How should I manage my blogging time? It's one of the most common questions I get.
My answer? Well, when I'm not busy getting sucked into rabbit holes on the internet (which is more often than I'd like to admit), the following is how it makes sense to me. I wrote about it previously, but I've amended it slightly since.
My approach to managing blogging time is very similar to the general time management system I describe in Tell Your Time.
Step 1: Determine your blogging roles
If you've been blogging for any length of time, you know there is a lot more to blogging than just writing. These roles will vary from person to person and blog to blog, but here are the ones I've created:
- Creator – The biggest part of blogging is creating things, like content.
- Engager – Another big part of blogging is getting involved in the community and building relationships with others.
- Promoter – This is all about spreading good information, whether it's your own or others'.
- Administrator - There are plenty of administrative-y things that have to be done behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly.
- Reader – I read a lot to keep up on what's happening in the blogging world and for inspiration.
- Project-Tackler - This is a role that I threw in to cover those bigger projects that don't get done on a routine basis but I don't want to fall through the cracks either. (You might think of this as the "Dreamer" role I talked about in Tell Your Time.)
Step 2: Specify 3-5 goals for each of your roles
As you'll see, a lot of these overlap some, but here's the basic idea.
- Creator - This might include writing posts, recording podcasts, making videos, taking/editing photos, or creating any other kind of content. If you're a DIY blogger, food blogger or something similar, it might also include completing the projects you'll eventually post about, like decorating or crafting projects, cooking recipes, etc.
- Engager - For me, this is answering emails, commenting on other blogs, posting on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.
- Administrator - These tasks would be tweaking your site, checking your calendar or to do lists, backing up your site, dealing with advertisers, keeping track of your finances, etc.
- Promoter - This is promoting your new content, recycling your older, evergreen content, promoting the content of others, etc.
- Reader - There are a few main places I keep things to read–my Kindle, Google Reader and Pocket.
- Project-Tackler - This might be a writing an ebook, starting another blog, preparing for speaking engagements, 15 minutes of something, putting together a webinar or just learning something new.
Step 3: Set a block of time for each of those roles & goals
First, decide when and how long each day you will devote to blogging. You might decide on an amount each day or an amount for the week.
Next, break down the goals you created in Step 2 in to smaller chunks of time. You'll have to decide what percentage of time you'll devote to each task you need to complete. I'd recommend you spend the bulk of your time creating and then fill the rest in around that. After all, you won't have a blog if you don't have anything to put out there.
To start, I'd say, spend 50% of your allotted blogging time creating and then split the rest of the time among the rest. Some trial and error and experimentation will be necessary here. Tweak the numbers as you go along and as you figure out what works. But the main point is to deliberately spend time on each of your roles so nothing falls through the cracks.
A few tips:
- Group like tasks together for greatest efficiency. For example, set a time and plow through your email inbox at once instead of checking it multiple times a day.
- Take into account what times of the day you are most likely to get the most done in each role. For example, I'm more productive if I write in the morning and read at night than if I do it the other way around.
- Schedule frequent breaks.
- Think outside the box. As soon as I said writing is better for me to do in the morning, I wondered if that's really true. One thing I have noticed about myself is that I'm a lot less perfectionistic in the evenings when I'm a bit tired, so I wonder if writing in the evenings would work better. Hmmm. Interesting thought.
Step 4: Execute
This is pretty self-explanatory. You just gotta do it.
If you're like me and you find it hard to stay on task, you might be interested in some of the other posts I've written in an effort to help myself. I came up with 20 hard questions designed to help me figure out if I have blogging balance (read those at your own risk). I seem to be a master at sabotaging my blog (and my life). I've noted what I avoid and how I avoid it and as my husband pointed out a while back, I constantly underestimate how long something is going to take me.
Further reading and some handy tools:
- Pocket - I love this app. Love it.
- 30/30 - This is a free app I downloaded the other day that I think will work beautifully. The interface is beautiful and it allows you set a task list and assign a time to each of the items on the list. So, I'm thinking it would be perfect for social media. Let's say you want to limit yourself to 15 minutes per day on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. you'd create a task list with those three items on it, set each to 15 minutes and you'll be alerted when time is up.
- 12 Blog Organization Tips
- How to schedule a post in WordPress
- How to Create a Weekly Schedule Using Google Calendar - Of course you could use the same technique I described in that video to schedule your blogging time too.
- All my posts about Productivity & Organization
- Tell Your Time - My ebook about time management for all of life in which you can read more about my approach.
Other posts in this series
- 7 Principles to Live By in 2013
- How I Deal with New Year's Resolutions
- How to Create a Weekly Schedule Using Google Calendar
- 4 Steps to Better Blogging Time Management
Thanks, Amy, for this good advice and the recommended tools. I am finding time management a huge challenge and sleep seems to have become but a distant memory!
I'm sure your guidance, as always, will prove helpful and perhaps there WILL be time for a little shut-eye! Have a fabulous weekend!
Ah yes, funny how sleep suddenly becomes so much less important. I can totally relate!
I am thinking that we might be twins separated at birth. I resonate so much with everything you said… and I went back and read the "20 Questions" article about blogging balance. wow. a little scary.
I took at sabbatical from everything except my family the last two weeks of December – my ministry, my blogging, social media, etc. And the world did not fall apart. And my family was thrilled that I was completely present.
I know I can't take a 2 week break all the time, but I can stop and breathe at least once a week. And I need to constantly evaluate whether or not I am doing what I am doing because I feel called or because I am afraid I might miss something. Fear only shows a lack of trust.
Thank you, Amy, for your honest writing. You inspire and I love reading what you write. You help me keep perspective.
Amy,
Thanks for this post. I've been wanting to write an e-book for years, but always settle for the short term satisfaction of publishing blog posts daily. This post helped me realize that the main reason I haven't written an e-book yet is because I haven't specifically scheduled time to do that. I schedule time to do all of my other roles, but not an e-book. When I publish one, I'll have to come back and say thank you!
Keep up the great work!
Doug Smith
As new blogger you are SO helpful. Thanks Amy. I really look forward to your posts. I also have your e book on time management and find that helpful; now just to find time to really implement the ideas.
)
Jennifer at http://www.visionherbs.tumblr.com
Amy,
As always, this is great and well written advice! Much of my early success as a blogger I owe to you. Your posts have easily taken a year of learning curve away for me. Thanks so much as always!
You are so welcome, Tony! That is exactly my goal–to save people a bunch of time in the process. Congrats!
Great post! Pocket is definitely one of my fav apps — along with Feedly which actually lets me keep up with other ppl's RSS feeds a bit more regularly! Going to have to check out 30/30 — sounds needs.
Like your idea of breaking blogging down into these various roles and assigning tasks to each. I'm going to have to try this!
I love setting a timer when I am being an Engager . It helps me not let social media eat into other areas of blogging.
What a great article! Thanks for sharing
Amy–I appreciate your advice and help on blogging topics. I just started a blog about 4 4 months ago and it's so much fun but it takes a lot of time. Now more than ever I need help in managing my time to make sure all the important things in life get the right amount of attention. Thanks for sharing your tips!
Great article – thank you for breaking it down. Really good to step back and look at it this way. Thank you!
I had to read this post Amy as this is exactly what I have been doing – 'I constantly underestimate how long something is going to take me.' It's been a very informative post. Something that I have been wanting to read for a long time. Happy 2013!
I love this. The more dedicated and connected I get to my blogs, the more it feels like they are 40-hour jobs. This will help me parcel everything out, get it done, and do, you know, non-bloggy things!
As always, thanks Amy!
Amy,
My blog is fairly new, and I've been looking for a website like yours for months now. Thank you so much for pooling all this helpful information in one place. You are awesome!
Emily @ UpstateCountryHouse.com
Thank you, Amy. My blogs have grown larger as my babies grew larger, and now I have four kids 9-17 who take endless amounts of time (I was not warned about this! I really miss nap times & early bedtimes…), and two blogs that bring in full time income so need more time from me. I'm going crazy! This post helps a LOT.
Your posts are so helpful and encouraging! Even if it's something that I already "know" – somehow reading it in print helps me to press on to do more, or do it better. Thank you.
This post came along at just the right time! I am very bad with my time online, I get distracted so easily when reading…a link here will take me to a whole new direction. Much like the link that brought me here! I've bookmarked this post for when I have time to read all your links, and hopefully I'll get better at managing my time.
Thank you! I'm following you now too!
Debbie
Thanks Amy, Blogging is really hard once we get into it we really need to take time out of our daily activities to write because it matters a lot .Thanks once again for the tips.
Hi Amy,
I started my blog (a blog about my research and teaching as a grad student and now English professor) about a year ago — with much enthusiasm.
Your post resonates with me for several reasons. I love the concept of blogging, but it's difficult to publish regularly. To combat this, I organized a blogging group through twitter. Yes, it's a writing group, but we also read and share others' work in the group.
I like that your time management post emphasizes that blogging isn't just creating. Being committed to blogging also means doing behind-the-scenes administrative work and also being an active part of the blogosphere–that is, being engaged in what others are producing. These activities, as you note, are time well spent!
That's awesome that you organized a mastermind group via Twitter. Great idea!
Great post, Amy. My online time has been a little unbalanced this last week or so as I'm trying to get ready to launch my first ebook – thanks to your amazing series. I have a couple of questions.
1. What is the best way to distribute my ebook to "reviewers" before the launch date?
2. I've been an email subscriber for a while and then when you moved to feedblitz I stopped getting emails. I've re signed up but I'm still not getting emails. Any ideas?
Hi Angi!
1. Depending on how many there are, you could simply send it as an email attachment (don't forget to paste the email addresses in BCC, not CC, so they are kept private), or, if you are set up on E-junkie, you could send out free copies there.
2. Hmmm…it looks like maybe you forgot to activate your subscription in Step 2 of the sign-up process. What happens is, you enter your email in the sidebar box, then you'll get an email with a link to activate it. You have to follow that link in the email you receive to activate your subscription. If you don't see that email, check your Spam folder. If you still have trouble, let me know and I can help you from this end. Sorry about that!
Really appreciate the roles that you outlined! Sharing with others what we are doing is taking more and more time. Your roles and ideas on how to plan for each is going to help me balance the work. Thank you!
You're welcome, Sheila. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks so much for the great advice. As a new blogger it is always nice to learn from others. There is always so much to do, that you can lose yourself and then day is over.
Oh yes, happens to me a lot!
I am a college boy and I have to compromise much with studies whenever I am on the blogging.
thank you Amy, This is great. I have never blogged, but would like to. This is very helpful! I hope to start my blogging this week.
Thank you for sharing this extensive list of resources. I'm struggling more with getting traffic/comments to my blog.
I usually write on the weekends and then on the day a post publishes, I promote it and then promote others posts/tweets/pins etc all at the same time.
Hi Amy – I've seen you mention Pocket several times. I used it a long time ago when it was "Read it Later". I've been using Evernote for years, instead, and now I'm wondering how these compare. Or are they apples and oranges?
I use both Pocket and Evernote. For me, Pocket is sort of a step in between. So for example, if I'm reading a post and there's a link to another post that I think I might want to read, I'll add it to Pocket. When I read it in Pocket, if it's something I know I want to keep, I'll add it to Evernote. Sometimes though, it's not something I'm interested in so I just delete it from Pocket and it's gone. Does that make sense?
This is EXACTLY how I use Evernote and Pocket too. I love them both obsessively – especially Evernote which I don't know how I could live without.
Great practical advise, Amy. Building quality, engaging, and original content is the better challenge for any blogger, new and seasoned equally. It takes time.
I love following your blog and ALWAYS pick up a new great tip each time
I've only seen this one today for 1st time and was thrilled to see your tip for 30/30 as I must get a handle on my social media time for my new business. What a time sucker! (But so fun.) I'm curious to know how you got on with the 30/30 app as I have downloaded it and was all eager to set up my tasks and assign times to them, but WOW – I am finding it so time consuming to even get to grips with! I am pretty tech savvy, but this is defeating me. Please let me know if I should persevere 
I hear what you're saying. It took a little time to figure out how to enter a list. What I would suggest is to just set up a really simple list with maybe 3 items or so to get the hang of it. What I've learned is that keeping it simple and straightforward is the key. So you might just start with, say, Facebook and Twitter in there and use it that way for a while to see if it works for you. Then you can add as you go. Does that help at all?
Great advice Amy. Thanks – I will try that!