Blogger Reps Update

By Anne-Marie Nichols

People ask me how I balance writing for so many blogs with everything else I do. I tell them that I write fast and consume too many energy drinks. In reality, it’s all about organizing, prioritizing, and scheduling my time. Herein are my suggestions regarding how to get it all done.

Every week, write down in a notebook a list of potential posts and “blog chores,” such as submitting work to social bookmarking sites. Then, use that list to outline posts.

From there, prioritize. Money-making gigs are first. Then, list time-sensitive posts— blogging about Halloween in December is obviously late. Next, list the posts you promised to write: for example, a review in exchange for a product sample. Finally, list blog chores and posts to write just for personal edification.

Next, use calendar software such as Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar to organize your time. Create an appointment schedule and include everyone—kids, your significant other, parents, etc. In Outlook, assign a different color to each person and activity. For example, green for a son’s karate class and yellow for volunteer work. Unfortunately, Google Calendar lacks activity coloring similar to that of Outlook.

Then, create a blogging calendar. This can include scheduling review posts, replying to comments, and checking statistics, as well as reminders of events such as a blog carnival. Once everything is organized, your calendars will help you identify when you have time to blog. This may be during your lunch break or after your family is asleep. Take advantage of whatever available time you have.

The truth is, though, that I don’t get it all done. Many posts never get written, and I could do more with my blogs. No matter how organized I get, there’s still too much to do and limited time to do it. For me, though, my notebook and calendars help me stay on task and use my time as efficiently as possible.