Excuses: we all make them from time to time, but we may not realize that they could really have a huge impact as to whether or not we become successful! How would you rate your current ability to blog? Are you the type to continuously make excuses and actually talk yourself out of blogging? Today, I wasn’t having a bad day, just didn’t really feel like blogging. Deciding to have a little fun with “not feeling like blogging,” I made a list of 25 Excuses To Avoid Blogging. Let me know if you make any of these excuses below in the comments section and whether or not you are doing anything to curb this habit.

1) I’m too tired - Everyone gets tired at some point. There are great ways to completely avoid using this as an excuse. Why not blog first thing in the morning? This way, you have the entire rest of your day to enjoy other activities and “get tired.” When you do get tired, treat yourself to a nice, healthy snooze!

2) I feel sick - Feeling sick is a phenomenal excuse to get out of writing a blog entry. Actually, feeling sick is one of the best excuses on this list. Though you may have no idea when a sickness is going to strike and leave you knocked-out in bed for a few days - you can always plan ahead! Solutions to the days when you do feel sick and don’t want to blog because of it include: allowing guest posts, writing content in advance, and posting up an interesting youtube video relating to your niche.

3) I’m too stressed - So is the next guy. Well, not really - but everyone gets stressed out from time to time. Don’t let the stress kill your blogging routine or passion. I realize that stress can severely interfere with capability to produce new material, think creatively, and performing at an optimal level. What I’d rather see out of you and your blog is at least performing than not performing at all. Accept your stress and vent some of it through blogging if it helps! I’ve written blog entries on days that I’ve felt fairly stressed out and days that I’ve felt relaxed to the point where I’ve felt “zoned-out.” The number one key is to continue writing and not let it bother you!

4) I’m too hungry / I’m going to eat - Cool, make something to eat or buy something to eat, return to your computer, and begin typing a new blog entry! I feel hungry at times and do my best to not allow blogging and eating to mix. I eat a long, healthy, breakfast, lunch, and dinner and am still able to fit in blogging. Am I some sort of superhuman? Probably, but you can be one too if you just do some good planning. Blog in between meals, blog after dinner, blog before breakfast - do what works. The most important thing is that you don’t use “I’m too hungry as an excuse.”

5) A good show is on T.V. - Again, planning is a huge issue if you want to incorporate T.V. into your schedule instead of blogging. I recommend getting a schedule of your favorite shows, and planning your blogging time around them! If you need to, fill out a daily calendar or get some time management software to help you better plan out your day. T.V. is a low priority on my list and always comes after blogging. A good show may be on, but you can always record it, TiVo it or watch the re-runs.

6) I want to listen to music - Music is definitely enjoyable to listen to. I listen to music everyday, yet somehow make time to write a new blog article too. Listening to music or blogging is such a difficult decision… If you want to listen to music instead of blog, why aren’t you pursuing a job in the music industry? Or even writing a blog about music? Treat yourself to listening to music for awhile right after you get done writing a new blog post.

7) I have an appointment - We all have appointments and meetings scheduled from time-to-time. Know when they are and plan your blogging around them. As mentioned in 25 Traits Of Successful Bloggers, it is important to always be flexible with scheduling and planning. Schedule blogging around your appointment time!

8) I need to shower - Showering doesn’t take long. If you need to shower: hop in, wash up, get out and write a new blog post! Provided you don’t start your shower at 11:30 at night, I think you’ll have some time to finish a blog post for the day… If someone asks “are you going to blog today?” Answer: Nah, I’m going to shower instead… (listen to how hilarious that sounds) Showering and blogging are 2 activities that you can easily incorporate into your daily schedule!

9) It’s too late - If you find yourself waiting until late at night to write a new blog post and then tell yourself “it’s too late,” you probably won’t get anything done. In my opinion, it’s never too late to write a new blog post. I try to write something new and fresh whenever I have time throughout the day. Lately, my posting schedule has been late at night because I’ve been so busy throughout the day with other activities. When I’m done with the activities though, I do force myself to sit my butt down and type up something interesting!

10) Friends are coming over - I’d choose to spend time with friends over blogging any day, but why not have both? I can spend an hour or so blogging each day, and still have tons of time to spend with my friends. There are 24 hours in a day: subtract 8 hours for sleep, subtract 8 hours for work, and then subtract 2 hours for blogging. That leaves me 6 hours a day to socialize with my friends. Why didn’t I subtract time for eating? You can eat with your friends, you can exercise with your friends, and you can do other activities with your friends! Spend time with your friends while they are over… you will find that

11) I am going to exercise - Good for you… it helps to keep your body in shape - I’m proud of you for exercising! But if you are going to use this as an excuse for not blogging, once again, you need some help with planning. Exercise is definitely important, but why force yourself to use it as an excuse?

12) I’ve got to spend time with family - I’d rather spend time with my family than blog. With that said, I try not to let family interfere with my blogging time. Planning around their needs and talk can be difficult, but I put forth my best effort by doing things such as: blogging in the morning, blogging late at night, or finding a gap in the day.

13) I’m having a bad day - Everyone has a mix of good and bad days throughout life: why let the bad ones stop you from blogging? If you want to be successful, it’s important to stick with blogging by not allowing the events of the day to determine what goes on at your blog.

14) It takes too much time - It does take a lot of time to write up a quality blog entry and especially to create timeless content. If you are truly passionate about your blog or niche, you wouldn’t even be concerned with time - you’ll forget about time. “Time” shouldn’t be an issue that prevents you from blogging.

15) No one will read it - If you have the attitude that you aren’t going to post because “no one will read it,” you’re setting yourself up for failure. What you should be thinking is: “I’m going to write some quality content so when I do work hard with website promotional efforts, I will keep visitors around. Though not a lot of people may be reading your blog today due to it’s age or low amounts of incoming traffic, you should never adopt a negative attitude or use “no one will read it” as an excuse!

16) I can’t concentrate - First of all, I recommend checking out my article “Blogging Productivity: Writing Concentrated Articles” and seeing if that helps. Do yourself a favor and choose a good working environment, clear out any distractions, buy some noise canceling earmuffs if you need to! There are many things you can do to boost your concentration, just do a google search and work on some self-improvement if you must.

17) I’m not in the mood - What mood do you need to be in to be blogging? Life is full of ups and downs. You’ve got to stick with your online goals and be consistent. No matter what emotions you are feeling, you’ve got to keep up with posting and it may even help to vent your emotions through blogging as your medium of expression.

18) I need to read other blogs - Reading other blogs can help provide you with some great, new ideas to blog about, but they will not help you get the work done on your own blog: they won’t type your post for you! Reading other blogs can temporarily be done without. If you need to write up a new post, think of your own ideas: pick an idea and write an article! Make your blog your top priority over other blogs.

19) My wife wants me to stop - If you really enjoy blogging, why should you let your wife stop you or anyone else interfere with your online time? Relationships are definitely higher up as priorities than blogging, but relationships shouldn’t control what you are intrinsically interested in.

20) I’m going to the movies - Popcorn, a hot date, comfortable seats, and a great movie = skipping blogging? Ah, I know it’s extremely tempting and with this scenario, Andrew Pavelski is going to the movies. When he gets back from the movies, he’ll still have plenty of time to write a blog entry. He may even have his daily blog entry completed for the day and his personal expectations fulfilled! Like Andrew, you too can plan around the movie and blog before or after ;)

21) I’m going to a party - Parties are a lot of fun. What one are you going to? I’d like to join ya ;) Just like going to movies, you can plan blogging around partying. Want to throw an interesting twist on things? Take pictures and video at your party and write a blog post about the party! Depending on what type of blog you are running, going to a party could actually help you come up with new material for your blog!

22) I’m going on vacation - Vacations are great, I really enjoy traveling, but make an attempt not to let it disrupt my blogging. Feel free to bring your computer along or use a computer at the hotel to get your blogging done. Just because you are on vacation, doesn’t mean you should give up blogging. Wake up early and blog before the rest of the family wants to go to breakfast and go tanning in the sun! If you don’t want to post at all, review and accept some good guest posts from other bloggers. If you can build up a substantial amount of quality guest posts to cover each day of your trip, you’ve got nothing to worry about: time-stamp them and you’re covered ;)

23) I just don’t feel like it - “Not feeling like it” is somewhat of a lame excuse. What will separate you from the next guy is pushing yourself to do go the extra mile and work even on the days that you “just don’t feel like it.” It can be very tough to stay disciplined and push yourself, but the end results will show. All the days that you skipped writing a new blog entry, other blogs are busy writing new entries. There are motivated bloggers that are trying to be successful and they will quickly steal your traffic if you cannot produce or stick to your posting frequency!

24) I can’t think of anything to write about - A common excuse that I have never allowed myself to even consider using. If I skip a day writing in my blog, it definitely won’t be because of this excuse! If you are going to use this excuse, be sure to check out this article or this article and help yourself think of some new ideas to blog about! Still can’t think of anything to write about or want some more? Check out this article including 50 free ways to generate content for your blog!

25) Tomorrow I’ll think of something… - Tomorrow you may think of something, but using that excuse is only creating a bad thinking habit. Postponing your posts “until tomorrow” is a terrible habit for bloggers to get into. If you keep saying “tomorrow I’ll think of something” and keep putting off work, it will be hard for you to get started back up into a daily blogging routine. Try your best not to use this one as an excuse!

Do you really want to be a successful blogger? Everyone can make excuses: what separates the successful bloggers from the amateurs is the fact that the successful bloggers don’t make excuses, period. Do you have an excuse you’d like to add?  Share it with me in the comments section :)

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