Blogging works for me. This blog, Divorce Discourse, generates family law referrals from attorneys around the globe. It’s great.

The biggest question I get is “How do you find the time to blog?”

Today, I’ll tell you two of my secrets.

First, I write every day. It was hard in the beginning. I’d write a post and then forget for a few days. Then I’d do another one and skip a week. If you page back to the beginning, you’ll notice that I was very sporadic. Eventually, I got more consistent, but I wouldn’t write daily. Sometimes I’d write in spurts and crank out three or four articles at once and then take a break. That worked, but I’ve found that sitting down every day and writing one post each day works better for me. I get in a rhythm, and ideas keep coming to me day after day. Eventually, the writing became a habit, and I miss it if I skip a day.

Second, I dictate some of the posts using my iPhone and SpeakWrite. I usually do it in the car or while stuck waiting somewhere (often my daughter’s softball games or in traffic). If I can find an idea, I can usually dictate a post in under 10 minutes. The dictated posts are usually filled with errors, so I clean them up and post them to the site when I have another 10 minutes free. It’s much easier to edit my draft than it is to think of something to say in the first place. If I get inspired, I start dictating.

SpeakWrite, by the way, charges a penny and a half per word, so my posts usually cost about $7.00 for the transcription. This article is 402 words, so it cost $6.02.

For me, the key is to write the post when I get the idea. I used to just jot a note to myself and write it later, but it doesn’t take much more time to just dictate it in its entirety. That way, it’s mostly done and feels easier to wrap up.

The reality is that creating this blog takes lots of time, but that time is usually spent learning the lessons I pass along here. Telling the stories is easy. Learning the lessons is hard (and usually painful).