Hey guys! Today I wanted to share something with you that I've been working on myself: finding time to blog! Aka, prioritizing the limited time I do have for blogging in order to stretch it as far as it can go.
I am a stay-at-home mom, and some people might assume I have all day to blog. I wish. No, actually my free time starts at 8pm after my kids are in bed. I know that my boys will be up at 6am (not to mention random nightly wake-ups) and so as much as I wish I could blog late into the night, I have to cap myself at some point.
In the past few weeks, I've been taking note of what throws me off, what works for me, and re-writing my blogging schedule. I'm like one of those crazy old men in McDonald's that has 100 napkins around him full of random bits of writing. That probably means I'm just insane, but I decided to take what I've written out and make it into a worksheet/blank blog schedule for you guys. I'll start with some things I try to avoid and tips for making the most of your blogging time.
[Tweet "Tips for finding time to blog + 2 free #blogging worksheets"]
Distractors
Let's get the negative stuff out of the way. The things we're doing that aren't helping our cause to be more productive bloggers. The first one is obvious.
- Social media - when I finally have the time to sit down and blog, a lot of times I'll pull up Facebook first. Why, I don't know. Usually I think I have a point, like to finish a blogging-related task pertaining to Facebook, etc. I find excuses. Facebook is a time suck. So is Pinterest. Even Google Analytics. Anything social media-wise at all, just stay away from until you're done blogging.
- Not having a schedule - the times when I haven't really adhered to a detailed blogging schedule, I basically blogged by the seat of my pants. Not that this is always a bad thing to do, because let's face it, sometimes life happens or we just get in a funk and it's as much as we can do. But...when you want to get back on track, get serious and see results, you need a detailed daily schedule of what blogging tasks you need to perform and in what order.
- Not prioritizing - This combines the previous two points; when I have no rules as to what I'll tackle first, I usually don't tackle much! I waste time on things that didn't need to be done first and more time-sensitive tasks are then looming me in the face, stressing me out with their deadline.
Okay, so what should we do? I know you know, we all know what we should do, but I'll lay it out here anyway! Here is what's worked for me.
Tips for Success
- Set your blogging goals - Lay the groundwork if you haven't yet and create your blog's goal and statement. Some questions that might help you figure this out could be: in what direction do you want your blog to go in? What topics do you want to blog about? What is your purpose for blogging and what do you hope readers gain when they visit your blog? Who are you writing for and what is your ideal reader looking for? How often do you want to post a week?
- Map out your week - take a look at your week and be realistic. Our online store offers the best quality sports pharmacology in the USA. All drugs are manufactured according to international standards in compliance with all requirements of the pharmaceutical industry. The actual content of active ingredients corresponds to what is written on the label. Delivery in our store muscleshero is organized in such a way that you can receive the ordered drug within 10-14 days in any, even the most remote region of the United States of America. It is convenient to pay for our orders, we accept funds from bank cards VISA / MASTERCARD, PayPal. What times are you truly open for blogging without having to be engaged in anything else? Do you have a favorite show or do you spend a certain amount of time with your spouse every night? Factor in all of your responsibilities and goals for non-blogging related tasks, and then see what you're left with. Hopefully you have at least a few hours several times a week.
- What weekly blogging tasks do you have - write out everything you need to get done a week in order to reach your blogging goals. Examples of blogging tasks could be: writing posts, creating/finding and editing photos and graphics for your posts, responding to comments and emails, commenting on other blogs, scheduling social shares, revamping old posts, backing up your blog, participating in blogging groups, submitting content to other sites, etc. There's so much more to blogging than just the writing. Write out your list so you know what you want to get done every week.
- Assign tasks to certain days - Now that you have your goals and tasks written out and your available times to commit to them, figure out which days will work best for the given tasks. Do you have certain days with a bigger time slot open? You could use these days to write your posts. If you find that you don't have much time during the week, you could dedicate a bigger chunk of hours on the weekend to writing your posts for the week and scheduling out your social shares. Whatever works best for you, and you might have to test different stategies out. I tried writing all of my posts on Sundays but that just didn't work for me. I do best when I write them individually. Either way, I have found that alternating tasks helps me not feel so overwhelmed. On the nights that I write and put together photos, I don't comment. And on the nights that I reserve for commenting, I don't waste time doing anything else like writing posts.
- Set a time frame - something that has really helped me to stay focused is putting a time frame on my blogging. Instead of saying "after the kids go to bed" I changed it to "from 8 to midnight" (at the latest) is my blogging time. For some reason, this helps me feel less stressed because I know that I have a set time to get things done and it keeps me from feeling tempted to steal time here and there. Set "office" hours!
I also have a blank calendar in the printables library as well under Blogging. Keeping an editorial calendar really helps me. In the back of my planner, I have three running lists of post ideas for each of my categories that I write about. On Sundays, I think about what I've been feeling or thinking about recently that I may want to blog about, and then I go through my lists and pick out ideas that I feel in the mood to write about.
I hope some of these tips have helped you and I hope you enjoy the worksheets I've made! They're basic but they really help me get everything out on paper and organize it all. If you have any tips for how you stay on track and make the most of your time while blogging, I would love to hear them!
Free Worksheets
Click here or on the graphic below to access the blogging worksheets that are in the printables library.
Tawnya
These are all great tips, Jess! Love the worksheets to, they've given me some inspiration! I may work on that first one. I find sticking to a schedule helps me, having my 'tasks' written down for the day (on a post-it haha) helps me to stick to it. I usually blog after Scarlett is in bed and at nap time (on the days that I work).... so you can imagine what state my house is in! I find I get sucked into social media more and more these days though... I think I'm going to start adding social media to my 'tasks' so that I can restrict myself from it more.... what's with opening Facebook as soon as you open your computer anyway?! It drives me crazy, all of a sudden I'm browsing Facebook and I forget what I opened the computer for in the first place!! haha
Tawnya
Forgive my spelling/grammar errors, I never proof read my comments 😉
Jessica Dimas
Yes!!! Why are we compelled to go straight to FB when we open our laptops, as if we weren't JUST there on our phones lol. Ugh. I think that's a great idea to add social media to your tasks, that way you have a specific slot for it and hopefully aren't as tempted to look. I need to do the same!
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom
Absolutely fantastic tips and advice here Jessica. You definitely need to be intentional and focused to get your blogging work done.
As I've already shared with you, social media is my biggest time-sucker.
I have a strict schedule for blogging (as I've shared with you too). I find having a schedule really helps... as it often does with everything.
Thanks for sharing!
xoxo
Jessica Dimas
Yeah I've got to have a strict schedule too or I just totally waste time! Yay for schedules!!!
Karen
You're awesome! I love your worksheets! I find that I have so much trouble planning out things. I also get sidetracked by scrolling through Instagram or clicking around Pinterest. Now that my daughter doesn't nap anymore it's really hard to find a time that I can concentrate on blogging.
Jessica Dimas
Ugh me too! Instagram can be the death of me. I scroll and scroll and scroll. Yeah my oldest son stopped napping about a year ago. I can only do my blogging at night.
Cami
Social media is the worst/best! I get so lost on it and totally forget what I'm doing... Thanks for the worksheets! I need to get my butt in gear!
Jessica Dimas
Lol same here Cami!
Emily
It just makes so much sense...
The one time I actually worked ahead and had more of a schedule, I thought: This is aaaa-mazing! If felt great to be ahead of the game and have more of a plan.
I will use your post as a reminder to get back at having a schedule and a plan...thanks. I think I need to be more strict with myself!
Jessica Dimas
I love when I'm ahead of the game!!! It feels sooo good. And yes, having some kind of game plan and schedule does wonders, especially for my stress levels 🙂
Jessica
I need to get on a schedule when it comes to tasks other than writing. I have an editorial calender for writing, and that really helps, but it's all those other little tasks that I can't seem to schedule! Thanks for the tips on how to organize and schedule all the aspects of blogging! I found this post from the SHINE blog hop!
Jessica Dimas
Yes, those little tasks can feel overwhelming if they aren't scheduled in too. Sometimes I feel like they're more work than the actual writing part!
Stacey
I find that my biggest time wasters are Facebook and the TV. I told my husband that there is to be no more TV while I am blogging because I just can't focus!
Jessica Dimas
Oh yes, me too Stacey! I can't focus on blogging if the TV is on.
Tamara
The Facebook timesuck is terrible! I had to revise my ways because I couldn't keep up. I agree about Pinterest. I'm lucky in that I don't have Google Analytics because I know I'd let it drive me insane.
I used to laugh at people who planned things out, and now I'm proudly one of them. When I left everything up to whims and breaks, everything suffered. My parenting, my marriage, my time. So now I plan out posts 2-4 weeks in advance, although I constantly go off schedule. I still have the frame to fall back on. And I blog when the kids are in school! I used to do it at night but hence the marriage, and my health, not liking that.
Jessica Dimas
Oh yes, I totally agree! Life is so much easier and better planned out! Maybe it's after you have kids you really realize how precious time is lol, I don't know.
Gail Akeman
It is hard to stay organized at home with a blog.
Jessica Dimas
I'm sure it's hard to stay organized anywhere with a blog! There's so many components that go into blogging beyond just the writing!
Maria
I love these sheets, Jess. I will definitely be using all three of them. I blog during my daughter's nap time and when she goes to bed. Sticking to a schedule is key. I've done without one, and I get so exhausted and end up either sleeping really late or having very little to no sleep at all. Writing it down and having it prominently displayed on my desk is the best way I find to stick to task (that and turning my phone to airplane mode, so no notifications from social media will distract me). Thank you for sharing!
Jessica Dimas
Thanks Maria, I'm glad you found them helpful! Me too, if I don't stick to a schedule I'm totally thrown off and nothing gets done on time. I really like your idea of turning your phone to airplane mode, I should do that too!
Kelli {A Deeper Joy}
Really great tips! Now I just need to put them into practice. Honestly, I'm just flat out tired of looking at a computer screen all day at work that I usually don't have the desire to be on another computer at home. That's why weekends work the best for me 🙂
Jessica Dimas
Yeah that would be hard if you have to be on a computer already all day! I would feel the same way! Definitely a good thing to pick a blogging schedule that works with your life and special circumstances 🙂
Ileana
Thanks for sharing. I am stuck in a blogging rut right now. I have so many ideas and seriously cannot stay focused on writing a post. So instead of just turning off all distractions, lets be honest social media as you said is the biggest, I've just avoided posting. I printed out the sheets and plan to revive my blog because I miss blogging!
Jessica Dimas
I feel you Ileana, last month I felt like I was in one big blogging rut. I hope the sheets help some! You'll come out of your rut soon enough though, we all do 🙂
Rebecca
Yes! I love it. I definitely agree with you on the listing things out. I use my bible I mean, Inner Guide for that one. I LOVE that planner!!!! I didn't do shit last week in real life- and guess what? It's the ONLY week in the planner I didn't fill anything out. I swear- no accountability unless it's written down and WHAT IS THIS DISEASE THAT CAUSES ME TO OPEN FACEBOOK AS SOON AS I'M ABOUT TO BLOG? lol at McDonald's napkins!!!!!
Jessica Dimas
When I first read "bible" I literally went back up to see who wrote this post because it surely couldn't have been Becky LOL, and then I went back and saw you mention Inner Guide...yes, that's my soulmate Becky lol. My InnerGuide planner actually has turned up corners from being carried around in my bag and pages that are crinkled from me spilling stuff on it. I seriously loved that you were carrying yours when we met up at Disney and I felt sort of like a fraud that I didn't have mine on me lol.
katy allred
What a helpful post! I have a job outside the home during the day, so I never have time to blog until after my daughter goes to bed. As you mentioned, it's hard to justify taking away from that precious husband time as well, so every tip to make the process more efficient is GREAT!!
Thanks for sharing your no doubt hard-won knowledge 🙂
Jessica Dimas
I think most of us mom bloggers don't really have time until after the kids go to bed it seems! Or unless we get some time on the weekends. I'm always looking for ways to make it more efficient, that's for sure! Thanks Katy, I'm glad you liked the post xo
Chelsea
These are great! I am pretty good at getting done what I need to. I schedule social media on Mondays, have posts ready for the next week by Saturday night, and then do little daily things, too. But I've gotten out of my groove since we moved. Hopefully once the switch to WordPress is complete (ideally, tomorrow!) I will get back on track!!
Jessica Dimas
I can only imagine how organized you are! And you'll definitely be back on track, moving would throw anyone off!
Chelsea
Thanks, Jessica! I am finally finished fixing my site, so I am ready to get back into the normal blogging routine!!
Tiffany (A Touch of Grace)
So much awesomeness in this post! I totally get sucked into social media as well. Drives me crazy! I need to better about specific days for specific tasks. That's a great takeaway for me.
Loved the post lady!
Jessica Dimas
Thanks Tiffany, glad you liked the post!
Karen
These are great tips! Thanks for sharing. I'm also a stay-at-home mum with three kids at home so the only time for blogging is after they have gone to bed or before they wake up in the morning. Having a schedule is so important but I'm still working out what that needs to be. Found this on the SHINE blog hop.
Jessica Dimas
Sounds like we have the same blogging schedule 🙂 Yeah I have to revisit my schedule of what needs to be done every few weeks, make any changes if necessary. Thanks for your comment!
Keri
This is so helpful! So glad you shared this. I like how you separate the tasks. Recently I decided to try to schedule my social shares. Looking into the best ways to do this. Thanks for these great tips. Schedules are such timesavers! This past week I started to get off task and I had to quickly refocus! Helped me get so much more done. Thanks!
Jessica Dimas
I was using Coschedule for my social shares but I found it takes me way longer than my usual way, which is just scheduling FB shares right from their site and Twitter and Google + from Hootsuite. Thanks for your comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
Lexi
I'm so glad you shared this. It's good to know I'm not the only person who gets distracted by social media. I am hopefully going to do a better job with scheduling now. Thanks for sharing your tips and the worksheets
Jessica Dimas
You are definitely not the only one Lexi!! I think social media is the #1 distractor for all of us 🙂
Jennie @ The Diary of a Real Housewife
Yes to this all! I really get into good habits with it and then really bad. I find that if I don't schedule things to do I end up staring at the computer screen in a daze! Then I work on editing pictures for like 3 hours and get nothing else done. Ha! Some really great advice and I will be using the printables for sure!!
Jessica Dimas
Oh my gosh, me too Jennie. I literally am all over the place if I don't write it down! And yes to editing the pictures for 3 hours LOL. That is so me too!
Monica
I keep getting random ideas of post topics but I forget to write them down. Keeping separate lists for your blog topics sounds like an excellent way to keep the writing flowing. It would also help me even out my topics so I don't focus on one category too much.
Jessica Dimas
Ugggh I hate that lol when I forget to write down an idea and then I totally forget it. It's the worst. Yeah I've found that keeping separate lists for each topic really helps me stay organized and I can easily and quickly look up a topic idea that way too.
Iulia Gulia (Best of Baby)
Some day I will figure out this organization thing! Maybe...maybe someday when my kids are on a better schedule. And someday when I can pull myself away from social media. But seeing how the HP group was yesterday, I feel like I'm going in the wrong direction with that one...
Jessica Dimas
LOL I know. I actually stopped checking the HP group the last few days. I could spend all day in there. My kids getting older is helping me so much, even though they're still pretty demanding. But at 2 and 4, they are sooooooo much easier than where we were a year or two ago. Babies laugh in the face of blogging schedules.
Heather
Great post on keeping productive and not getting sidetracked. I can relate so much to the distractions, especially social media. I start my morning on FB/Twitter etc and really need to put that aside for later or I get caught up and all of a sudden hours have gone by. In fact, that is how I found this post. 🙂 Setting blogging goals for each week is so important. If I were at a job I'd be expected to set goals. They set the bar for getting the week started. Same for mapping out the week. What to do on each day, etc. Thank you for the "cheat sheets." I look forward to using them!
Jessica Dimas
Oh my gosh, I totally know what you mean. The social media time suck was getting me A LOT. Just this week I made it a mental priority to NOT get on my social media as much. It seriously haunts me. (But I'm glad you found this post because of your social media time suck, LOL). I love the comparison you made between a job and blogging and how a job would expect you to set goals. Love that! You're so right. I hope the sheets help you and that you get a good blogging schedule going!
Ida
These are great tips! I need to set a blog schedule. I feel like I am "blogging" all day and then I get seriously burnt out by the weekend. I have more time on the weekends to do blog stuff so maybe I should set up a schedule around that time!
Jessica Dimas
Yes!! I hate that feeling. Happens to me a lot too when I'm not on my "blogging game". Aka schedule. I definitely think you should set up a time to get all your blogging out wherever you have more free time!
Cheryl Long
Thank you for writing and sharing this! I am very much a "seat of my skirt" kind of blogger and need more structure and focus. Pinning this!
Jessica Dimas
You're very welcome and I hope it helps you find structure and more focus!!
Charlene
These are great tips! Thank you so much for sharing1 I am still trying to figure out a schedule that works for me and my family! Late nights are starting to take its toll...Will definitely be taking your tips on board and checking out your printables (you are a STAR).
Jessica Dimas
I hear ya, sister!! The late nights were getting to me too. I just rearranged my schedule AGAIN. Getting up with a 2 and 4 year old at 6 in the morning requires REST, and I was really not taking care of myself by staying up so late. I hope the printables help you figure out a better schedule!! Thank you for your comment!
ryde lowe
Nice suggestions ! I Appreciate the insight ! Does anyone know where my business would be able to grab a fillable a form version to fill out ?