment. Don’t skimp when purchasing a keyboard. Get a good one that’s comfortable for you to type on. The same thing goes for your office chair and desk. Get good ones that will simply “be there”. You don’t want an uncomfortable chair and a desk that’s too high for you because you won’t want to sit there and work. Procuring equipment that allows you to work comfortably can pay for itself many times over in a short period of time.

And finally, what to write about. I carry a notebook with me (actually, it’s a spiral bound pack of index cards so I can take them out and neatly organize them) where I jot down blogging ideas as they come to me.

Some blogs have themes that make it easy. For example, my Busines Action Steps blog simply summarizes what I’m doing every day to build my business. I get all kinds of ideas for this blog (News by Tom Brownsword); it’s never a problem! I’ve also started a blog to document my attempts to switch to a diet of all raw foods. That one, too, is simply a daily summary of what I accomplished.

Other blogs aren’t quite so simple. For example, my Business Protector, Simple Security Tips, and Parenting Blog all require some planning. I have to know what I want to talk about, although I’ll sometimes just wait for something cute or memorable to happen before I post to my parenting blog. But for those blogs, having a plan for writing is essential.

I also have a page set up where I can type my blog posts in to see how many words I have for that post. Admittedly, on some blogs, I’ll limit the number of words I include in a post, and if the post goes over 350-400 words, I’ll break it up into two posts so that I’ll already have a post for the next day. When that happens, I’ll post the first half, then post the second half and set the “Post Timestamp” to a future date so that it will post itself automatically when the time comes.

Here’s the link to that word counter script. You are welcome to use it (but keep in mind that I can’t promise support — and it may disappear someday and be put behind a membership site).

I also track all of this on a checklist and check things off once I have the post for that posted.

Those are just some of the ways that I can keep up with so many blogs. Yes, sometimes updates slip off the plate, so to speak, and a blog doesn’t get updated every day; I’ll admit that. But by developing systems and skills, those days are becoming rarer.

Thanks for listening,
Tom