BLOGGING: How to Keep Organised

As I started maternity leave this time I really wanted to concentrate on my blog and social media platforms. I really enjoy writing, photographing and editing, it was the perfect project to focus on once I had finished work. When I was on maternity leave with Isabella I'm sure blogging kept me more level-headed and certainly less lonely. It gave me a focus every day and challenged my skill set, things I wanted to continue to do throughout this maternity leave. Now of course, this time around I have Isabella to look after too so it was never going to be as easy as last time. I needed to up my organisational game and get my productive attitude on point.

This is when I decided to buy an A4 notebook and create my own sort of bullet journal/diary/blogger's organisational document. Whatever you want to call it, it keeps me in check. I have really enjoyed having a paper diary to look at, so I know when there are events to plan/prepare/look forward to and I know when blog posts need to be written by. I mainly use it for blogging/social media 'things', but do like to add in the odd play date or appointment just as a memory really. This notebook was from Tiger (or flying tiger as I see it called now) and I liked it because it has lines, is A4 and is hardback. Sturdy notebooks are needed with a heavy handed toddler always trying to 'help'!

I have the following sections in my notebook:

Monthly Blog Stats

Post Planner

Products to Review

Daily Checklist

Weekly Planner

These are all pretty self-explanatory and very easy to keep on top of with two children. The weekly planner is the page I use the most (there's one for each week of the year), as it is where my to-do and diary are. I note down which blog posts I've published on which days, as well as keeping a comprehensive to-do list (mainly so I can cross things off...one of life's small pleasures). There is also a 'PRIORITIES' section, which is for any thing I must do that week, whether it be reply to an email, publish a social media/blog post, take certain photos, write a specific post etc.

The 'Monthly Blog Stats' is where I note down my stats for Bloglovin', Page Views, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. I have only recently started doing this and it is nice to be able to track changes throughout the year.

'Products to Review' and 'Post Planner' are closely linked, but they're where I'll write down any products I want to review (that I've either bought myself or kindly been sent) and any blog post ideas. They come to me at the most random of times, so often I'll write them on my phone first and then transfer them to this page at a later date.

The 'Daily Checklist' may surprise non-bloggers because it is pretty lengthy, especially for something a lot of us do simply as a hobby. It's not as easy as just sitting down, writing a post, taking a couple of photos and pressing publish. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes on when it comes to blogging and with the ever expanding range of social media platforms that only adds to the work load. I don't physically tick this daily checklist off, but I'll refer to it if I have a spare couple of minutes that I want to spend on blogging. It's interesting writing down all the daily tasks you do as a blogger, it is probably a lot more than you expected it to be.

That's just a glimpse into how I've been trying to stay as organised as possible since going on maternity leave. Keeping my notebook filled in helps to keep the stress levels down when it starts to feel like I've got a long list of things to do and I'm not sure where to start.

If you're a blogger, how do you try to keep organised?

Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :)

Helen x