In August, I set out to make working on my blog a priority. It was something I really enjoyed doing and felt called to do, but I had never set a consistent blogging schedule in place.
Once I set a simple schedule into place, it made working on my blog regularly much easier. It took time and many tweaks to find the right schedule for my lifestyle, but it has been worth it.
Most weeks still do not go perfectly as planned, but I am working on my blog much more consistently than I ever have before because of the simple schedule I set into place. I hope the tips below help you create the perfect blogging schedule for your lifestyle too!
Know Your Goals
Start by determining what you hope to achieve from your blog. If your goal is to make an income from your blog your blogging schedule is going to look much different than if you are a hobby blogger.
If you want to make an income from your blog, you are going to have to prioritize time to work on your blog. Emily P. Freeman says before you will ever be a paid writer you must first treat your writing like a job.
The same goes for your blog. If you want your blog to produce an income you must begin treating it like a business. If that is not your hope, no problem. You can think of your other goals and create your schedule accordingly.
If you are a hobby blogger and would love to have 100 people on your email list that you connect with each week than think of that goal as you create your schedule and prioritize time to grow your email list within your weekly schedule.
Know Your Limits
Next, think of your limitations when you are creating your weekly schedule. For instance, I am a stay at home mom with a very busy toddler who rarely naps and another bundle of joy arriving soon. I simply can’t spend multiple hours a day building my blog right now.
When I created my blogging schedule, I had to think realistically about much time I could truly dedicate to the blog. For me, that realistic number is an hour a day.
Some days I am able to work much more and other days I am unable to work at all, but each day I set out to spend about an hour a day building my blog and that has worked really well for me.
So, think through your schedule and limitations and decide how much time you can dedicate to your blog. If you set out to spend an unrealistic about of time, you will be discouraged when it doesn’t work out, but also don’t be afraid to push yourself a bit if you are looking to make an income from your blog.
Know Yourself
When is the best time of day for you to work? For me, it is most definitely morning, but I know many people are just the opposite. When you are creating your schedule think about the times you will be most productive.
Also, learn what motivates you and what doesn’t. For one, I have learned that checking my page stats/analytics does one of two things for me. It either gets me pumped up and excited to work or completely discouraged and unmotivated.
If I had a great day of stats the day before I am excited to jump in and get going, but if I had a poor performing day the day before I am left feeling defeated and unmotivated. KNOWING this about myself has taught me not to check my analytics before getting started on the day’s task.
On top of the fact that it was completing ruining my work session some days, it is also a time suck. I would waste 10, 15, even up to 20 minutes sometimes looking everything over in extreme detail and analyzing every little thing and I would end up wasting valuable time.
So now instead of hopping on Google analytics first thing after I turn on the computer, I am instead very mindful of when I check my stats, knowing that it could completely derail me for the day and also just be an overall waste of time.
Knowing yourself and what does and doesn’t work for you is very important. This will take time to figure out, so don’t beat yourself up when every work session isn’t super productive. As you continue on this journey and discover things that do and don’t work for you be mindful of them as you create your blogging schedule.
The Nitty Gritty
You will most likely have to adjust your schedule as you go. For me, I always start with my most important task at the beginning of the week. Since I know my goals, I know my most important task right now is putting out a new post each week. So, every Monday my task is to publish a new post.
Now, since I know my limits of only having a small window of time to work each day, I write the post on a separate day. Wednesday is my writing day. Monday is my day to format the post, work on SEO stuff, create a Pinterest image and actually publish the post.
I put this task on Monday to ensure it gets done each week. I do not move on to the next day’s task until this task is done, so if Tuesday arrives and I didn’t publish a new post yet than my goal for that day is to publish a new post.
In Conclusion
Start by knowing your goals and planning your task around your goals, then think about your limitations, and then think about your ideal working times and what does and doesn’t work for your personality.
When things aren’t going well don’t be afraid to mix it up and try something new. Keep tweaking your schedule until you find something that works for YOU and your lifestyle. You can do this!
Keep Reading:
5 Mistakes to Avoid as a New Blogger
3 Tips to Avoid Information Overload as a Blogger
5 Things Every Christian Blogger Should Believe in Their Heart
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