8 Ways to Stay Focused When Writing a Blog Post

Blogging can be a fun, interesting, entertaining, helpful, and fabulous experience for both bloggers and their readers. But, what blogging often isn’t is quick. It’s usually not a done-in-a-jiffy type of activity. It requires the ability to stay focused when writing because there’s no shortage of people and things that can take you away.

And, then there’s editing. And, sourcing images. And, editing those images. Let’s not forget about the things you need to do after you’ve hit the publish button (like promoting your content).

It is a process with several steps, but before you do them all, you first have to focus on writing.

Staying Focused Isn’t Easy

It sounds fairly simple and easy, right? All you have to do is sit down and write.

But, with a barrage of bright, shiny things always popping up in front of you, you might find that you’re spending your writing time watching videos on YouTube (because you’re doing research, yes?).

Or, checking out your Facebook newsfeed (because you’re trying to stay up on current events).

Or, even washing the dishes (because you can’t write when there are dirty dishes in the sink!).

Or, maybe you spend hours and hours sourcing the perfect image for your post, and then you spend even more time manipulating it (because your post must have the most perfect graphic!).

In addition to all the distractions that come up, it can be really tricky to stay focused during your blogging time especially when you’re not so fond of, well, writing (Look! Squirrel! And, babies! … holding puppies!).

See what I mean?

8 Ways to Stay Focused When Writing a Blog Post

If you find yourself being distracted often or if you’re trying to set the stage so you can be productive, the tips below can help keep your mind on your blogging and your blogging on your mind.

1. Write your subheadings and bullet points FIRST

Usually, readers benefit the most from subheadings and bullet points because it breaks up the text and helps them scan the main points of your post (instead of reading every word).

But, it can help you, too. If you have trouble writing the meat and potatoes of your piece, try writing your subheadings and bullet points first.

You might find it easier to write these shorter, more direct portions first which can be used like an outline (just like when you wrote essays in high school). Doing this might also create a few brain sparks that motivate you to write more details and (later on) add some data.

2. Write your Introduction, Conclusion, and Calls to Action FIRST (or after your subheaders or bullets)

Consider writing the core pieces of your content first, like the:

• Introduction
• Conclusion
• Calls to Action (CTAs)

Doing this will help you to focus on specific pieces of your content. Instead of looking at the entire post as a whole, you can segment it so that you don’t get overwhelmed and get the sudden desire to walk the dog, even though you don’t have a dog.

3. Pick one main theme or point per post

Sticking to one main point per post has many benefits. First, you’ll likely have less to edit because you won’t have extra words and paragraphs that are not relevant to your current post.

Also, writing about one main point keeps things clear. When you start going off on tangents, you might find that you get confused and lose focus about what you intended to write in the first place. If you get confused, guess who else might get confused? Yep, your readers.

Tangents and irrelevant information (no matter how important) will also eat up your writing time, so stick to your main point and sequester those tangents in Evernote.

Trouble staying focused while writing? Try these 8 simple tips. #productivity #writers Share on X

4. Do non-writing-related activities LAST

So, blogging is about writing. And, as I mentioned already, it’s more than that, too. It will probably include activities like:

• Researching hard (statistics) and/or soft data (e.g., quotes)
• Editing content
• Finding, editing, placing images
• Promoting your content
• Planning your next month of content

If your goal is to focus on writing, you’ll need to work on those other tasks after the writing has been completed. Venturing off into another direction (though valuable) will pull you away from the task at hand.

So, write first and leave placeholders for where research and images are needed. Then, go back and add those pieces in afterward.

If you get another idea for a different post, make note of it and save it for later.

5. Turn off the pings, dings, bells, whistles, and jingles

Any audible or visible notifications that you have configured on your laptop or phone should be disabled when you are writing your blog posts. No matter how strong your desire may be to finally write that post, you might have a moment of weakness and FOMO might kick in when you least expect it.

Even if you ignore the notifications, those pings and dings are still interruptions. It can take around 25 minutes to get fully focused on your original task each time you are interrupted (here’s some information that backs that up).

So, do yourself a favor, and turn ’em off and use reinforcements, like Leechblock (Firefox only), Freedom, Focal Filter, and StayFocusd (Chrome only), when the going gets rough.

6. Use a timer

A timer is a great focusing tool. It can tell you when to start and when to stop working on a specific activity. Why not use it when you’re writing?

To begin, decide how much time you’d like to spend writing. Perhaps you have a certain amount of time that translates into an average number of words. Set your timer for that amount of time, start writing, and then stop when it goes off.

If you decide to write some more, go for it! Just set the timer again, stop when it goes off, and then re-assess whether or not you should keep writing. Lather, rinse, repeat.

You can use a regular kitchen timer or a timer app on your smartphone. And, you can boost your writing time by using a timer with The Pomodoro Technique. Together, they can prove to be an excellent combination to help you stay focused when writing your posts.

Here’s how it works:

One Pomodoro is 25 minutes. After writing for 25 minutes, you can take a 3-5 minute break and then go back to writing again for another 25 minutes. If you stop writing or allow any distractions to pull you away after you start the timer, you will need to start a new Pomodoro or cycle of 25 minutes … even if you only have a short time left on the timer.

Consider completing two or more Pomodoros in a row for greater productivity. And, check out Pomodoro timer apps in the App Store (like Focus Time) and Google Play (like Clockwork Tomato).

7. Use a writing app

Writing apps can put you in the blogging mood and help you translate your thoughts into lovely pieces of content.
Here are a few for you to check out:

• FocusWriter not only provides a distraction-free writing environment, but it also has built-in timers and alarms. That’s a two-fer. Win!

• WriteMonkey comes with a built-in Pomodoro timer as well as a feature called “Segment Focus.” Segment Focus only shows you the current portion (or segment) that you’re working on and hides everything else. This can help you chunk your writing and keep your brain from wandering to sections that you just have no business (at least not yet) working on.

• Evernote (referral link) is a great app for writers that also offers a distraction-free writing space. You can hide the editing toolbar and turn it back on when you need it. You can also add reminders to your notes so that you don’t forget to finish writing! Of course, Evernote is chock-full of other features, but writers will find it super simple and easy to use.

Of course, you could just use WordPress — yes, WordPress. It doesn’t come out of the box with a timer app (or plugin), but it can offer you a minimalist writing space. If you don’t like seeing all the sidebars in the visual or text editor or you get easily distracted, you can toggle to “Distraction Free Writing.”

When you start a new post, simply click on the toggle button (under the visual/text editor links) to turn it on.

Once you start writing, the left and right sidebars will fade away. If you move your mouse outside the writing space, the sidebars reappear. You can also kick things up a notch by enabling full-screen mode using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+F (Chrome & Firefox).

8. Play music

Music can motivate you to do things you don’t want to do AND help you feel enthusiastic about doing them. Ever wonder why you always hear music every time you walk into a gym?

Certain types of music will make you get up and go or hunker down and get stuff done. It all depends on what works for you, but the folks at Focus@Will say that you have to listen to the right music to be productive.

Scientists have discovered that depending on your personality type, there is a specific type of “music” that when engineered just right, puts your brain into a “flow state” making you hyper-focused and exponentially more productive. ~Focus@Will

Focus@Will offers music tracks that are scientifically chosen to increase your productivity. Take the 1-minute quiz to figure out your “focus music” and use the free 14-day trial to test it out.

All you need to do is start the music player and begin writing. Though you don’t get to choose the particular tracks you want to listen to (you can choose your genre), it likely won’t matter if you get good results.

Writing a blog post is a process with several steps. And, before you do them all, you first have to focus on the main thing -- writing! These 8 tips can help you stay focused. #stayfocused #writers #productivity Share on X

Recipes to Help You Focus While Writing

Crafting your blog posts can get easier when you use the right strategies to help stay focused. Check out the blog writing recipes below and try one (or two) to see if they enhance your current way of doing things.

Or, think about combining a few of the techniques above to create an entirely new recipe of your own.

Recipe #1: Timer (45 min) + Music 

1. Turn off audible and visible notifications
2. Set the timer for 45 minutes
3. Play music
4. Write subheading and bullet points first

No apps are required for this recipe.

Recipe #2: StayFocusd + Pomodoro (25 min) x 3 + WriteMonkey

1. Turn off audible and visible notifications
2. Activate StayFocusd (or other website blocking app)
3. Set the timer for 25 minutes
4. Use the Pomodoro Technique
5. Use WriteMonkey’s Segment Focus
6. Write your Introduction, Conclusion, and Calls to Action

Repeat this recipe to start writing a new segment during your next Pomodoro. Complete three Pomodoros and then take a 15-30 minute break.

Recipe #3: WordPress + Word Count + Focus@Will

1. Turn off audible and visible notifications
2. Set a word count goal (e.g., 300-500 words)
3. Compose in WordPress distraction-free mode
4. Play music via Focus@Will
5. Write your Introduction, Conclusion, and Calls to Action

No timer is required for this recipe, so write for as long as it takes to get to your word count goal.

Final Word

Once you have chosen a recipe that you want to try, really give it a go. Test it out for several weeks and keep note of how helpful it is and make necessary adjustments. Of course, if the process you’re currently using works just fine, keep it.

But, don’t keep it to yourself! Please share in the comments any specific steps you take to help you stay focused when writing your blog posts.

This post was written in May 2014 and refreshed in October 2017.