Of all skills bloggers need to master, time management is the most important. Without it, we’re all over the place, nothing is scheduled or planned, and we’re losing our minds. Okay, maybe not that bad, but you get the idea.
Having a Consistent Schedule
I already wrote a whole post on creating the best content calendar. To reiterate, content calendars are vital to your success as a blogger because it keeps you consistent, on track, and organized. When you create consistency, you create patterns and habits in yourself and will manage your time better.
This doesn’t mean you can’t be flexible. I always plan my posts on a calendar beforehand and will often move ideas around depending on a variety of situations, such as a certain review must be done by a certain time, I don’t feel like writing something when it is scheduled, a more timely post idea comes to mind, etc.
Know All Tasks Involved in Your Blog
We all know that blogging is not just simply writing posts. It’s applying for affiliates, it’s creating media, it’s branding, it’s marketing, it’s planning content, it’s participating in groups, it’s strategy…. I could go on and on. When you know everything you do for your blog, you can keep track of it and figure out how much time those tasks actually need. It is also super useful to prioritize all of those tasks so you know what really needs to be done versus what you just would like to do.
For me, writing a post is not simply just writing the post. I make the featured image graphic and the accompanying social graphics, I schedule the social posts for that post, I get necessary images for the post, sometimes I have to go get particular links for things, other times I have to research while writing so I get some details right, and of course, I actually write the post. Most of this is done in one sitting of a few hours per post. Sometimes I break it up depending on the amount of time I have at that moment. For every blogger, what you do and when will be unique.
Set Blogging Hours
It can be very helpful to create an “office hours” for your blog. A dedicated time to work on your site can help develop consistency and have you better manage your time overall. If you like structure and have the ability in your schedule to do this, it will work wonders.
If that isn’t really your jam, you can do what I do which is to add certain blogging tasks on my daily to-do lists. I create an after-work to-do list so when I get home I have an idea of what I need and want to do with that time. Writing blog posts falls into this often. Since I am a geeky blogger than reviews a lot of things, playing/reading/watching what I am reviewing will go on the list some times too. This works great for when I am in a mood to work on one thing but not another and it is flexible enough for my busy life.
Know When To Stop
We’ve all had our marathon blogging sessions, where we write and work endlessly for hours and hours. Honestly, your content will be better when you don’t marathon write. Know when to stop for a day. My personal rule is to be about 2 weeks ahead of posting if possible. This gives me time to not rush write and also adjust my schedule if something topical pops up. Do I break this rule? Absolutely. But I try to not make it my standard way of creating content.
What are your tips for time management? Share them in a comment!
