How I Organize My Blogging Life

Being organized for me is about one simple thing: control.

Control over my schedule, my tasks, basically my life.

I have always been addicted to organizing, ever since I was a little kid. I know we live in a YOLO age and spontaneity is cool, but to be very honest, it kinda freaks me out. If I don’t plan ahead, I feel very anxious to the point that it actually paralyzes me.

Sure, people greatly differ on how much control they require in order to be productive and comfortable, but I firmly believe some level of organizing is essential for a healthy balance and to avoid rapid burnout. Also, more organizing usually means better productivity.

This is true for my blogging life as well. Especially as this is not my full-time job, but something I do on the sideline, I feel I can only do this if I’m quite organized. Otherwise, I would feel lost in the myriad tasks of writing, editing, taking photos, linking, updating, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, scheduling, commenting, and engaging.

For me, the 3 main principles that are essential for an organized blogging life:

+ Planning ahead

+ Having a clear understanding of the tasks to be done

+ Scheduling those tasks

Remember, if you have a blog and you’re serious about it, you’re basically a one-man media agency. It can easily get overwhelming and that can kill all the fun and enthusiasm.

So, let’s get organized in order to keep it going, ok?

The content planning stage

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Before everything else, I plan my content well ahead of time

For me, this is probably the most important step. If I have my content planned out well ahead, the next steps are just a natural continuation – I know I “just” have to write, edit, etc them. If I don’t even know what I’m going to write about, I get very anxious and find it hard to get going. Planning ahead is relaxing and reassuring for me and I find that my creativity works a lot better this way as well.

So planning my blog posts is my number one organizing task. I like to have at least 2 months planned ahead, that’s the rough number that eases my mind. This doesn’t mean this plan is set in stone. Sometimes I bump some posts, write spontaneous ones, and sometimes I end up never writing what I planned, simply because it just doesn’t interest me anymore. How much we’re able to (or want to) plan ahead will vary, but I think some rough outlines are incredibly helpful.

The only other thing I plan ahead is my Instagram feed. I leave room for some spontaneous photos, but I always have at least 15-20 backup shots to use in case I have nothing interesting to add that day. Yes, I’m sorry but Instagram is not about spontaneity for me and I don’t have a problem admitting that. This is what IG stories, Snapchat, or IG Live are for.

Content planning tip #1: Always have your “Ideas” list with you

Inspiration strikes at the most random times and places. An image, a scene, a quote, a conversation can sometimes set off a creative chain reaction and give you ideas you can use later. Always, always write them down on the spot. Believe me, I have mourned more ideas than I can count that I neglected to write down and then they disappeared just as quickly as they came. So now I have a dedicated note in my phone, where I jot down sudden blog post ideas.

Content planning tip #2: Have a dedicated creative brainstorming session once in a while

My content is usually planned in 2 ways:

+ Impromptu ideas – see above. Something just hits me, I write it down, and work on it later.

+ A dedicated creative brainstorming session 2 times per month.

Every two weeks I set aside a couple of hours for a creative brainstorming session. It is essential that this time is without interruptions and is solely dedicated to creative thinking. I let myself be immersed in the topics and issues I care about and think hard on what I would be interested in both writing and reading about.

This is not exclusively a sit in one place/stare at the computer/rack my brain type of activity. Sometimes I browse Pinterest and let images or other content inspire me. Sometimes I research what other people are reading, saying, discussing (comment sections are a great place for this). Other times I browse through magazines or listen to some inspiring podcasts. But it’s always an uninterrupted “creativity flow” time.

At this stage, I don’t write the posts yet. I focus on coming up with topics and titles, and maybe a couple of key points that I can expand later.

Content planning tip #3: If creativity suddenly strikes – make the most of it

There is only one case when I’m willing to completely disregard all my previous schedules or pre-organized activates – and this is when creativity strikes. You know the feeling when somehow the words just flow out of your brain and onto your keypad, when you’re bursting with ideas and everything just magically clicks.

Unfortunately, this does not happen every single day, usually, my writing takes a lot more time and effort, so when it does, I make the most of it. No matter what I planned, if I have the writing urge, I just let it flow. Sometimes I’m able to write several posts in one sitting this way. I don’t edit them or think about photos at this stage because that can be done later. This is purely about writing.

The creating stage

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A good editorial calendar is a blogger’s best friend

After coming up with ideas, I plan my rough content for 2 months ahead in my editorial calendar. An editorial calendar is at the heart of blog organizing. There are a thousand and one ways to do that from project management applications (Asana), WP plugins, and scheduling apps (Coschedule) to online free templates or Google Docs. It might take some research to find the one that suits you the best, because it depends on several factors, like your visual preferences, organizing needs, or team size if you have a bigger blog operation.

As much as I’m a tech geek for various apps and tools, when it comes to an editorial calendar, I’m quite old-fashioned and simply use a customized Excel. There are a couple of reasons for this:

+ It’s the simplest way ever, no real learning curve

+ I can make every category searchable with filters

+ Visually, I prefer a vertical list format as opposed to a real calendar

+ In one Excel doc, I can use dozens of different workbooks for other organizing purposes and thus have everything in one place.

My editorial calendar excel contains the following:

The first workbook is the schedule itself: date, post name, category and a checklist for the various tasks (photos, social media schedules, etc)

I use a color system (different highlights) for the various writing stages:

1. Post written
2. Post written, photos taken and edited
3. Everything is scheduled in WP
4. Published

This way, I see everything at one glance: past published posts, everything in progress, and the plan for the next two months.

The next 6 workbooks are my master Ideas lists organized by blog categories. This is where I collect all my ideas.

Last, I have a dedicated Pinterest Group boards list – this is where I monitor all my boards and applications – when I applied, whether I was approved and if yes, what the rules are, etc.

I don’t currently plan and prewrite my social media promotion posts, because at this stage I don’t feel like it’s necessary, but I can easily include social media channels and contents in my calendar later.

Take some time to design your own perfect editorial calendar, the most important thing is to make it easily useable, scannable, but flexible as well.

Time management: find the time and place for blogging in your life

Time management is incredibly important. By now, I have a rough estimate of how long a blog post from start to finish usually takes me. I also know how much time various tasks require and I try to schedule them in sync with my life and other programs and responsibilities.

For example, I usually don’t have programs on Sunday evenings, so this is when I schedule my pins.

I look at my weekend plans and schedule photography sessions for empty mornings.

Once or twice a month, I set aside full afternoons for simply writing.

The key is to know what’s going on in your life and plan around it. You know when you have exams, important work deadlines, when you’re out of town, or have events usually at least a couple of weeks ahead. Of course, it doesn’t work 100%, because life can always override plans, but it’s still a good base plan.

Batching

Batching means grouping similar tasks together and doing them all at once, instead of switching between different tasks all the time. And it can be a life-saver. Batching works because you can focus on one type of activity for a longer period, which is better for your brain and concentration. You don’t have to switch between tasks all the time (this is why multi-tasking doesn’t really work) and it is a lot easier to maintain that “flow”, where working seems almost effortless. Also, after every batching session, you’ll feel very satisfied with how much you got done. These are some of the blog tasks I usually do by batching:

+ Shoot blog photos: 2 main reasons for this: setting up shoots takes some time, so it’s better to do multiple shoots at once. Second, lighting is crucial for photos, so if I have good lighting, I try to make the most of it. I usually plan the concept for my photos in advance (surprise), so I have 2 or 3 ideas to shoot.

+ Edit blog photos

+ Edit, format, and schedule blog posts

+ Schedule pins with Tailwind

+ Write posts

+ Do admin work

+ Comment on other blogs

Have a to-do list for the dreaded writer’s block periods

Writer’s blocks are frustrating, for sure. But that doesn’t mean they cannot be used for productive activities. Make a list of tasks you can do if writing a post is not an option, like

+ Create pins for old or upcoming posts

+ Edit new posts

+ Update old posts with new internal links or new information

+ Check your site for broken links

+ Research and join new Pinterest group boards

+ Edit photos

+ Research potential topics

+ Find and automate new pins in Tailwind

+ Research new blogs, Instagram, or Twitter accounts to follow and engage with

+ Research new growing strategies or channels you haven’t used so far (StumbleUpon and Reddit are on my list)

+ Declutter your social media accounts

+ Organize your blog files on your computer

A lot of these tasks actually take a long time but are nevertheless just as important as actual content creation. So, make the most of your creative rut and still work on your blog. As I mentioned in my How to crush writer’s block post, this is also one of my trusted strategies to actually GET OUT of the block – the fact that you’re productive might ease your brain and your creativity can return faster.

Content promotion and organizing

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Use automated social media tools to save time

The Internet never stops, but I think most of us would not like to spend ALL of our time on it. This is exactly when some kind of automation can be useful. I use Tailwind for scheduling pins, Buffer for Twitter, and IFTTT for some other tasks, like connecting my Instagram and Twitter. Of course, nothing can be fully automated, but be smart and strategic with your time and outsource to these applications whatever you can. Check out some of my favorite apps that can help boost your productivity here.

Keep your files organized 

This is another pet peeve of mine, if my computer files are not in order, I get really frustrated. The secrets to an organized digital library:

+ Folders (in folders, in folders): according to my rule, no files should be without folders

+ Continuous (or at least weekly) decluttering

+ Clear file and folder names

+ Only keep the final files (no version 1.0, 1.1, 1.2)

+ Backups!!

Here’s how I organize my posts for example (apart from the final files, these all refer to folders):

• Posts
  • Drafts
  • Finalized drafts (posts written but not scheduled yet)
  • 2017 (the final: edited, scheduled or published posts)
    • May
      • Post title
        • File
        • Photos
        • Pins

 

Sure, life sometimes gets in the way. For those of us who do blogging as a side thing, there are often more important priorities. Sometimes, we just want to take a break. And that’s perfectly fine. But when nothing of these happens, I still try to treat it as a serious commitment and organize it accordingly.

How do you organize your blogging life?

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