How to Stay Organized Running a Blog
Running a blog has a lot of moving pieces. It is so important to stay organized when blogging, or else you are 100% going to skip a step, forget when to post, or not have the right materials at your disposal when you need them.
Today, I am going to share with yall all of the tools and tricks I have learned to stay organized with my blog. This includes:
- Items I own and use
- Method I have developed to stay on track
- Lists I make and maintain
All of the items I talk about today can be found using my Amazon Storefront here or by simply clicking the images.
If you are just now starting a blog or are fairly new to it, feel free to check out my Lessons Learned from my First Year Blogging before reading this article.
Shop the look: Top | Jeans | Boots (look alike)
Items I Use to Stay Organized Blogging
This section contains physical items I use to stay organized blogging every week. Though there are other items I use in addition to these, these are the ride-or-die items that help me through my day to day. Before I begin, let me just say not every organization method works the same for every person. You need to be able to develop your own technique for each thing. Each of these options are affordable, so if you want to test them out, the option is there.
Every Monday, I sit down with this pad and write down the non negotiables for the week. Though every dayI have “goals”, the items that go on this pad are strictly tasks that have to get done that very day to stay on track. I like to try to get most of my articles for the week done in advance so nothing feels rushed. This notepad very much helps with that.
One of my best friends bought this for me last year, and it has seriously saved me. I lay out my content ahead of time so I know what I need to work on in advance. What I love most about this? On days where I want to write, I can see what is ahead and go, go, go. This allows days that I am not feeling creative or have writers block to be more email and SEO centric. Keeping a plan and sticking with it is essential for any business. Blogging is no exception.
Normal sized notebooks don’t do it for me. I need the real deal – something that is almost the size of printer paper. They last longer, allow me to keep myself organized, and have plenty of space for jotting down ideas and lists. I’ve had mine for over a year and have only used about ¼ of it. Though I couldn’t find my exact color (it’s like a brown, nothing special) I did find my same brand and size in a pretty marble.
Organization Method to Develop While Blogging
While I do feel there are lots of systems for organizing, this one has helped me stay organized and move forward the most. It keeps me going day to day, especially when I am busy, and keeps me from forgetting details I would otherwise leave behind.
In this system, I take my whiteboard and multiple colors of sticky notes. On the board, I draw a line down the middle. One side is labeled “”to do” and the other is labeled “done”. On Monday, I will write out everything I hope to achieve during the day on sticky notes. This includes articles, SEO, pinning on Pinterest, etc. Each item receives its own sticky note, yet all of them are in the same color. For hypothetical purposes, let’s say Monday sticky notes are pink. Any time I finish an assignment, I will move said sticky note from the “to do side” to the “done” side. At the end of the day, I dispose of the “done” stickies, but keep the “to do” ones on the board. The next day, I pick another sticky color (let’s say blue). I repeat the activity of listing out everything I want to achieve that day, this time on blue sticky notes. Those are now added to the “to do” side of the board. Here’s the part where organization comes in – I can only start on the blue stickies once the pink ones are done. This keeps everything on track and allows me to really zone in on what needs to be done in a day.
Lists to Keep to stay Organized when Blogging
Lists are key for a blog’s organization. They keep you on track and keep gaps from occurring. Once you get in the habit of keeping lists, I promise you will never go back. My first few weeks creating them diligently I felt like a crazy person. I kept telling myself “there is no way you need to write all of this down”. Low and behold, though I remembered most things, I did not remember everything. There were gaps that would have been created had I not implemented this method.
Lists to make:
Photos to take – I pay for photos with my photographer about once a month. Because I am still new at this and cannot afford to shoot more often, (I wish) it is essential that I know what I am doing and wanting out of every shoot. Keeping a list of photos to take (based on articles I am planning to write) helps keep me organized. It also helps every shoot run smoother.
Article ideas – I often get random sparks or ideas for articles at the most inconvenient times. Spring articles come to me in June. Winter fashion features pop into my brain at the beach. Keeping a list keeps these articles from going completely out of my brain and allows me to utilize them in the future.
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