1. paidtwice

   Hey! It’s me! Wow!

   Thanks I am excited.

   I will be back to answer the question later tonight when the kids are in bed. I need some time (hee hee) to think about this one.

   Dec 16th, 2007

2. ImageGag

   If I had the time I would definitely promote my blog.

   I would need to learn some technicals:

   1. Embed a good subscribe button and learn how to manage my subscriptions.
   2. Embed Digg and StumbleUpon buttons on my blog.
   3. Insert a custom header.
   4. html, php, ninja computer latin (why not?), css, and whatever else we’re supposed to know.

   I would also find the niche of people that would subscribe to my blog via forums, myspace, etc, create a free video at that new site leadsbyvideo, comment on people’s blogs, and guest post on other people’s blogs.

   I just don’t have the time to promote. I spend most of it making the images. How in the world do you people do it?

   Dec 16th, 2007

3. Mike Smith

   First, before I answer, I thought I’d point Imagegag in the right direction

   Imagegag, signup at http://www.feedburner.com with your feedurl that’s currently on your website and they’ll give you a feedburner code to use for your readers to subscribe with. It also gives you the option to use email subscriptions. You can track what readers the visitors are using, how many subscribers you have, ect.

   Embedding digg and Stumbleupon buttons are simple to grab as well. a simple plugin, “Sociable” is perfect for this. It requires no coding knowledge at all. Just editing things in the wp-admin

   ok, now, onto my answer to the post question
   —-

   If time weren’t an object, I would definitely do more promotion of my websites. I know that right now, the things I’m doing are alright, but there’s a lot of other things I could be doing. Of course, I have more time then I use, but I manage it like crap, so I would be happy there was NO time management to do

   I would also write a LOT more. Currently, I write one article per day and just finished one guest post, but I don’t feel like I set aside enough time to do this. I’d like to write 2-3 articles per day and either auto-post them in wordpress or shop them around as guest posts on other blogs, which would give me more help in my first section; more promotion

   I would also read more. Right now I only read a select few blogs (skellie, you’re a genius and on the top of my list ). I try to read for 1 hour a day in actual books like The four hour workweek which I just picked up, as well as “Guerrilla Marketing” which is a great read. I think reading more will help more with article writing as well because I tend to get a LOT of ideas from reading.

   Lastly, I’d take more time to do something fun. Even if it didn’t make me money, I’d like to do things like sky-dive, ect. Hopefully I’ll be doing more of this soon.

   Wheew, thats the longest comment I think I ever left.

   Thanks,
   Mike Smith

   Dec 16th, 2007

4. Jason Curlee

   If time were not an option for my blog I would spend more time building community.

   This is probably one of the lost parts of a blog. So often I find myself pumping out content and writing and writing but I’m not contributing to community. Blogging can be a way to meet, share, and innovate ideas. It is also a way to build great friendships.

   This can be done by responding to comments on your blog and commenting on the blogs you read. You can also collaborate with your readers on topics and posts.

   So to summarize one more time…I think if I had unlimited time I would spend it building community.

   Dec 16th, 2007

5. paidtwice

   My first point is one of the points Mike made as well. I would read more blogs. Seriously, I do not have enough time to read all the blogs I’d like to read. in fact, I could spend 24/7 just reading other blogs and probably still not read everything relevant and interesting out there. My head would explode then though. But I find myself not being open to adding another blog to my reader as much as I was 4 months ago. My reader is constantly behind as it is. And I start weeding out blogs by which I am furthest behind on. heh.

   How does that relate? Reading more blogs would help me generate more ideas, see more points of view, and involve myself more deeply in my niche’s community and the blog community in general. It relates to Jason;s comment too because I think if I was more involved in the community, I would build more community. I am involved I just would like to be more so.

   Second, i would write more. i wouldn’t publish more (I publish too often as it is), but I would just have more things written. Maybe I’d have to start another blog to keep up. I have a list of ideas a mile and a half long and not enough time to develop them all. I started blogging because I love to write and share thoughts and I would love to have more time to do so.

   And then finally… i would tinker. I would tinker and tinker with my blog’s code and figure out how things really work and maybe learn css or php or even just what the heck they mean and have great fun figuring out how to make my blog the best it can be from a technical/usability standpoint.

   

   Dec 16th, 2007

6. JenWriter

   Well, thank goodness I at least have more time now that this semester of grad school is over.

   If I had unlimited time, I would do the following:

   1. Like others have already said, I would work more on promotion of the blogs. I do a fair amount of commenting and social networking, but I could definitely do more. I would like to get involved in more blogs and more forums, but I have not had the time to dive into this too deeply. I’ve had success from what little I have done so far, and I enjoy participating in communities. It not only helps my own blogs, but I am introduced to new and interesting blogs that I want to read as well.

   2. Guest blog posts. I have not had the time to do any of these yet. I am so focused on churning out one post a day for each of the two blogs I run that I have not had time to attempt any guest posts. I would love to do this, and I definitely would if I had unlimited time. It is something I am going to work on in the next two weeks.

   3. Blog design. I do have custom headers for my blogs, but some of the widgets and extra sidebar features could be cleaned up a bit, and I need to spend some serious time on my most recently created blog in this area. It isn’t terrible, but I know it could be better.

   4. Advertising and Sponsors. I am a blogger who would love to be able to make a living at this. It is a passion of mine, and instead of the day job I currently have, I would like to blog full-time. Right now, I use Google Adsense, and there are several issues I have with it. One, the content does not always tailor to my site. Two, some of the ads are a bit tacky. Three, I don’t make much from it. If I had the time, I would search out some sponsors or other forms of advertising for one of my blogs rather than take the easy way out and use Adsense.

   5. Finally, I would spend more time on my content. I already spend a lot of time on content, but I would spend even more time on it if I had unlimited time to spend on it. I could create more value-packed posts, and I could create a higher quantity of posts. I have video posts on one of my blogs, and I would be able to do more of these if I had more time. I would also do more photography for both blogs.

   Dec 16th, 2007

7. Mrs. Micah

   1. I’d write two solid posts a day and do a links roundup. I love to network and I try to get in 3 roundups a week and cover most of my blogroll in a month. More time would make it easier.

   2. I’d spend more time on my drafts making sure they were as strong as possible. I try to write good stuff, but I know there’s room for improvement.

   3. I’d post more often about things that need real research–and I’d research them.

   4. I’d subscribe to more blogs and read/comment on them. Another way to network, build a subscriber base, learn more…

   5. I’d learn more CSS. I understand the fundamentals, but I’d like to know even more.

   6. I’d use even more social networking tools–become more involved in forums and thinks like MyBlogLog.

   7. I might spend a lot of time designing a targeted Adwords campaign. It would depend on how much money my site was earning and how much I could afford to spend on it.

   8. And I’d guest post more often. Another great way to get material out there, meet new people, etc.

   9. And last, (inspired by Skellie and Imagegag) I’d spend more time working on finding my niche audience and developing a way to write for them without excluding other people who might enjoy my blog. For example, I don’t want to be only a “mom” blog (as an example…I’m not, and not even a mom, but if I was…), I’d want to be useful for moms and mom bloggers, but also for PF people, women in general, etc.

   I think the real trick is finding a way to write for everyone AND serve a special loyal audience. But also not seem to calculated.

   @ Jason — I’m totally with you about community. I’d like to have even more time for forums. I do have time to participate in one which is in my area, close-knit, and semi-exclusive (some private boards). It’s been very very useful to form those relationships! And personally meaningful as well.

   Thus concludes my book.

   Dec 16th, 2007

8. SpicePuppy

   It seems that different people are making a lot of the same points here, and I have to agree with them. If we’re really talking about unlimited time, then my advice is:

   1. Write an infinite number of posts per day, but only publish enough to match the posting frequency of the most popular blog in your niche. Use the remaining posts as guest posts on other blogs, or create additional blogs of your own, catering to a slightly different audience.

   2. Respond to all comments on your blog. Create awesome reader interaction and make everyone feel welcomed and appreciated.

   3. Read every other blog in your niche every day. (a) Use this as research for your blog, and (b) leave a comment on every post, preferably the first comment.

   4. Create lots of ebooks, podcasts, and videocasts to stand out.

   5. Become an expert in all blogging technologies (CSS, PHP, etc) and social media applications, and take full advantage of them.

   For the most part, this just means “do more of what you’re doing!”

   Dec 16th, 2007

9. ImageGag

   @Mike Smith.

   Thanks for the links Mike. You’ve saved me some time trying to Google around for it.

   I just installed the Sociable plugin. Sadly, it took me hours, as I’ve never done FTP before and had some hangups. Except for the StumbleUpon button, it seems to be functional.

   This seems to always be a big time drain for me, learning the technical aspects of simple things that I want to do. So even with unlimited time, I guess I’d still be puttering along. Ha ha.

   Dec 16th, 2007

10. Elliott Cross

    Wow, tough question Skellie!

    I guess if time wasn’t an issue, there would be a lot that I would focus on. I would begin with taking some writing classes at our local college. I think that would really help me with improving my writing skills.

    Next would be to spend more time with my family. My wife is great with what I am doing with blogging, and having left a second job recently to be home more often, I would enjoy doing more with them.

    Beyond that, I would study and learn more PHP to improve my skills. I can handle my own with xHTML and CSS, but I feel that I could really benefit in the long run learning more PHP.

    Lastly, and maybe this should be more towards the top, I would focus more on giving to others. Not only with blogging, but in life in general. I try hard to give as much as I can, and if time wasn’t an issue, I would like to donate more time to local charities and the disabled community.

    Thanks for another thought inspiring post!

    Dec 16th, 2007

11. Ritu

    Time, the root of it all. If there was enough time in the day there are couple of things I would do that would probably make me more effective in what I do, in terms of blogging.

    First and foremost I would be spending more time in creating content. I find myself in a tight spot at times as I find myself choosing quanitity over quality. I know. The holy grail of all blogs in the content but at time the stress of having to post regularly really takes a toll on my brain and I end up writing a post just for the sake of updating.

    Second, networking. I would like to be more active when it comes to the networking aspect of running my blog. I do fairly good when it comes to brining myself out to others. But I would like to network with my own readers and visitors. Establishing a personal relationship ( blogger and reader ) is of utmost importance to earn respect and authority from others. I would like to use my blog as a networking tool that would benefit both me and my readers.

    Third, I would like to be more active when it comes to implementing ideas. I have a couple projects due out sometimes in mid 2008 which I am quite stressed about. I would like to divide my time between blogging and these online ventures so I can utilize the time for my other projects including my blog ( the other project is related to blog as well but might be something pioneering ;-), 2008 guys )

    Fourth, I would like to visit and read more blogs. Not the popular ones. I wish I had more time to find and read new blogs. Although popular blogs allow us to find some great tips and techniques in doing something we love to do there are hundreds of new bloggers that offer advice and tips that are well worth my time. I constantly seem to ignore these new blog, focusing only on the large ones. I need to find time to read these blogs and appreciate them as they do make my online life better in a lot of ways just like the popular ones do.

    And finally, I would like to go back to school and get my degree in International Business and Marketing. Time has taken a lot away from me when it comes to getting things done. But again the only one is to blame is me, myself. I don’t think it’s the time we lack, it’s the management that we are struggling with.

    ( Personal opinion ): Although we would all like to think we don’t have time to do things the way we want to, I think it’s the management aspect of it that we lack. That said, I guess I do have time it’s the lack of proper managerial ability that has set me behind. Now I need to make some time to work on that, there we go, it comes down to time again.

    Dec 16th, 2007

12. plonkee

    I would like to create custom headers for my blogs. In fact if I really had a lot of time, I might try more customisation of my templates in general.

    I also like to network more with other British bloggers especially personal finance ones - that’s sort of gone on the back burner lately.

    In terms of content, I’d like to run some multi-part series - I feel like I need a block of time to map these out, otherwise I get board with the idea.

    I’d probably try to turn my hand to writing some posts with SEO in mind, just to see whether they would work well. In fact, I’d probably do a lot of tweaking and experimenting, to see if I could get some new ideas.

    Even if I had unlimited time, I wouldn’t write more content than I do now. I only have so many good ideas a day.

    Finally, but most importantly, I’d devote a lot of time to getting my second blog up and running. It’s up, but I need to really work on marketing it, and adding more content, and networking, and….

    Dec 16th, 2007

13. Anne

    Like many others, I feel like I need to spend more time learning the technical coding aspects of blogging, but the real issue is trying to wrest the look and layout I want from the tools available to me.

    I’ve purposely limited the number of blogs I read through to those I think are most relevant to what I write about and what I need to know. That helps manage my time better.

    But layout and reading are not my two top time issues. Listed below are the top 3 things I would do with infinite time:

    1. Figure out what changes/additions to my blog will gain the most interested readership, and thus the most lingering traffic. An interested readership would be participatory active commentors.

    2. Really define my target audience for each segment of my business. I developed my blog as a way to keep my local customers informed and to share information that various folks have expressed an interest in knowing. In doing so, I haven’t really defined who I’m trying to reach. I know a handful of characteristics, but I don’t think I’ve fully explored the subject.

    3. Generate internet “buzz” and local offline “buzz” to reach my target audience - a comprehensive marketing campaign.

    These are fairly comprehensive goals, but I think they are that way because I am really new at this. I attempted to define first things first. I think learning the coding will come as I implement changes to improve the blog. I see the coding as a tool, not as an end within itself.

    I also think online networking is a tool. The ultimate goal is to attract readership and attention. Online networking could be one part of a marketing strategy. Is it the best way to drive the readers you want to your blog? Yes would seem to be an obvious answer, since that is what I read time after time. For a local blog like mine, it may not be what works best. So far it hasn’t because the people I do attract are not local. Many of my customers don’t appear to be heavy Internet users. I could be wrong there, but I would like to find out whether it’s a matter of low Internet usage or more an issue of a lack of presence in the sites they visit often. Maybe my posts are not written in a way that generates active particpatioon. I just don’t know.

    Three things are at the top of my list: determine most effective changes, define target audience, and develop an effective comprehensive marketing strategy to reach that audience

    Dec 17th, 2007

14. paidtwice

    @Ritu - I think that in some ways you are right - I would guess no one manages their time 100% effectively and we all could do more if we improved that. I think in a lot of ways that is the post of this exercise - by listing all the things we would do if time was no object, we may be able to identify some things we should be doing or want to do that are more important than some of the things we *are* doing - and make changes accordingly.

    But at the same time (for lack of a better phrase off the top of my head), time and money are similar in this respect - if you don’t waste at least a *little* of it, you may stage a full-out revolt at the rigidity of your schedule. We’ve all got to have a little fun.

    I don’t think there is enough time for most of us to do *everything* we wish we could do. the key is puzzling out what of all the things we want to do give us the most benefit and pleasure and satisfaction overall. Because we all blog because we love it.

    Dec 17th, 2007

15. Melanie

    As a very new blogger I am both amazed and intimidated by the sheer amount of ’stuff’ I do not know about blogging. I already spend too much time related to blogs (mostly reading everything I can get my hands on) and therefore I think my #1 priority is time management.

    If I had all the time in the world to participate in blogging, I would definitely start with learning more about the technical side to things. I would learn how it all works behind the scenes and how to branch out beyond Blogger.com. The other area in which I would spend a considerable amount of time would be developing ideas/posts. I have a lot of ideas for posts, but not enough time to put the necessary research into them. Lastly, if I had more time I would comment more on the blogs that I read regularly.

    As others have noted, I believe it’s not so much that there isn’t enough time it’s how we most effectively manage the time we have.

    Dec 17th, 2007

16. Anne

    @PAIDTWICE Maybe we need to make sure our schedule have free time in them. I can only speak for myself, but some of my best writing ideas flow when I’m doing something else that doesn’t require too much mental effort, such as, washing dishes. Ugh

    I guess a more honest answer to the question of what do do if time were infinite or not a constraint is that my house would be spotless and all my fences and storage sheds would be put up. But we’re only talking about the blogs here, right?

    Dec 17th, 2007

17. Alfa King

    That’s a smart follow up, Skellie.

    Perhaps I am taking your question too literally, but I wouldn’t advocate ‘unlimited time’. When you set goals it’s over a time frame. Time often slips off due to growing commitments. Any amount of time would be limited for that matter.

    I’d rather opt for more time, or better time management. Of course this could mean cutting on certain “unproductive” activities to make way for those we value most and that are more effective.

    If I had more time to blog, I could work with better ease to enhance the professional status of my blog to make it a reference in the blogosphere.

    Concretely, I’d spend more time reading, researching and writing more specialist articles in my field of competence on one hand, and on the other, building a network of relationships on the premise that we are birds of the same feather but each with their own distinct characteristics, flocking together but on their own, towards a common goal to attain the same nirvana: success. Different missions; same vision.

    Dec 17th, 2007

18. Sean Hodge

    If time wasn’t an issue then maybe we could make sleep not an issue. Then I would stop falling asleep on my keyboard late at night trying to write an article after I finally put client work away.

    Or my favorite: carpet-face. When you lay down on the floor for what you say will be just 5 minutes. A few hours later you wake up with carpet patterned dents in your cheeks - fun times.

    Dec 17th, 2007

19. Anne

    @SEAN HODGE - So you’re saying that if time wasn’t an issue, you’d get more sleep, get all your client work done AND have time to write blog posts without the added luxury of carpet-face.

    @Alfa King - While it’s true that goals need to be time constrained, it is nice to dream from time to time that there is enough time to accomplish what you really wish you could. Wouldn’t that be less stressful? Hopefully we could do a more thorough job of whatever we wished to do if we didn’t have to worry about how long we took. BTW I checked out your blog and I like.

    Dec 17th, 2007

20. Evan Hadkins

    Without time as a constraint:

    I think I’d give morre thought to series of posts.

    I’d certainly spend more time getting to know the authors of the blogs I like and their blogs.

    I would try to find a way to know/defiine my audience better (hoping there is one). This would hopefully lead to me spending less time on promotion/marketing - my least favourite part of blogging.

    Dec 17th, 2007

21. Heidi

    My list looks much the same as most of the above. My highest priorities would be:

    1. Write a lot more. I would like to write at least three times as much as I do now and only publish the best stuff. As it is now, I don’t spend nearly enough time developing ideas - i just write from top of mind and post. Not the best way to ensure that I’m putting great content out there.

    2. Improve at the whole social networking thing. I only read about a dozen blogs on a regular basis, and only post comments on a handful of those. I don’t ever spend any time on Digg or StumbleUpon, and that’s something I need to do asap.

    3. Learn CSS so that I can customize my site.

    Dec 17th, 2007

22. Dan

    As much as I desire more time, I wonder if there are concerns I will face if I had unlimited time. I think addressing these issues will help me establish and reach my goals as quickly as possible.

    1) There will be a paradigm shift in my priorities. My priorities in the past are based on urgency (delivering a post every other day) and importance (articles that will impress my readers right away).

    With the unlimited time, urgent issues are no longer crowding over my priorities. I can take my sweet time and research for my articles and I will also design a new layout for the site (currently a published template). Tasks like these often require me to invest lengthly blocks of time at once in order to get in my creative flow.

    2) There will be more temptations to procrastinate. Even with my limited amount of time I still find myself unproductive or procrastinating. So I guess the real issue here is quality control. Am I rushing to finish my posts before I publish it? Am I still going to behave this way with unlimited time?

    I struggle with this a lot. But with unlimited time I will keep myself accountable by having the opportunities to have my trusted friend to review every of my Matlab tutorials, invest more time with my readers to get constructive feedback, interpreting google analytics more than just # of visits and bounce rate % for my sites performance, and lastly compare the contents I offer with other similar blogs at a deeper analysis.

    3) There will be endless possibilities of interaction with you readers. Although this can be a good thing, for a person who doesn’t say ‘No’ often, I am afraid I’ll end up becoming a Matlab tech support, and over-stretched and over-committed to too many readers’ projects. Don’t get me wrong, interacting and showing interests in readers with a personal touch is one of the most important thing in growing your blog. Developing your blog community requires a strong vision large enough to incorporate readers interests and focused enough so that you are not aimlessly wandering.

    My vision for my blog community is a knitted group in sharing and inspiring others with their experiences in engineering. When my site has more subscribers I will set up a user registration system (access more information, allow trusted readers to contribute) and be more active in finding guest posters. And of course, to jump on readers’ blog and get involved in their community!

    Dec 17th, 2007

23. Mitchell Allen

    Taken at face value, one is tempted to regurgitate time-management best practices. I have never taken anything at face value . . .

    . . . If time didn’t matter, I would have to first reevaluate why I blog. If I decided that the ultimate goal was to attract prospective clients, then I would shut my blog down, buy an RV and go prospecting in interesting cities of the country.

    You see, time may not matter to me (in this exercise) but I presume my audience would be exempt from this liberating gift.
    Therefore, I could better serve them by meeting them when they have a free moment.

    On the other hand, if the ultimate goal of my blog was to entertain the casual reader, then I would make the following incremental changes in my blogging habits:

    Create an awesome navigational aid
    Add multimedia brain candy
    Master CSS and apply the lessons to my layout

    Navigation
    I am tired of parent-child / folder-subfolder hierarchies. I would make an interactive mind map and link all my content with it.

    Brain Candy
    At the very least, images would adorn my blog (like Skellie’s).
    I would also experiment with embedded video, spreadsheets, music, podcasts and other SEO nightmares, like flash. After all, engaging my readers is the top priority.

    CSS
    Degrading gracefully sounds like a neat capability. Cross-browser compatibility would be my holy grail. Curly quotes in the comment section would represent blogging nirvana.
    Of course, mastering CSS would also mean that I would learn to selectively display the aforementioned Brain Candy. I mean, the iPhone may be web-aware, but bandwidth issues would become the limiting factors for the amount of interactivity my pages displayed.

    It turns out that I am attempting to reach both goals. The penultimate goal is to attract clients. The ultimate goal is to entertain.
    It’s third and long from my own 42-yard line, there’s not much time left on the clock…

    Cheers,

    Mitch

    Dec 17th, 2007

24. David LaFerney

    After thinking about it I don’t really think that my limiting factor is time. Past a certain point The quality of my writing isn’t really determined by the time that I spend on it.

    I need to spend more time on ideas.

    Dec 17th, 2007

25. Webomatica

    Interesting thought - I’d have to say I’d read and comment on other people’s blogs much more, and hopefully that would make my blog better - as I’d me more informed and able to link to them.

    The second thought is that I’d invest much more time crafting long-term content - much research and more time spent writing.

    Dec 17th, 2007

26. mariobox

    1. I would write more content. Presently I only have time to write two or three well researched articles a week (and that’s a stretch). I would post one article per day.

    2. I would start niche blogs about several topics that interest me and monetize them via Adsense. These would be very simple blogs that you can set up and forget about them once they have been picked up by the search engines.

    3. I would organize and compile the information I have disseminated among a lot of posts and put together an ebook.

    4. I would develop short, easy to understand PPT presentations or videos about Internet marketing topics that I could deliver in person to people in my community.

    5. I would get involved and experiment with networks like Facebook and MySpace, that I really haven’t explored yet due to lack of time.

    6. I would contact (email, IM, call) and establish a personal relationship with fellow bloggers.

    7. I would start attending conferences.

    Dec 18th, 2007

27. Alfa King

    One more thing: it actually slipped off my mind. I’d reactivate and maintain my “sleeping” french blog: Le Journal d’Alfa King, which I started about the same time as the one in english. I haven’t been able to explore the french bloggers yet. I need to do that as well.

    And I’d spend some time also to probe into ways and means to make my blogs more interactive and more dynamic.

    @Anne: Thanks, you’re welcome.

    Dec 18th, 2007

28. Anne

    @Alfa King - I would LOVE to read a current Fench blog. I do not get much opportunity to practice reading, writing or speaking French anymore. My father would be interested as well.

    Researching Articles - seems to be a common theme. I think that unlimited time would be nice but as DAN points out there may well be more temptation to procrastinate. Perhaps we can compensate for limited time by making sure our research inputs are well filtered and our search terms are efficient. Research for my blog is related to things that I am already interested in and things that I do as a farmer. That makes research part and parcel of what I alreay do every day. In a sense, that time is limitless, because I have assigned value to the exercise from two or more objectives.

    With infinite time perhaps we would afford ourselves the luxury of blending our daily life activities with our blog writings.

    Dec 18th, 2007

29. Alfa King

    @Anne: I’ve left a link on your site. Check it out.

    Agree temptation to procastinate would be an issue with unlimited time.

    Dec 18th, 2007

30. Mary Jaksch

    If time was no issue I would write more journal articles and guest posts. Just recently I’ve eyed up some heavy-weight blogs in the spirituality field that I would like to get involved with, first as a commenter and then as a guest poster. Also, there are some international journals where I could maybe land an article.

    However, most of my time is spent just writing posts. I reckon that I’ll get more efficient in time and that it won’t take me so long to whip up a post.

    What I didn’t realise when I started blogging is that the kind of lively discussion that’s developed on my blog takes up a lot of time because I tend to address each comment.

    Actually, I saw a convenience store in Buenos Aires that came up with a perfect solution: it said, “Open 25 hours”
    I could use that 25th hour!

    Dec 18th, 2007

31. SpicePuppy

    There could certainly be a temptation to procrastinate with unlimited time, but if your time is truly unlimited then procrastination doesn’t matter–you’ll still get everything done! But let’s say you have a large but finite amount of time. Then yes, you could very well accomplish less due to procrastination than you would if your time were more limited. Keeping a schedule and setting deadlines helps us get stuff done.

    Dec 18th, 2007

32. Keira Peney

    Oh the dream! The dream of unlimited time!

    Well, firstly I would spruce up my other blog. The one I sorely neglected for my current (and sponsored) one. I would post researched and value-packed posts rather than “oh, I haven’t posted for a week, I’m so sorry, here have a youtube video!”

    Secondly, I would teach myself Flash and create a couple of highly addictive flash games that I would have as part of my site.

    Thirdly, I would play a LOT more video games. Especially indie games and mods. I would have a much more comprehensive overview of the market — the sad truth is, to properly appreciate a video game you have to invest a significant chunk of time into it.

    Fourthly, I would write an ebook.

    Fifthly, I would network more, read more blogs, leave more comments.

    Sixthly, I would make homemade soap and sell them on ebay - okay, wait, that’s a completely random idea that has nothing to do with my blog. However, what I mean to say is, I would invest a lot more into the ten thousand unrelated things I want to do. I would read more books, travel more, make more things, cook strange foods, talk to people in coffee shops and learn a foreign language (or three). The net upshot would be to make a lot more interesting and well-rounded as a person, and make me a lot more interesting as a blogger… I’m a firm believer that the more experience of life you have, the better a writer you are. No matter what your topic.

    I would write my novel, sweep my game company to success, and make myself a household name as the person who revolutionized the gaming industry.

    (Hey, they say to aim at the stars :D)

    Also, I do agree that time management and setting deadlines is important. But ultimately, to do something takes time. No matter how efficient you are, you can’t do everything.

    Dec 18th, 2007

33. Dan

    @ SpicePuppy

    I was wondering which keen eye will pick up on that :-). I initially shared your thought that it doesn’t matter how much I procrastinate cause I will still have unlimited time to complete my task. But I think this greatly reflects on our attitudes toward the post and therefore affect the overall quality of the post.

    As David mentioned, at some point more time spent on your post does not necessarily yield a better post. Neither does rushing your post at the very end help either. I think one of the main benefits on Skellie’s post on writing your posts advance certainly help us with our attitude with posting. The longer we wait till the end, it seems more like a chore or a bill to pay. If only we have inspired attitudes everyday!

    Dec 18th, 2007

34. Bente Lilja Bye

    My first two points coincide with Keira Peney’s forth and fifth:

    1. write an ebook
    2. strategic networking including commenting on relevant sites

    Mariobox had a very good idea: create tailor made slide presentations and publish them on your site.

    Dec 18th, 2007

35. Anne

    Now I have several more ideas to add in under my overview of things I would focus on: an ebook and a slide show. Then I might really have somethign that I could entice more commnets with.

    I haven’t written any ebooks although I have several off line novels in the works. I could do that.

    Create a slide show for the site - like a how do you? kind of thing.

    I think people would enjoy that. Of course if I had a video camera - seperate issue - I could post videos of the farm animals doing funny things. That happens all the time. How to detangle a goat. See buddy pick up his feed bucket and toss it away when he’s done eating. Watch a chicken try to roost on a shaky fence. I could go on.

    Dec 19th, 2007

36. Keira Peney

    Making videos would be really good. I think I would move more into podcasting, also, come to think of it. I put that off for worries off the time I’ll spend learning the software.

    Dec 19th, 2007

37. Mitchell Allen

    I am fascinated by all the responses.
    There seems to be two trains of thought - each of which centers around a measurement of time.

    On the one hand, we have “the dream of unlimited time”. On the other, we have “a large but finite amount of time”.

    I guess taking things at face value has its merits, as no else seems to consider the idea of time outside of its limitations.

    Skellie’s title asked what would we do if time didn’t matter. Possessing, allocating and spending something that doesn’t matter seems rather uninspiring. Sort of like dropping a nickel in the plate at church. Admittedly, I focused on the title question and not the one posed in the second paragraph.

    Truthfully, I wonder if my initial response wasn’t more along the lines of unlimited time, compared to “not mattering”. Because, ultimately, time is the common coil through which we all shuffle. Such passage is measurable and, therefore, meaningful.

    Thus would I pass time with meaningless blather such as I have writ.

    But, there’s always tomorrow!

    Cheers,

    Mitch

    Dec 19th, 2007

38. Mrs. Micah

    @ Spicepuppy. Oh yeah. I’d probably use social networking in particular to procrastinate. I tell myself that I’m getting things done.

    On the plus side, in your previous comment you mentioned podcasting and writing ebooks. I’d almost certainly get into that as well, once I’d gotten better at the other stuff. I might have to buy tools and software for them, which is why I’d do the other first.

    Perhaps another ask the readers for what would you do for your blog if you had unlimited money

    Dec 19th, 2007

39. JenWriter

    After reading other comments, I realized that I forgot to add an item.

    I would actually like to start another blog or two. I have a lot of subjects that I enjoy researching and talking about, and they don’t all fit into the two blogs I currently run. I’d love to have to time to pursue some of these.

    Dec 20th, 2007

40. ImageGag

    I just wanted to thank you guys/gals for your direction and provide a quick update. Since this post, I knocked out:

    1. Feedburner Subscribe
    2. Sociable buttons (on feed and site)
    3. Created a short promo vid
    4. Commented on a few different blogs
    5. Knocked out some more images

    Not too shabby for this non-techie. I’ll keep my ears open for what else I have to do. Thanks again all.

    Dec 20th, 2007

41. JenWriter

    @ Imagegag: Great job on adding a promo video. I love extra media like that on blogs!

    Dec 21st, 2007

42. Yanik

    Hi Skellie,

    Great question!

    If I had more time, I would recruit a few dozen über geeks and great designers and create an open-source project that would enable non-technical bloggers to easily make design and template changes and monetize their blogs.

    My dream application would allow all of us, myself included, to drag and drop items in a GUI interface. We could effortlessly, add or remove columns, change image headers and sidebar graphics, background colors or images and everything else we want in order to create really beautiful blogs that reflect our personalities without having to learn CSS or PHP or rack our brains trying to find competent and/or trustworthy developers. After all, everybody has their specialty and passion in life and we are writers not coders…. Our pages would be SEO ready and user friendly. Oh, and it would have an auto-updater feature so we wouldn’t need to worry about backups, security or widget compatibility … ever again.

    I would then create a huge database of user submitted graphics that people could use for free to customize their blogs.

    My dream application would also integrate all the great 2.0 apps we love to use so we wouldn’t have to log in to 10 different services every day.

    I would make it easy for people to monetize their blogs by creating an ad network of like and “light minded” blogs and perhaps a great marketplace where we could all feature our products and services. The only requirement? That our products, ideas or services contribute to the greater good or that they add beauty and peace to the world.

    All member sites could be a part of a referral network based on a set of rules that include trustworthiness, respect for the environment and fair trade and we would marvel at how we can do good things for the world and prosper personally as well.

    Finally, I would create a foundation and donate 1/3 of all profit made by the site directly to people who contribute to the network. Users would submit a request and we could all vote on who receives money. I would request we favor people who want to get out of debt and/or people who have great project ideas (that contribute in some way to the greater good) but who need cash and/or support to get off the ground.

    And then, when all that was done, I’d spend as much time as I could with my son, my husband, my family and friends AND have time to read all your wonderful blogs, write, meditate, paint, take pictures and just have FUN!

    Wouldn’t that be nice!

    Sending positive thoughts and energy to all
    Yanik

    Dec 21st, 2007

43. Suzie

    If I had unlimited time I’d spend it writing. It’s what I really love to do. If other people want to read it, great. But just being able to write would make me happy. I’d finish my novel

    Dec 21st, 2007

44. Anne

    If time were no object or I had all the time inthe world, I’d definately find some good ways to use it, by reading all these ideas from everyone else. - podcasting, forums, more research, ad networks, and so on. But not having enough time is not the only issue. Money rears its ugly head so often and I join with Suzie in a money is no object post or infinite money as I prefer to think of it. Not just a bottomless pit of money but money when you need.

    I guess that would apply to time also. We have all been thinking of infinite time or unlimited time. Would it be all at once all the time or parcelled out so that when we needed it, we would have enough time? That’s pretty philospophical but that’s how things get sometimes. When I think about the whole subject, it seems at firs like a dream come true. Upon further meditation, I think that I very much prefer to have some time constraint even if there were infinite time to do everything and anything. When those types of situations occur, I find myself creating deadlines to keep things interesting. I myself have a need to accomplish things within a timeframe however artifical because I think it keeps me from getting bored.

    So to backtrack on my previous responses - the first question would really be, do you want to have “all the time in the world” and then some?

    Dec 22nd, 2007

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