Do you know One thing successful bloggers have in common? A good, solid schedule! But as a new blogger, Creating a Blogging schedule can seem like a daunting task. Where do you even start? Especially if like me you are a Single Mum trying to juggle everything. But fear not… I am going to share with you the Perfect way to schedule your time for New Bloggers!
It is actually really simple! And it is adaptable to whichever stage of blogging you are in.
But Before we start, check out Why You Should Start A Blog Today if you haven’t already and are still in two minds if blogging is for you!
Whether you are a Full-time Blogger or Part-time Blogger, having a consistent blogging schedule is possibly the best way to become a successful blogger. If you wish to grow a monetised blog and eventually quit the 9-5 and become financially independent, then you need to spend a lot of time working on creating new content, not only new content, but high-quality content. You will need to spend time promoting on social media and implementing SEO best practices.
Fitting all of that in on top of everything else is going to require amazing Time management- Something I never used to be great at, which is why I want to share exactly how I do it now very successfully!
I am not talking about A content plan here… I will cover that in another post. Today, we are looking into how to schedule your blogging time so you actually make progress whilst managing a full-time job, kids, household chores and whatever else you may have going on in your life!
I know, sounds impossible, but it certainly is not!
Why I created THE Blogging Schedule For New Bloggers
I love a good planner- I have a few- too many!
What would usually happen is, I would plan out my working week In my pretty planner on a Sunday- I love Sunday evening planning! And I would move into the week feeling confident and happy that this week Things were getting done and I would smash my blogging goals!!!
Except They really were not- And I wasn’t!
Instead, what would actually happen is, I would sit in front of my laptop, struggling to get any content writing done, then I would decide to create a pin… maybe that would give me Inspo… yep now I have some words written… Oooh I wonder what’s going on on the Facebook blogging groups… Oh look it’s time for lunch!
By the end of the day I would be lucky if a single task was finalised!
New blog Posts just were not getting written and scheduled on time. Everything was sporadic and not at all consistent.
The thing is with blogging is that if you intend to make money from it, then you need to treat it as a business, and if that is the case the YOU are the business owner. YOU are the CEO, and YOU are the editor in chief.
And how do you think a business owner, CEO and Editor in Chief manages their time?
Are they sitting around procrastinating?
No!
They are making a schedule, and sticking to it to get shit done!
The Only Blogging Schedule You Need
I am still planning in all my pretty planners (will never stop that!) But this time I make sure the plan is a proper plan of action.
There is no room for procrastination or distraction!
So, For example, before I would block out my time in my pretty planner, choose when I had the time to blog and write in “Work on Blog.”
“Work on Blog.” Could mean any number of things.
If you are already an experienced blogger, you will get what I mean. It is a lovely thought when you first start out that you will just be sat typing out a beautifully crafted blog post, add some pretty pictures, hit post and within weeks you will be making thousands of pounds or dollars a month!
Sorry to tell you there is so much more to it than that! You need to find your target audience, create blog posts that not only appeal to them but also search engines. Then there is the marketing and sourcing pictures, making sure your blog is legal.
Gosh there are so many more tasks than you think!
But I don’t want that to put you off, as I am telling you it is all totally possible and totally worth it!
So first of all, I stopped being so vague with how I was spending my time!
Now I start by brain dumping all of the tasks I need to do. Every little one! I got out a journal and I broke down and wrote down every single task that needed to be done when it came to my blog…
For Example:
- Write Blog post
- Optimise blog post for Search engine optimization
- Make sure there are relevant external and internal links
- Take/ Source pictures for blog post
- schedule blog post
- Update old blog post and refresh old content
- Research next weeks blog post, come up with new ideas and keyword research
- create 5x pins for new blog post on Canva
- Create 2-3 pins for old blog posts
- Schedule pins on tailwind for blog post
- Create new Social Media posts on Canva
- Schedule Insta posts on Tailwind
- Write Newsletter
- Schedule Newsletter
Etc, etc… I wont bore you with every single one of my menial tasks. Besides, this gives you a good idea as to what exactly goes on behind the scenes of the blogging world, but the exact tasks can change as your blog grows and evolves, so you may do more or less than these tasks!
Just remember to keep your blogging goals in mind when you are planning your tasks. Do they align?
I then decided which ones needed to be done daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.
These are put into the pretty planner in their own separate blocks. so each hour I know exactly what I need to be doing!
For example 9-11 Monday morning I am Writing blog post. This is just two hours of pure writing time! nothing else. No adding links, no research (that should have been done the previous week), no creating pins or adding images. Just write!
Do you get where I am going?
One Block of time= One Task!
Limit Distractions
In order to create high-quality, Fresh content, you need as little distraction as possible!
I do need a little bit of back ground noise, every one is slightly different, so I pop on a classical music study/ concentration mix.
I know, honestly if you could see me you would not expect me to listen to classical music, but I am telling you I get so much more done when I do!
Also…
My phone goes away so I am not distracted.
The Tv is off.
I limit all distractions when working on these specific things!
And you know what? The best thing about creating daily or weekly routine like this is that it is not limited to blogging!
No, This method of scheduling is no way limited to blogging. You can use it for anything that you are working on. or trying to achieve.
I have seen such growth in my goals by doing this. I get so much more done in the home and with my business and health and fitness too.
Everything is perfectly scheduled and my brain has decided she is finally on on the same page.
The Sky is the Limit Now!
The Blogging Schedule: A Quick Recap
In as little as 1.5 months, I have completely changed my life by scheduling this way! My Blog has grown more in a couple of months than my previous one did in a year, as I have been doing all the right things at the right time!
Here is how I did it:
- Brain dump every tiny task that needs doing
- Sort tasks into days, weeks, months and years
- Limit Distractions
Seems pretty obvious when its written down… but just that little change and creating myself a set schedule is all it really took to take me from pulling my hair out and making no progress, to growing a successful business!
Does Any one Else create their Blog Schedule like this? Or do you wing it like I did before? Let us know what works for you!