I’m a huge fan of Bullet Journals and Planners. We have done previous posts about how to pick the perfect Bullet Journal, How to make beautiful pages even if you’re not an artist and to help you decide if you need a Journal or a Planner. All of these posts have been received very well, but I get a lot of questions about keeping a blog organized using a daily planner.
I started making the attempt to be better organized at the beginning of this year with a magnetic fridge organizer. After finding that this small amount of organization gave me peace of mind, I decided to be more organized with my blog. Thanks to Passion Planner’s give one, get one program I was able to try this popular planner for free. I love it so much that I am eagerly awaiting pre-orders for next years books! Keeping my blog organized takes a lot of stress out of the picture. I know what I have to get done on a daily basis in order to stay ahead of life and it’s lemons.
Keeping a Blog Organized using a Daily Planner
Why use a Daily Planner?
So much of our lives revolve around being online that an app might seem like a better choice. For some people it is! Many bloggers stay organized using online apps and programs. I tried out quite a few of them myself before finally turning to my pen and paper planner. I just didn’t use the online applications as much as I should have. Keeping a blog organized using virtual solutions just didn’t work out for me.
Why Online Applications didn’t work for me
- Too much bother to log in. I have so many passwords to remember already and do I really need to log in just to save this tiny notation?! Yes – I probably should have because odds are I forgot it later on.
- Not wanting to have yet ANOTHER tab open on my screen. I average about 10 already – on a slow day.
- Flipping back and forth between tabs got tiresome.
- Writing notes while researching was annoying. I was either copying it down in a notebook and then re-copying it onto the app or flipping back and forth between tabs.
- If the internet went out all my notes were locked away until it came back.
- Made my computer slower – the poor thing is already old, it doesn’t really need another program running.
- Applications which sent reminders to my phone got irritating, especially the ones who sent them in the middle of the night!
Maybe it’s because I grew up using notebooks for the majority of my school career but I have always found the pen and paper to-do lists more appealing then virtual ones. It seems that this rings true for planners as well. There is just something satisfying about checking off a to-do list on physical paper.
Why a Daily Planner Worked
- It’s more convenient – no logging in, flipping tabs or internet connection required.
- Faster – it takes far less time to scribble a note in my planner then it did to color code, categorize and type out a note in any of the applications I tried.
- Makes more sense at a glance – I can open my planner and look at my monthly and weekly spreads to see exactly what I need to know. I don’t have to scroll or open folders or try to remember what all the different colored dots mean on my virtual calendar.
- I can take it anywhere – while its true that most virtual organizers will sync between our phones and our computers this doesn’t always help me if I happen to be somewhere with no data or low signal or my battery is dying. My Passion Planner might be large but it still works in low tech locations. There are plenty of smaller planners available that could easily fit in your bag. I just leave my planner in the car.
Keeping a Blog Organized – The Daily Planner Breakdown
Blogging is a lot of work, it can be fun work but it is work. For some bloggers, this is their job, for others its something they are trying to do while juggling work or school. For all of us blogging is a passion. We love it and we make time for it but all the tasks involved from social media to creating content can be time-consuming.
I used to stress about what I was going to write next week, would I have the pictures and supplies I needed? Did I even have an idea? I found myself scrambling more often than not and writer’s block became an issue when I tried to force content I didn’t have a lot of time to think about. This got even worse when I started exercising – suddenly I had to fit blogging, family, housework AND exercising into a single day. It was too much. Blogging isn’t as much fun when it’s stressful!
Then I won my Passion Planner. I was already Bullet Journaling – but found it too time-consuming to keep up with on a day to day basis. Bullet journaling for me is more useful as a long-term monthly and yearly tracker. I needed a place where I could scribble notes without worrying about how pretty it looked and ruining my journal. The Passion Planner turned my blogging around. It helped me create a schedule and stick to it which took away a lot of the stress. Keeping a blog organized without letting it completely take over your life has a few tricks to it that I have learned along the way and without a daily planner I don’t think I could keep up.
Keeping a Blog Organized – My Process
Monthly Tasks
Typically I do these about halfway through each month. This gives me a few weeks to get everything sorted out for the next month. This lets me stay a week or two ahead with ready-made posts.
- Re-evaluate my schedule – Currently, I post twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This works for me but each month I sit down and see if it will continue to do so. Things change, holidays, special events and life, in general, have to be taken into account.
- Count how many posts I need – I like to posts about several topics. These topics include Keto, Fitness, Crafts, Learning something new, Product Reviews and Bullet Journaling & Planning. I like to get at least one post from each category scheduled for every month.
- Create a Rough Schedule – I pencil in vague category ideas for each Tuesday and Thursday. There are several things to take into account when creating my schedule – sometimes a craft project has to be scheduled around paydays in order to get the supplies, sometimes holiday’s have to be taken into account.
- Narrow Down the Schedule – Now I go back and narrow down my ideas. If I want to do a fitness post on the 10th this is when I decide on exactly what I want to write – Running? Yoga? Maybe something completely new I’m trying out. I pencil in the post idea under the category on the monthly layout.
- Look & Plan Ahead – Sometimes I know well in advance that I won’t have time to work on the blog. Holidays and Family visits completely disrupt my weekly schedule. This isn’t a problem if I work on that content and have it finished beforehand. For instance, I know I have family visiting for two weeks in July, this means I will spend June writing and scheduling an extra post each week that will go live during the visit. You guys get fresh content, I don’t have to stress about finding time to blog AND visit.
With the next month now plotted out, I can move on to scheduling my weekly tasks
Weekly Tasks
I try to stay at least one week, preferably two, ahead of schedule. This gives me a bit of a buffer should something come up and keep me from writing. Since I have already figured out next months blogging schedule I know exactly what I need to be writing when it needs to be finished and the products, pictures, and research that I need.
In addition to content creation, I also use the weekly layout to keep track of my social media and back-end blog chores like answering emails, replying to comments and updating old posts or links. I have also assigned each social media platform a highlighter color and use my weekly spread to keep track of optimum posting times. I try to keep the weekend’s free for family time!
Monday
- Reply to Blog Emails
- Reply to Blog Comments and spend some time reading and commenting on other blogs
- Keyword Research Post 1
- General Research/Crafting for Post 1 if needed
- Promote Blog – Social Media
Tuesday
- Reply to Blog Emails
- Update LinkTree
- Write Post 1
- Keyword Research Post 2
- General Research/Crafting for Post 2 if needed
- Promote Blog – Social Media
Wednesday
- Reply to Blog Emails
- Reply to Blog Comments, Spend some time reading and commenting on other blogs
- Write Post 2
- Pictures Post 1
- Blog Free time – Work on old posts, update plug-ins and links OR Keyword/General research/Crafting Post 3 (planning ahead) if needed.
- Promote Blog – Social Media
Thursday
- Update LinkTree
- Reply to Blog Emails
- Post 2 Pictures
- Blog Free time – Work on old posts, update plug-ins and links OR write Post 3 (planning ahead) if needed.
- Promote Blog – Social Media
Friday
- Reply to Blog Emails
- Add Affiliate and Mailing list links to all posts written this week
- Blog Free time – Work on old posts, update plug-ins and links OR Picture’s Post 3 (planning ahead) if needed.
- Promote Blog – Social Media
Saturday & Sunday
- Generally, a writing break though I might play catch up in the morning while everyone else is sleeping if I didn’t finish something earlier in the week.
- Promote Blog – Social Media
Keeping a Blog Organized with a Daily Planner – Conclusion
keeping a blog organized is no easy task. It has taken me almost a year to come up with the system I have now and it works very well for me! I find that I need this schedule in order to enjoy my time blogging, without it I have a tendency to put things off and then rush to finish. In fact, this system works so well that I am currently attempting to apply it to my housework. I hate housework! But, Maybe breaking it down into more manageable daily tasks, like I have with my blog work will make it easier to keep up with!
In the end, I have found that a paper planner works best for me and while I currently use a Passion Planner (Feel free to enter kharris@talesfromhome.com as a referral if you want to try one out) I have also heard good things about the Erin Condren LifePlanner and the Emily Ley Simplified Planner.
It’s important to find out what works best for you when it comes to keeping a blog organized. In truth, daily organization can be difficult with modern lives being so very busy. Finding a way to organize all of the tasks that land on our shoulders every day can really help lower our stress and help us find a bit more joy.
< />
This is such a fab idea! Yours is so pretty and neat!
Thank you! I promise it’s only neat some weeks, sometimes, like life, its quite messy haha!
I have yet to organize my blogging… it’s a pretty sporadic schedule at the moment, but I can definitely see how this method would be useful moving forward!
It has helped me a lot. I started out pretty sporadic as well – I think most of us do!
Love this. I definitely prefer paper over digital methods of keeping track of things. Of course I’m still getting into the habit of organizing both blog and life stuff and actually sticking to schedules. I will think I will try to apply some of these things to my blogging and hopefully it will get me not only better organized but reduce the stress of remembering to do things.
I hope it helps. I know that committing to sticking to this schedule has really made my blogging life easier.
This is a great post! I think this is my biggest struggle the how to put things into paper and stay organized. And I also work so much better with a paper planner.
I really wish organization was a skill I came by naturally, but alas – I have to work at it! I’m glad you enjoyed the post and really hope it gives you some ideas about organizing your own time!
This is such a great detailed post! I really need to start using a planner for blogging, as I agree it can get very stressful very quickly with all the different things you have to do and plan. I always have too many ideas in my head and I note some things down on my phone but it doesn’t seem to help too much, so a physical planner would probably be a good shot! I’ll definitely be using this again when I start up a planner! Xx
It has really helped keep me on track and I’m glad you found it useful! Good luck with your future planning!
This is a great post!
I’m someone who struggles to keep organised so it’s a big help.
Thank you ♥
Luke |Luke Heywood Style
This post is spot on! Thank you for this. I started my blog in March, and have been building up my social presence. It’s honestly a full time job in itself, and this planner is such a great idea to stay on track. Thanks for the tips!
It really is a lot of work! But its also very rewarding work, I hope you are enjoying your time blogging so far!
I keep thinking about getting a journal, I love this sort of thing and I’m a sucker for a list
List help me keep on track for sure!
You are so organized!! I love keeping journals, too. The online options never work for me because I like to jot little notes and having it open right in front of me at all times helps keep me on task instead of having to open something on my computer or phone. I also like it because I can disconnect from electronics while I plan out my week/month. I love all your tips and ideas!
Being organized was a hard-earned skill haha. I’m certainly not naturally organized by any means. I always ended up not bothering to use the online options for just that reason. It was such a bother to go to the site or open the app and log in blah blah blah. It works for some people and that’s awesome but not so much for me lol
I wish I could be organised enough to remember to do a planner! 😂 Loved this post!
It’s a practice makes perfect kind of thing, I was terrible at it when I first started but after a while of making myself do it, it became a habit and now I really love it!
I love this post! You’re so organised 🙂 I particularly like the colour coding in your planner. I have recently started using Trello (an online app) and I do quite like it, which is unusual for me because I am such an old-school pen and paper sort of person. I usually have about five lists on the go at one time! Thanks for sharing 🙂 x
Color coding makes it easy for me to look down and see what I need to be doing. I’m glad you found something that works for you, I have never looked into Trello!
Awesome post. Really helpful
Thank you! I’m glad you found it helpful!
I would love to organise my schedule but I’d get so bored of trying to organise everything that I don’t follow it.. I’m kind of a spur of the moment kind of person 🙂
As long as it works for you that’s all that matters in the long run!
This is something that I should get into as I’m not the best organised. Thanks for the ideas.
You’re welcome! I hope it helps!
I usually use my iPad calendar since I’m on it most of the time.. this may be a better option though, it so neat!✨💕
I could see how using a tablet would work well too since they are easy to have with your and move around!
When I started grad school, I went through my whole first semester without a paper planner. It was a nightmare! Then I purchased a Passion Planner and noticed how easily I could keep track of everything. I wanted to much to be a digital girl because it takes up much less time and space, but I love the reinforcement pen and paper planners give me. I might have to adapt your blogging schedule for my own needs, if you don’t mind. I’m trying to be more serious with my blog and seem to struggle greatly with managing it how I should.
By all means, go ahead! Try it out and see if it works for you, I shared it to help people since it helped me so much!
Some great advice here thanks for sharing
Glad you found it helpful!