Reading Blogs (and Still Having Time to Work)

I love reading blogs, and I read a fair amount of them. And if you’re seeing this,  you’re a blog reader, too.

That means we probably agree that blog reading can be incredibly valuable, informative, and fun.

But there is a problem: there are so many fascinating blogs, you could do nothing but read them all day long! Obviously, for most of us, that’s not viable if we want to make a living as well. So, what’s a blog reader to do, short of sprouting more eyes?

For me, at least, I’ve always asked myself the question “why?” when I subscribe to a blog’s feed. (I use Google Reader, by the way, and highly recommend using a reader and subscribing to feeds (via RSS or email) if you are following many blogs.) I know I can’t read everything I want to and still work, so when I choose, there’s always a reason.

I break my subscriptions down into a few categories of blogs, only choosing ones that pass the “why this blog?” test for each category. I limit myself to a handful of blogs in all of the categories but one, trying really hard to avoid overlap within each category.

If necessary, I delete a feed before adding a new one. This makes me re-evaluate what I get from any individual blog. The system is not perfect, of course, but it’s helped me limit my reading while still getting a lot out of it.

I share this with the hope that it might be useful as a way to approach the problem of “too many blogs, too little time”… but with the knowledge that what works for me won’t work for everyone!

Here’s how my blog subscriptions break down:

KEEPING UP WITH THE BUSINESS SIDE OF THE BUSINESS

Whatever field you’re in, there are likely a few go-to blogs for news about your business. If you think it’s important or valuable to stay informed about trends and who is doing what, subscribing to a few blogs in this category makes great sense.

KEEPING UP WITH THE CRAFT SIDE OF THE BUSINESS

As an author, this is easy for me to define – blogs about writing or the writing process. And in most fields, there are blogs that talk about the how-to aspect of the field (how to blog, how non-profits use social media, etc.). How much time I spend in this area changes constantly, but there are so many folks I can learn from in every aspect of what I do, so I am always looking.

KEEPING UP WITH FRIENDS AND THE COMMUNITY

How many people do you know who blog? If you spend much time online, the number is high. This is the one category where I subscribe to many, many blogs. Sometimes it’s to stay in touch with what’s going on with specific individuals, but it’s also because I love the communities I’m involved in. This is by far my biggest category, and I do not read everything in it every day.

OTHER INTERESTS

Whether it’s about your favorite hobby or just a subject you’re interested in, you’ll likely find a great blog about it. For me, it’s actually a time-saver to subscribe to a few blogs like this, as it keeps me from hours of websurfing!

PURE ENTERTAINMENT

These are the blogs to subscribe to because they make you happy. Personally, I like to laugh, so I love knowing that when I’m in need of a smile, I can go to my reader and there’ll be one waiting.

Those five categories really cover my entire subscription list. I do add and subtract blogs as my interests change… or if blogs stop being interesting to me. And no… I cannot read every post every day.

One final thought – I have probably left at least one comment at every blog I subscribe to, and on many of them I comment frequently (or try to!). I strongly urge everyone to leave comments and be part of the conversations, as well. That, however, is for another post.

So that’s what I do. Do you have a method that works well for you or a category I should be thinking about? Please let me know….

Tagged as: blogs, reading