I am a 9-5er also running a blog/business on the side, so I understand the struggles that you face when trying to keep up with #allthethings. It’s a difficult thing to do! This statement is one that I often hear from 9-5ers:
“I was on the computer all day staring at a screen. I don’t want to come home and stare at the computer screen again.”
RELATABLE!
Even outside of the emotion of not wanting to look at the computer, your body and eyes truly need a break from the light and waves that are emitted from screens. So how are you supposed to get your tasks completed during the week if your tasks involve a computer but you need a break from one? Today I will be sharing 5 things you can do that do not involve a computer.
1. Voice Dictation
This is something that I am a huge advocate of because it’s so efficient and involves zero typing. Utilizing the voice dictation feature on your phone is a great way to get a blog post, email content or anything else that needs to be typed completed without having to be on the computer. All you need is Google Docs and you can talk your entire blog post out. Yes, you will have to edit the content later, but you have to edit written content as well so there is no inconvenience here!
Related: Learn how to use voice dictation with Google Docs
2. Audio blog posts
Is blogging a thing of the past? I don’t think so, but I’m all about trying new things and making content convenient for readers. Maybe your audience doesn’t want to read a blog post but would rather listen on one. You can create audio blog posts! It would be similar to a podcast, but the audio would be on your blog in the same fashion as a standard blog post.
3. Write ideas on paper to transfer to a digital tool later
Writing on paper is a simple way to avoid a computer. You can write new ideas on paper and transfer the information to a digital tool at a later time. You can do this by either typing your notes into a digital tool or take a photo of your notes and upload the photo to your tool of choice. Evernote is great for this because you can even categorize your notes and photos to make them easier to find later.
Notepad available in my shop here
4. Read a niche-related book
Get back to basics and read a book. A physical book, not an e-book. These books can be related to your niche or just basic business fundamentals. There’s always something to learn, so use some of your free time to learn something new or further your knowledge in a particular area that you want to expand your understanding of. Though this is not a specific blogging task, research is part of the blogging and business process and reading is the most common way to do it!
5. Listen to a podcast
If you want to give your eyes a complete rest, you can always listen to a niche-related podcast. The beauty in this is you can either relax on the couch and listen or you can multi-task and cook dinner, clean, etc. while listening. Effective multi-tasking is everything when your time is limited! As with reading, listening to a podcast is not a specific blogging task, however, it is another way to research topics and open you up to new ideas!
Some of my favorite business and tech podcasts are the following:
Now that you know a few things that you can do in the evenings that do not require you to boot up your computer, I hope you start doing some of them! Incorporating a couple of “screen rest” evenings to your week is a great way to reset your mind (and eyes) and open you up to new ideas for your next blog post or product/service!
Do you find yourself tired of looking at the computer screen by the time the evening rolls around? How do you combat this? Let me know in the comments!