The funny thing about this post is that it’s been bouncing around for months. It was mostly being used as a filler post, which will make sense when I explain how I plan my posts below.
I began blogging more seriously/consistently last year, and I wasn’t really planning to. But I got a lot of response on the few posts I did in January of last year, and I liked having somewhere to share all of my thoughts. And I’m so glad I did because I met all of you awesome people!
Since I’m a crazy person, I created a sheet file in my Google Drive—which I live and swear by—and within that file have individual sheets for each month. My 2018 one is much more filled out than my 2019 one, so I’ll use that as an example. Somewhere along the way, I found that a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule worked best for me. Not too many posts but manageable with my busy schedule. I’ll let you in on a secret, though—most of my posts are pre-written and scheduled out. I try to write them over the weekend before the upcoming week and schedule them if they’re not time sensitive (like sports-related posts).
I make a calendar within the sheet—I feel like that’s pretty obvious—and on the left, I have three rows for each week: post, Instagram, and Twitter. I’ll fill out the post first and now that I have a Twitter for Strikeouts + Sprinkles, I’ll share the link once the post goes live. If there’s a picture that I can post, I’ll add that to the Instagram section.
It’s nice to see the month at a glance, and as I work on posts, I’ll mark them off with the green cell color. Half of the time, I can plot out which posts will go where; in this case, I knew I’d do one on Christmas Eve, a running reflection, 2018 recap, and resolutions. Plus a NaNoWriMo recap and a post about Christmas decorating. The Spotify and Christmas Tag posts weren’t originally planned but popped up, so I could schedule them when they would fit and also still be timely.
I keep a list of filler posts running around in my head, and this post was at one point, I think, written in one of those cells but it kept getting bounced. But since it isn’t time sensitive, I was okay with that. I’m not sure if any of you guys were interested in the behind the scenes of Strikeouts + Sprinkles, but hopefully one of you will find inspiration? (Also if you have any other questions about the S+S operations, drop them in the comments. I can tell you that it’s a one woman operation and is kept on the down low. And runs on a lot of snacks.)
Knowing that a post has to go out every Monday, Wednesday, or Friday helps me be consistent because if I just wrote when I felt like it, then I don’t know how often anything would get done. And I find that I can get the posts written fairly quickly because they’re things relevant to my life—whether me yelling about sports or a thing that I did—so I can just kind of word vomit and the posts seem to turn out okay.
There’s really no magic or man behind the curtain here. I like organization, and using a Google spreadsheet helps keep me on track.
Do you use any system to plan your posts? Do you use a regular schedule or just write whenever thoughts pop into your head?
Strikeouts + Sprinkles 
My OCD is in awe right now. This is so organized, I love it. I really need to start being organized with my posts & stuff.
Really awesome work Becky!
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Haha thanks! It keeps me sane and on some sort of schedule.
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love it!
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Who are you and why are you making the rest of us look bad? This is really cool though. I could never do it, but I’m jealous of your organization. I never know when my next post is coming until it does.
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For as long as you’ve known me, are you surprised at all that I use a Google spreadsheet with each month to organize my posts? See, the whole “a post will just magically float into my head” thing works for you while the “I need to plan out my next month with three posts a week” thing works for me.
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I’d be more surprised if you didn’t do it this way.
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OMG so funny! I’ve been planning on doing a post like this, too! I love, love, love that you posted this because I really enjoy seeing how others plan their posts 🙂
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I got the idea from another blog I follow and adapted it to my liking early last year. It definitely keeps me on track. I’ll be on the lookout for your post!
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I am an “open laptop and type” blogger. I sometimes have a post idea in mind (Was gonna do a post this morning about followers/following/unfollowing until Paul our up his share your blog thing haha) and I never know what I’m going to say. Just sit and type, quick read through, post.
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See, Paul is just ruining everything. We need like a big group message where we can share our upcoming post ideas or something haha. I like to see how everyone else plans their posts because it shows how we’re all different and we do what works best for us. When I first started this blog, I just wrote when I wanted, but I still write what I want—it’s just on a schedule.
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LOL oooo noooo! Don’t blame Paul! It’s really ok. Another blogger did the same a few weeks ago too – he made a post about something I had already planned out in my mind so I still posted the same time I wanted to. I like knowing how other people do it too – we’re all so different and I love it!
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“Don’t blame Paul!” – words to live by, really
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Lol what does Paul do that it needs to be said?
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This is brilliant and I’m stealing it.
I already do a spreadsheet where I plan my posts. But it’s super basic… date, title, short description (to remind myself what it’s actually supposed to be about), and whether it’s been written yet. But I’m definitely going to start incorporating your calendar approach. Much more organized.
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Haha not a problem! I like to see how everyone else plans their posts. The calendar works really well. You could probably still use your title and description and just make a few cells in the spreadsheet for those under each day. Sort of how I have the post/Instagram/Twitter column on the far left. I also like using my Google drive so I can edit it when I’m on my computer or on my phone since I have the Google sheets app.
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I really love this idea. I usually only post once a week, but have been considering posting more. Also, I keep a running list of post ideas, but never plan them out like that. I’m sure it helps you keep focused and know what to work on next. Thank you for sharing
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My running list of post ideas normally lives in my head until I eventually put it in the spreadsheet haha. I’ve always been an organized person, so this way works really well for me and I can see what’s coming up. Glad you like the idea!
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I’ve started using a Google spreadsheet as well! I love keeping myself organized and have definitely found it to be the best way. I also color-code mine: red for planned but unwritten posts and blue for written posts.
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At one point I had a color coding system going on but I stopped doing it for some reason and only did green for written posts. I’ll have to work on being better with that. I’m glad I found someone else who loves Google sheets as much as me! haha
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This is so smart! Google Drive is honestly the BEST for organization. I use it for everything!
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Same! I always use the docs and sheets. I have the apps on my phone, too, so I can access everything there too when I’m not near my computer.
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I have all the apps too, haha! I use them all the time and I love that everything syncs. It’s so handy compared to just using just a document program strictly on the computer.
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Wow! You are SO organized. I never know if or when I am going to post…I think about setting a schedule sometimes, and I just might try to start that soon. I really am going to try to take my blog a bit more seriously this year. It’s such a fun thing to do, but after six years of writing, I’m just now figuring out how to run it in such a way that I get results (that I didn’t even know I wanted until I started getting them.) I so admire organized people. Sigh. Just dreamy. 🙂
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Haha thanks! I’ve always been organized, so me using a spreadsheet calendar doesn’t surprise me. Sometimes it takes a little while to find out what works best for you. If you’re looking to blog a little more seriously/consistently, some sort of planning would probably work best. Even if it’s just a running list of ideas and you decide you’ll post every Tuesday and Thursday or something like that.
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That’s a really great idea! I am bonafide ADHD, so whether or not I do it is another thing altogether-but it’s a very, very good idea.
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Using a Google spreadsheet is such a cool idea! I love how organized your system is! I haven’t been as serious about blogging in the past, but lately I’ve been planning posts out on my planner. I’d love to eventually switch to some online planning, but at the moment my laptop is old and I try not to overwork it with more tabs than I need.
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Thanks! I think a handwritten plan could work just as well! I like a digital one because with Google drive, I can access it on my phone and my computer.
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This is so organised, it satisfies my inner planning freak! I keep a running list of blog post ideas, but I’m like the slowest writer in the world so it always seems to take me ages to put anything out. And since putting my blog private a few months back (I had a stalker), it feels a bit useless to write so the list keeps getting longer but nothing gets check off! I really like your system though so I might try something similar when I feel confident enough to get back into it. 🙂
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Wow you are so organized and on top of things! I wish I was like this with my own blogs HH
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This is literally the most genius thing. I wish I’d thought of planning out my posts WAYYY before now. I’m going to try to post more often this year.
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[…] My blogging calendar […]
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[…] here and there depending on what’s going on in my life or if I’m busy. I also use a Google sheet calendar to plan out my posts on a monthly […]
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