It’s been over three months since I last wrote a blog post for my own website, and yet, I tell clients everyday that they need to be blogging monthly at the very least. 

So, what gives? 

When I write blog posts for others, I enjoy the process. I like brainstorming potential topics, doing the research, creating an outline, and writing and refining the final post.

When I write for others, I don’t judge my ideas or even the writing itself the way I do when I’m writing for my own website. Writing in someone else’s voice allows me to loosen up a bit and write without that highly critical internal voice getting in the way.

Can you relate? Have you ever tried to write your own bio and just completely floundered? Do you hit your head on the wall when trying to write a blog post for your company’s website?

You’re not alone. It’s really hard to write about yourself and your business.

An age-old trick to help you find your voice

If you want to take on your own blogging, I have a daily practice that was once very popular with sixteen year-old girls before social media overtook introspection, and I think you should try it. 

Keep a journal - seriously. Just hear me out.

I’m not suggesting that you write about your innermost feelings every night before bed (although if you want to do that, you most definitely should). I’m not even telling you to record your daily activities or your goals and ambitions. What I suggest is writing about your business in a notebook, a Word Doc, a Google Doc, in whatever format you choose, but make sure that this writing is for your eyes only.

In an effort to get back on the blogging bandwagon, I’ve been journaling every night because not only is it therapeutic but it also helps me unlock new ideas and perspectives that I might otherwise not discover. Writing helps you delve deep into your subconscious, especially if you turn off your filter and let yourself write whatever comes to mind. 

Here are a couple tips to help you get started:

Be consistent. Schedule at least 10 minutes to journal at the same time everyday. They say it takes 21 days to make something a habit, so once you pass that hump, keeping up with these personal brainstorming sessions should be as second nature as drinking your morning cup of coffee.

Turn off your filter. Write down whatever comes into your head, no matter how silly or irrelevant it may seem. This is how you break outside of the box and find that new perspective.

Throw proper English, grammar and language rules out the window. Don’t worry about writing in full sentences, misspell as many words as you want, and forget about the grammar police. This is a place free of constraints, including all those rules you learned in high school English.

No judgement. When you take off your filter, you’ll probably write down some pretty out there stuff as well as some really boring, underwhelming material. Write it all down - especially the worst of it. To get to the good ideas, you have to get everything that's lackluster out of your head and onto paper. 

Sleep on it. After you get your ideas and musings out of your head and into your notebook, give it a day before you come back to it. You’ll be amazed at the clarity you achieve when you return to an idea after a good night’s sleep.

Don’t worry about writing in full sentences, misspell as many words as you want, and forget about the grammar police.

If the very concept of writing makes you want to close this tab immediately and watch the top ten cat videos on YouTube, then you should probably hire a writer to handle your business blog. 

I would still encourage you, however, to give journaling a try. Even if you'd rather hire someone else to manage your content marketing, letting your thoughts flow freely onto paper can have groundbreaking results. You might uncover the secret to success or at least a killer topic for your next blog post.