My four readers have probably been wondering where I’ve been these past few weeks. To make a long story short, work and life tend to grab hold from time to time. Mix that with a particularly lengthy project I’ve been working on for a client, and you’ll know why I couldn’t keep up with the blog. But now I’m back–and for good this time.

This whole lack of posting could have easily been avoided. Getting sick or finding yourself entrenched in other work is not a valid excuse for skipping posting days. Blogs are all about the content and that content just isn’t going to create itself. So, without further ado, here are some tips to help you (and me) keep up with blogging even on days we don’t feel like it.

1. Write Early, Write Often: Even though you’re sick, tired, or whatever else is nagging you, you can still avoid the curse of missed posts by writing at least a week’s worth of content beforehand. As long as they’re not time sensitive, just keep these posts as drafts for use on days when blogging isn’t at the top of your list of things to do. When you use one, replace it with another.
2. Find Images Beforehand: In a way, I miss the good old days of blogging. The days when it was all about the written word and not so much about the multimedia overload that lots of bloggers focus on today. Because so many readers want to be visually stimulated, successful bloggers need attractive pictures. Finding those pictures takes time. Time you’re not going to want to spend when you’re not feeling up to the task. So, like you did with posts, find some images you think you’d like to use beforehand.
3. Guest Authors: Guest authors allow you to kill two birds with one stone. Boost your readership (and theirs) by adding a new and unique voice to your blog. At the same time, you can recruit guest authors to work for you when you don’t feel like it. In the end, everyone’s happy.
4. Research Upcoming Posts: It’s no secret that most readers today love a good, long list. What that list is about doesn’t really matter, so long as it stays within the confines of your chosen niche. However, most of those lists require a lot of extraneous research on your part. If you don’t feel up to blogging, do some research for a list post. I’ve found that I feel more like reading on days I don’t feel like writing, so by the end of a day I don’t post, I’ve got new ideas galore.