Friend Friday: Finding the Balance

This week's questions deal with finding the balance between blogging and the rest of our lives. Sometimes it is hard. Sometimes I think blogging is my life. Go to Katy's post to see how everyone else answered the questions.  I want more time to blog. I also want more time to run/exercise. I also want more time to watch TV.  I just need more time in general.

1. When it comes to prioritizing your life, in what place does blogging fall?
I never thought of prioritizing my life. Work I guess is number 1 because I never miss that. I miss meals and miss showers so those can't be up there even though I think those are actually more important than work. Friends and family is up there too but I have found that my friends are those that read my blog and it is how I stay in touch. Some family members read my blog (and others refuse) too.  So I think it is right there. Exercise comes next but there are times that exercise trumps blog.

2. We all wish we had more free time to dedicate to blogging and all it entails. What are your tricks for taking advantage of the time you do have to be as productive as possible?
Google reader makes blog reading quicker. If I have 3 minutes to spare, I read a few posts instead of doing something else.  I blog a lot on my 9/80 Friday off work. I read and comment on a lot of blogs on that Friday off and on the weekends. I have noticed that others don't tend to read blogs as much on the weekend but that is when I have the time.  I don't just sit and watch TV, but attempt to use my computer while watching it. I say attempt because my husband yells when I'm typing and we are watching TV. He apparently thinks if we watch TV we are to only watch TV.  So sometimes I just read blogs and don't comment but at least I'm getting them read.  I read twitter throughout the entire day. If I get backed up, it can take an hour to just get caught up and that feels like wasted time, but if it is throughout the day, then it doesn't feel like it takes long at all. I read Twitter while in line in the cafeteria. I read Twitter while waiting for a meeting to start.  If I have a meeting that my computer is out and I'm a minute or two early, I read some blogs. Or if I have to kill time until people show up (people are often late), I read a blog or two.  Reading them all throughout the days / nights helps. Except even with all that I am behind. I follow far too many bloggers and always have 1000+ unread entries in google reader.  I have started reorganizing my blog lists to better accommodate how I read and comment.   I have noticed if your pictures don't show up in google reader, I rarely read your blog. I have to click special. This is a main reason I'm really behind on my What I Wore reading.  Also tumblr is blocked at work and thus if I'm working at home in the evening and VPNed in, then I can't get to it either.

3. Have you discovered any short-cuts that makes blogging easier or more time efficient?

• Google Reader Folders
• Eye-fi Wireless card
• Picasa photo editing
• Blog Idea Notebook

Right now I'm hating blogger because it isn't letting me insert multiple pictures at one time. I need to google this to see if it is a permanent change. 

4. Do you have an editorial calendar or something similar that helps you plan ahead?
I don't have a calendar. I have a notebook that I jot things down in so I don't forget to post about them later. Sometimes my daily posts are over a week behind so the notebook helps me remember what I did. Lately I haven't been putting daily things in that notebook but more major ideas but I'm so behind on daily posts that I haven't posted those either.

5. If time wasn’t an issue what would you be doing on your blog/for your blog that you aren’t doing now?
Posting more. Completing the things that are in my blogging notebook.  I would have more of a life so then I would get to post about that life.  I have a lot of ideas like my calorie burn or vanity sizing posts but just don't get to them.    I would read and comment on a lot more blogs but that isn't really for my blog but it probably is in the long run because the more I communicate with others even if on their blog, the more they come to my blog and interact with me.
(I swapped 2 words on this question because I read it 30 times and still had issues understanding it. It originally said "If time wasn’t an issue what you would be doing on your blog/for your blog that you aren’t doing now?" -- Can someone explain to me how that makes sense? It probably does and I'm dumb.)