Dorkface

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My Blogging Routine

13th June 2015

Over the past year and a half I’ve developed into my own routine for blogging, which works perfectly for me and my life. Of course sometimes routine simply goes out of the window, due to busy schedules, events or just life in general; that’s fine. But mostly, I stick to the same daily/weekly routine for all things to do with this blog, which I find so useful and keeps me organised. So today I thought I’d share that with you all, to give you a little insight into the Dorkface way of working.

Quick note; I work 2 (sometimes 3) days a week part time, and on those days as I’m sure you’d expect; my routine is very different. I spend the day in work, come home, enjoy chill out time with Gary and maybe go on Twitter for a little while. It’s pretty much a chillout zone though.

 

So anyway, on to how I spend most of my days;

 

MORNINGS

I always wake up before 9am. I do try to get up by 7am most days, but sometimes I admit, It can be later. As much as I love sleep, I hate sleeping in because it makes me feel like I’m wasting the day and sends my whole routine out of whack. Coffee comes first, along with checking emails and notifications on social media. I’ll be jotting down my daily to-do list, which puts everything in focus and helps me see what needs to get done.

I also manage social media for a number of clients, which means I always check their accounts in the mornings to see if they need to reply to anyone or address anything. Then I’ll crack on planning out their social schedule for the next day or so.

 

AFTERNOON

By afternoon I’m well into writing out a blog post, keeping active on social media and trying to fit some chores in here somewhere. Sometimes I’ll be taking photographs for a post, while I’ve got clothes in the washing machine, I’m snacking on some lunch and tidying around me as I go. I will stop for a little break around 1:30pm and give myself a proper dinner hour to chill out, watch Pretty Little Liars (no spoilers please!) and play with Luna. After that it’s back to it though, crossing off as much on my to do list as possible. I try to take all my photographs between 11am-3pm as that’s when I get some amazing light throughout the flat.

 

Around 3/4pm I’ll take a break from all the typing and organisational side of things, by giving myself time to do something creative. Lately this has focused mostly on designs I’ve been doing for people, whether its a custom portrait or blog header, etc. I’ll clear my desk, get the paints out and listen to a Spotify playlist as I go. This is one of my favourite parts of the day.

 

EVENING

Around 6pm every night Gary and I will have dinner together and watch one of our favourite shows, usually How I Met Your Mother, Bob’s Burgers or Friends. I’ll also try to make it to a Twitter chat if I know there’s one on that I like. Mostly we spend an hour or two together though doing nothing, which is lovely. From 8pm onward it’s all about ticking off the remaining items on my to-do list. I like to have completed at least one post each day, scheduled all my social media tweets, posts, etc for myself and my clients, and done some design work for people too.

This is the time when I update my spreadsheets too, to mark off what posts I’ve done, what needs doing and how my stats are looking. I got this idea from Hayley over at Tea Party Beauty, and it’s helped me drastically improve my focus.

I write down all my posts I plan to do for the next month or so, and I colour code where I am in completing each one. Green means I’ve fully completed it, wrote it, got my images and scheduled it. Yellow means I only have the photo, blue means I’ve wrote it but haven’t gotten an image yet, and red means it’s a no post day (even I need little breaks!).

I also have a separate sheet I use for all my stats such as daily visits, Bloglovin followers, Twitter followers, Instagram followers, etc. I realise that’s a lot, and probably seems way too much work for a lot of you reading this. But I’ve said before how passionate I am about my blog and how I want to improve in every way possible, so I enjoy treating it like a job. My theory is if I treat it like my job, one day it will be my job. Or at least lead me into the right direction…

After that, it’s around 11pm, so I’ll have a shower, maybe read my book, and then go to bed if I’m in work the next day. If I’m not in work then you can guarantee I’ll be awake until at least 2am doing all sorts still 🙂

I hope this gave you guys some insight into my days, and maybe even suggested something you could do for your own blog?

And before I go I would just like to say that YES Gary and I actually go out, do things, see friends etc, but I plan for these days ahead. This post was a representation of my typical day at home, but not every day 🙂

 

Thanks for reading!

 

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Comments

  1. Ah, I do love a good to do list. I get a bit too excited by spreadsheets like that which have it all plotted out! However, as blogging is more of a hobby to me and is very much part time, I tend to put all my obsessive organising into my work, and let the blog be more free. I really admire your work ethic though, as if I was home all the time for work, I think I'd struggle to focus! x

  3. Wow you are really organised – my blogging routine is much more sporadic! I do love to plan out blog posts though, I find that really helps me stay focused and not get lost about what posts I need to do next.

    vvnightingale.com

  6. I always try to be so organized but I end up being a completely mess 🙁
    What I don't like is having a schedule post, because I prefer to write depending on my mood and because I always have new ideas. Of course I have a list of post to write when I'm in lack of ideas ahaha
    xoxo

    behindkaleidoscopeeyes.blogspot.it

  7. Wow that spreadsheet is so impressive. I just have a notebook where I write down my posts for each month then tick them off – your way is much more professional. I love that you treat it like a job though. With all the hard work you put into your blog, it should become your job one day. I've got my fingers crossed for you lovely!

    Beating Around the Blush

  10. This is such a good idea! My blog isn't big enough yet to need something this in-depth, but even the idea of it would be helpful for me planning out school work and design jobs I've been given — Great Post!!

    Paige|Paige-Says

  11. Love the spreadsheet idea, I have a similar set up but done by hand with ticks and crossings out and scribbles all over it lol, certainly not as clean and clear as the spreadsheet, I'll have to give that a go! I love having a peek at how other bloggers organise their days!

    Sarah 🙂
    Saloca in Wonderland

  13. I started using the calendar on my macbook to plan my posts – which then updates my iphone, ipad and the website version so I can always change it or whatever when I'm out and about – made my life so much easier 🙂

  15. Wow this is such a useful post Jemma! I've been trying to 'organise' myself more when it comes to blogging but I've had no idea where to start SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS. Definitely going to start doing the spreadsheet thing… might as well get myself sorted over summer before The Final Year Of Doom…

    Fii xo || little miss fii

  25. I love the spreadsheet! I work crazy hours and different shifts every week so I've been finding it hard to keep my blogging as organised and as prepared as I'd like it to be and I really think something like that would help me out. Thanks for sharing!

    Brianne xx
    brianneetc.co.uk

  28. This is awesome! What a great post, very inspiring. Girl you post a lot, I'm thinking should I be posting more now? I publish every monday wednesday friday. I do work two jobs as well. But I think I should start posting on the weekends too.
    I seriously love your spreadsheet though. I love being organised and I love that!
    Followed you on Bloglovin'!
    Tegan xx – Permanent Procrastination