#1 Use a Blog Post Planner
I see that using a blogging schedule is becoming the norm amongst organized, professional bloggers; but I’m still surprised to hear (through blog comments chit chat) that many bloggers do not use a planner, or at least a blog post schedule. Using a blogging planner should be one of the very basic tasks that every blogger should use. If you’re not using a blogging planner schedule, then now is the time to adopt this practice. Create a Blog Post Planner Template Open a Word document and draw up a simple table with the following sections:- Title of Blog Post
- Scheduled Posting Date
- Filed in Blog Category
- Outline of Blog Post
- Key Points
- Graphics used
- Text links used
- Monetization methods used
#2 Prioritize Your Tasks for the Forthcoming Week
Now that you have your blog posts planned for at least three weeks, you can move on to a blog priority tasks schedule for the forthcoming week. This is where you want to plan out your tasks for the week and put them into order of priority. So for example, writing your weekly blog post should be at the top of your list at no.1. What else is a priority on a weekly basis in your blogging business? Guest posting? Then put that down as priority no.2 on your list. Working on writing an ebook? Then put that down as no.3 in your weekly priorities. …etc. Don’t put too many tasks down on your weekly ‘to do’ list, only put as many tasks down as you can comfortably complete for that week.#3 Use a Weekly Tasks Schedule
Okay. So you’ve got your weekly list of Tasks in order of priority, now you need to schedule them into your calendar for the forthcoming week. You can do this by either using a:- Paper diary, an
- Excel spreadsheet or Word diary, or an
- Online diary such as www.google.com/calendar/
#4 Use Daily Set Time-Blocks
We are going to be a little bit more specific with the scheduling (time management) of our weekly tasks by using a daily diary but drilled down into ‘set time-blocks’. Using set time-blocks is a great time management strategy that keeps you laser-focused on one task a time within a specific time frame. For example: 8.00 – 9.00 : Drop the kids off at school 9.00 – 10.00 : Write three paragraphs of this week’s blog post to publish on Thursday 10.00 – 11.00 : Check email and respond to any blog comments 12.00 – 1.00 : Stop for lunch … etc. This way you know what needs doing and you have a set time when to do it. Yes it’s a very strict method of conducting your time, but it works and very effectively too if you stick to it. Again you can use a paper diary or the free Google Calendar as mentioned above.#5 Master The One Task Only Method
This goes hand-in-hand with the ‘set time-blocks’ strategy, but let me expand on it a bit more as it’s a really important factor when trying to juggle and balance out all of your blogging tasks. All bloggers get the feeling of ‘overwhelm’ from time to time as there are so many tasks they have to do because of the diverse nature of blogging. So what we tend to do is to try and ‘multi-task’ blogging tasks simultaneously in the hope that we can get more done. Have you tried to multi-task your blogging tasks? Has this ever worked efficiently and effectively for you? My guess is probably not. I’ve tried multi-tasking Online jobs numerous times and I end up getting practically nothing done at all. What I do now instead is to focus on only ONE task at a time and think of nothing else but that one task.- No checking email
- No responding to blog comments
- No Facebook or other social media
- No, anything else at all!
#6 Capture Random & Brainstorming Blog Ideas
Bloggers are constantly thinking up ways to improve their blog. Whether that be traffic generating strategies, how to improve your blog posts, what product you want to create or promote next. Random thoughts popping into your head are a natural occurrence for a reason, so don’t lose or waste those thoughts! Instead of trying to remember them, write them down on a scrap of paper or general note-book, why not draw up a Worksheet specifically to collect your random and brainstorming blog ideas? A simple worksheet created in a list format for your random ideas saved onto your hard-drive is a great organization strategy. Keep the document open throughout your working day and instantly enter any ideas that pop into your head before you forget them. You can then scrap some ideas because they are no good or longer needed, or you can move your ‘good’ ideas onto your Weekly Blog Priorities schedule (no #1 above) to make those ideas become a reality.#7 Consider Outsourcing Certain Tasks
I’m now going to briefly touch on a subject which I write quite a lot about; procrastination. Procrastination is huge amongst bloggers and one of the main reasons for ‘blogging procrastination’ is because of low motivation. Low motivation on certain blogging tasks tends to lead to two reasons: 1) You dislike the job at hand; 2) You don’t have the time to do it. If you have low motivation to carry out certain tasks within your blogging business and you find that you are procrastinating on those tasks, could it be because of the two reasons above? If yes, then why not consider outsourcing those tasks? It makes sense doesn’t it? Simply by outsourcing the tasks which you don’t like doing or don’t have the time to do will be saving you enormous amounts of time whilst moving your blogging business forward at great speed. Open up a Word document (yes, again) and draw up another simple table, call this one your Outsourcing Worksheet. Make a list of all the tasks you would like to outsource for the reasons above. Then go out and put adverts in Outsourcing sites such as www.elance.com and www.freelancer.com etc. and hire a person who is the most qualified to do the job at hand. Once you have hired someone, go back to your Outsourcing Worksheet and put the name and email address of your virtual assistant next to their specific role within your blogging business. You will then have an organized list of all your outsourced tasks and assigned virtual assistant assistants. If you put the above seven time management strategies into place, I’m sure you will find that you have a much more organized and structured blogging business and any time management issues will be kept at a minimum. If you would like any of the worksheets mentioned in this article already done for you, then you can find them in my Time Management for Bloggers Toolkit. Good luck! Guest Author: Claire Bullerwell, owner of www.bloggingtoolkits.com creates interactive workbooks and worksheets to help bloggers get organized and productive. You can grab a free copy of Claire’s Business Blogging Checklists to help organize your blogging business.The post 7 Super Productive Time Management Strategies for Bloggers appeared first on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement.