19 Dec 2018

#Discussion: 10 Tips for Staying Organized #Project14Lists

Project 14 Lists, otherwise known as #Project14Lists, is a 2-week blogging activity hosted by That Bookshelf Bitch that will run from December 18th to December 31st. Book bloggers are tasked to come up with creative bookish/blogging list ideas, and on each day, write a list and post it on their respective blogs.

See all the posts I've completed for #Project14Lists

2019 Queer Books | Stay Organized | Apps for Book Bloggers | TBR Layouts for BuJos | Instagram Feeds | Books I Loved | Books I Hated | Comics for Non-Comic Readers | Plot Twists | 5 Surefire Recommendations | Weekly BuJo Layouts | Series I Won't Finish | Instagram Locations | Best New Releases
For today's Project 14 Lists, I am discussing my top ten tips for staying organized (for bloggers)! This can also be applied to any other aspect of your life to help you get a little more organized.

1. Let Colour Handle...Everything

If you colour code everything, you can easily find what you are looking for based on what you need. Try out some different systems to see what works best for you, whether it is a colour for a blog tour, promo product, etc. or based on monthly tasks!

It is much easier if you use colours that are easy to associate with other things too because you can make it a simpler process for yourself in the future.

2. Use a Planner

No matter which type of planner you use, whether bullet journal, Erin Condren, Plum Planner, etc., having a planner is essential to organizing your blog (and your life!). It is important to know what dates and times everything needs to be done on and where you are in the task list.

3. Have a Place for Brainstorming

Whether you have an online spot, a notebook, or a draft on your blog, having a place that you can dump all the posts you want to do in the future (with some thoughts about what could be a part of them), is crucial to staying organized and keeping your creative juices flowing.

4. Find Good Stock Photos

Part of creating an attractive brand is finding photos that work well with what you do. It is important to use royalty free images AND link back to the creator, so having a go-to place for stock photos is ideal. I like to use Canva.com personally because part of the subscription I pay for on there gives me access to stock photos! That's what I used to make the graphics for the lists I am posting during Project 14 Lists!

5. Have a Weekly Schedule

For me, it is important to know what is coming up over the next 7-10 days, so I have a weekly calendar set up to show me my upcoming posts, what books are releasing, and what I have to read before the next week!

6. Have an Editorial Calendar

An editorial calendar is a calendar marketers use to organize and categorize the content they plan to publish in the future. Find yourself a good template by googling (or just use the same one I do)!

7. Create Checklists for Different Types of Posts

Do you have a bunch of different posts that require different things? Create checklists for each of those posts and then use them for each of the posts you create. There is nothing worse than forgetting something in a post (and having to quickly edit it later!)

8. Set Deadlines for Yourself

Setting hard and soft deadlines for yourself is important. If you don't have a timeline for getting something done, or goals in mind, nothing will get done and you won't be able to grow. Don't worry if you miss something though!

9. Create a Batch of Posts

Rather than creating a post the night before (or even the morning of!) it needs to go live, creating a batch of posts ahead of time is helpful! I try to do at least a week in advance for my blog but if you can do even more, that's good too!

10. Don't Overschedule Yourself

Don't bite off more than you can chew! If you know you will be busy at a certain time of year or you are not in the right mental health space, don't overextend yourself. Remember, your blog is your brand so you can choose what you say yes and no to. Don't worry about people not wanting to work with you if you say no, others will come a calling!

4 comments:

  1. WOW, these are some amazing and helpful tips! I'm not the most organized person and more of an panster I guess but it's isn't good, haha. With it comes a lot of stress and too much rush which sometimes makes me half-ass things. I'll definitely try to plan and schedule in advance more. I think that can be a great strategy. Loved this post <3

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this post! Such a great list to help other bloggers out. I use a planner right now and just started doing "plan with me videos" on my youtube channel. I am new to blogging so I am still trying to figure out how I want to plan for blogs using my planner. I have been hunting down planner inserts on Etsy specifically for blogging. Thanks for this post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such a good post! I have just started blogging and this will be a great help!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is so useful! I used to do some of these more often than I do now - using a planner, having a place to dump ideas - but I fell behind on that (even if I didn't fall behind on blogging, weirdly enough). But this is definitely inspiring me to pick my planner back up and rework how I organise a little!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting! I cherish each and every comment. If you leave me a link to your blog, I will do my best to comment back!