Sometimes I have to slap myself because I suddenly catch myself checking the sports page, personal email, or just something totally unrelated to my work.

The best solution I’ve found for this is Mark Joyner’s Simpleology course. It’s free, and lets me do more in one day than I used to in a week!

And since I don’t work on weekends, I rarely blog on them either.

Staying away on the weekends is good advice. I have been traveling a lot lately, just short jaunts here and there, but I stand and deliberate over whether my crumpler bag containing all camera gear I have AND my laptop get to go, too.

Always yes to the entire camera bag. The laptop, not so much. First it’s, “I’m just going to check my email,” and then it’s, “Going to do a little reading [of blogs],” and finally, “Got to work on a blog post.” Enough!

Seriously, though, it seems I may not have been clear in what I meant by the center of the universe. I meant on the web and in your business, not in life as a whole. I’m not chained to my computer so I guess the idea of seeing all my life through my blog is out of my normal train of thought. I turn on my blogging when I’m working and I leave it when I’m not – just like my work.

Life without some sort of balance is chaos. And chaos is neither where I wish to live nor is it a life-style I wish to promote.

So perhaps the title should be rephrased as the center of your business universe. Sorry for the lack of clarity.

But still…. I recognized that morning routine and evening routine as you described them, acknowledged to myself as I read your words that when I am cooking or hiking I am often thinking about “it” (my blog, that is).

I like your entreaty that we try to think about what the audience needs. I’d also like to submit that we not go overboard and get all codependent about our blog and our blog audience. AND that we restore to our lives a sane balance that does NOT put the blog first and foremost. (I’m talking to myself here, mostly!)

@Shiraz: Forums are great. Also, shake the tree. If you’re really clear on the problems you can solve, talk with everyone you know about it – friends, clients, relatives, etc. People always know someone you can help.

And thanks to everyone for bringing up balance…it’s the key not only to successful blogging and business, but to life as a whole. And I think we all need to be reminded of that from time to time.

Re: gaining more readers where they already hang out, I’m working on that one, too.

Because Freelance Parent is so new, and I’m still in the first-blush, idea-generating phase, it’s sort of become the center of my universe in many ways these days. In fact, I occasionally have to remind myself that even though it’s really fun, I can’t devote all of my energy to it, or other aspect of my business will suffer.

Sigh. I guess it all comes back to the “B” word. (I meant “balance,” not that other word.)

I wish Dawud or someone could answer this question. How do you find where people in your market niche ‘hang out’? I’m guessing forums and discussion groups.