Blogging Schedule for Busy College Students

As a college student, I am extremely busy. Sometimes it can be very overwhelming to balance college and blogging, so that’s why I came up with my own blogging schedule! I searched Pinterest to see how other people worked around their busy schedules and still create amazing content. Everyone works differently, and everyone has their own schedule. What may work for me may not work for you at all! This is how I make sure I get posts up on time and stay active throughout the week.

I think that my schedule can be broken up into to categories: the weekend and weekdays. I do a majority of my work on the weekends and do the lighter stuff like promotion and uploading during the week. This allows me to focus on school during the week and focus on blogging during the weekend. Sometimes blogging can feel like a full-time job, partially because it is, and my schedule really helps me avoid that feeling.

Weekends

I typically dedicate one day on the weekend to blogging. Usually it’s Saturday because I just need a break from school. During that day, I probably work a good 8 to 10 hours on my blog. Yeah, I know. That’s like all day. But, hey I love blogging so it’s less of a chore and more enjoyable.

Writing Posts.
First and foremost, I write my posts for the upcoming week and possibly even the next two weeks. At a point in August, I already had posts ready a month in advance. That was during the summer and once school started, that schedule quickly went away, haha. Because I plan my posts in advance, I usually have an outline and am able to type up the post relatively quick. It takes anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour to write a post. That includes proofreading and revision.

Taking and Editing Pictures.
I have a library of stock pictures that I resort to when I’m in need of a cover picture or I use unsplash.com. Their pictures are beautiful, and I use them if I don’t have anything in my library that relates to the post. For posts like my monthly favorites or all things pumpkin spice, I take those pictures the day that I write the post.

I love editing pictures. I think that’s my favorite part of the entire process. It can take me upwards of two hours to edit the pictures for the week. This of course depends on the number of pictures that I have to edit and whether those pictures include text. I use Photoshop to edit all of my pictures. I usually adjust the levels to make the picture brighter, and I bump up the contrast.

Promotion.
I try and stay active on social media throughout the weekend. It can be hard to remember to post something on Twitter or update your Facebook page when you have 3+ posts to write and homework to do. I am by no means perfect when it comes to promotion on social media. It’s probably my weakest point when it comes to blogging.

Weekdays

Final Editing.
The day before a post is supposed to go live, I like to do one final revision, checking for clarity and spelling. Even with this, I still miss wrong words every once in a while. This is important because you want to make sure that you look professional online.

Promotion.
During the week, I make sure to post on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook about my newest post. I try to not post all at the same time, but with a busy schedule, sometimes that just has to happen. A lot of my traffic comes from Pinterest. I am a member of several group boards which really helps drive traffic to my posts!

Staying active on social media throughout the week is really important. I am very fond of Twitter and usually post updates about my life, the stress of college, and how much I don’t want to go to the gym. You should go follow me on Twitter if you haven’t already!

Scheduling.
This can mean a lot of different things. Sometimes this means scheduling posts to go live at a certain date and time (this is one  of my key ways to balance college and blogging!) Or, sometimes it means planning posts and tentative upload dates in my editorial calendar. If you want to see an entire post about my editorial calendar, make sure to leave a comment below! I cannot live without an editorial calendar.

What is your blogging schedule? I always love hearing how other people schedule their time!

-Abigail T.