How I keep track of my blogging schedule

I am trying to keep alive the juggling act of writing three blogs simultaneously. I try to post a new article on each blog every day. I don’t always succeed but I’m getting better. Regular posting like this hopefully keeps the readers returning regularly and this repeat traffic is important.

Forward Planning:

Most of the time I plan my topics and posts well in advance. Many articles are also written days or even weeks ahead of when they are published on the web. This helps to even out the workload and allows for emergencies. Knowing that I have a new article coming on every day for the next three days, for example, eases the mind if something unexpected occurs.

Record Chart:

Keeping track of these posts and plans is the key to forward planning. I’ve devised a simple way that works for me. I have a chart drawn up in MSWord. This chart has four columns. The first column is for the date. The other three columns are for the three blogs I publish, one column for each blog. As I write each article, I type its title in a bold font next to the date it will be published. At a glance then I can see upcoming posts and when they will appear. I can also see dates with no upcoming posts and I can then work on writing articles for them.

Other ideas:

For ideas for posts I use two parts of the chart. Where there are spaces I type in ideas ahead of time. These are not in a bold font and act as prompts for future writing. For example, I might plan to write a series of writing hints and publish them every Monday over the next four weeks. So on the chart I type “writing hint” every Monday for four weeks.

Virtual scribbling Pad:

I also have a space under the chart that I use as a virtual scribbling pad. It used to be on a pad alongside my computer, but other things kept on being put on top. On this scribbling pad I jot down ideas for future posts. Some I use, some just sit there for another day, or week or month; some may never be used but they are there so I don’t forget my ideas. You never know when you might be scratching for an idea.