Sunday, February 9, 2014

Got Organization?

   Ok, so one of my goals this year besides keeping up with my blog, was to become more organized- in all aspects of my life. And thus far, I have to say I have been doing okay. Or so I like to think.
    But lately it seems as if time is moving too fast and I can't seem to find time to do the things I would like to do on the blog. I concluded that it was because, although I was trying to get things organized, I was still lacking in the Blog Organization area.
    And then I visit blogs and I see how everyone seems to have to all together and their blogs flow great, with great posts, ideas, organization and a good flow of traffic. It makes me a bit jealous.
    And I always think:
Where do bloggers find the time? 
    I am sure it's not THAT hard...IF you are organized! I attempted to be more organized a few times. I had even created an "Idea Box" sometime last year and it worked for awhile, until it seemed like I was trying to do too much and it left me feeling frazzled. So goodbye to my "Idea Box"... It will probably still be used to jot down ideas, but not for much more than that. 
    I started to look around for blog organization and planning ideas and even came across some very cute and useful planning pages. But many that were free items, lacked what I was looking for in a simple blog planner. And the ones that cost, had way too much that I didn't need. So I took it upon myself to create a few pages of my very own Blog Planner!
Here is a picture of a a few sample pages.

     After creating a few pages and filling them in, I looked back at it all and realized that this might work. It all looks great on paper- so now maybe that it is all in writing, I can stick with it and not go off track or lose track of what I have planned for my blog.
    I created a monthly page to write out the themes and learning goals I want to address. I tend to start planning in the general to specific mode... that's all thanks to 9 years of teacher lesson plans!
    And then I move into weekly planning and I can write the topics that I want to blog about and post throughout the week, along with a To Do List.
    I also created an activity planning page as well so that at any given time during the week, I know what activities I have lined up for the munchkin, that will be blogged in the near future. I know- Duh.... why wouldn't you think ahead, right? But sometimes I just wing it and I have found that going with the flow day by day, leaves me feeling rushed and sometimes I am out of ideas or can't find time to get it altogether. 
    So now I can try to plan a little more in advance and...well, be more organized!
    And then to keep myself on track and  be more consistent with my posts, I created a Blog Post Planning page where I can get into a little more detail on what things I need to get done to get the blog post up; along with a date of when I plan to post and where I plan to share my post.
    With these pages (along with a few others in my new Blog Planner), I can hope that maybe now I can be more focused and organized with my blog. 
    I am also thinking of doing Feature Posts every week. For now, I will have a Crafty Tuesday post and a Freebie Friday post every week! 
    After creating all this and filling out the pages for this week and next week, I feel less stressed and much more organized. It makes me realize how much I have missed the organization that has to come with lesson planning as a teacher. I have only been out of the classroom for 5 months, but it's time I pulled it all back together!
    If you are struggling with keeping your blog organized or are just looking for some cute Blog Planning Pages, click the picture below to purchase your own copy in my TPT store! 
    And be sure to let me know what you think! 

2 comments:

  1. Great blog ideas for a newbie like me! Thanks for the tips!

    :)Kimberly

    LittleMrsPreschool

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  2. Hope the tips and planning page ideas help a little! Even though I have been blogging for almost 2 years, sometimes I feel like my blog is all over the place,,, I have high hopes for this little planner!

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