Staying organized

i’ve had a few emails asking me about my ‘blog scheduling’ and how i keep organized. i’m not naturally a very organized person, but it’s something that i’ve worked on in the past six months. blogging could easily be a full time job, add into that an etsy shop to run, a house to run, three kiddos to look after and home school and a life to live…and well, chaos could easily take over!
i’ve become a manic list maker – they’re in danger of taking over my house, but writing it all down frees up a little mind space. i keep a notebook that is my saviour – it’s where i write down any ideas i have, blog posts i want to write, diy ideas, things i need to do – anything and everything. if ever i lost it, i’d be lost! i keep a separate notebook to keep track of sponsors, guest posts and giveaways. i also have separate folders in my email accounts for sponsors, guest posts, interviews, etc – saves hours searching for the right email!!

i have a separate notebook that has sections for sponsors, guestposts and giveaways – it’s an easy way to keep track of each month, i can put in sponsors if they’ve reserved for months ahead, check if they’re all paid and what giveaways/guestposts i have for that month.

i use a monthly blog planner to let me map out the blog for the month – i can mark in regular features – e.g. pretty things, etsy love.  any giveaways or guest posts I have, any special posts e.g. birthdays, holidays. i generally blog six days a week (mon-sat) a lot of those are posted on the day, but some things i schedule ahead – interviews and giveaways for example. at the beginning of a month i mark an any posts i have planned or scheduled, making sure things are spread out through the month. it helps me plan my time, as i can spread out any time intensive posts over the whole month, and fill them out with faster posts! pinned up on my pinboard, i can see at a glance what’s what. i have to say though, that i don’t pre-plan every post. 75% are spontaneous – but mapping out regular features + special posts helps me to keep track of whats going on!! a little pre-planning is good – but i think if every single post was planned in advance you’d miss the whole point – it’s good to share what’s going on RIGHT NOW!!

here’s the monthly planner i use, and also a weekly one :) – click each image to download a printable size

blogplanner

weeklyblogplanner

5 Comments

  1. madamegourmand.com

    March 12, 2012 at 14:08

    Since returning to full time study I have to schedule my posts now, I take my pictures during the week and spend an evening through the week and one on the weekend editing and writing blog posts. I schedule a post for every other day meaning I can slot a post in on the spare days if needed.

    I write two blogs and without my schedule I probably wouldn’t have time to write. It’s a pretty erratic way of using my time but it works for me.

  2. Kristina

    March 13, 2012 at 00:00

    Blogging can definitely be a full time job! I’m a nurse & blogger who is back in school and still trying to run my household! Thanks for the downloadables…great idea! Found you via Sandy a la Mode!

    much love,
    Kristina
    http://simplybold.blogspot.com/

  3. Ashley

    March 25, 2012 at 21:04

    I am so unorganized when it comes to blogging but really organized in other aspects of my life. These schedules are great!

  4. Kelly

    March 26, 2012 at 01:22

    Thank you for the schedules! GREAT idea I should probably start getting a little bit more organized about this. It takes SO much time otherwise. I LOVE it BUT my kids and husband probably won’t if i’m spending too much time!! Glad I found you via here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson!

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