Let’s Talk: How do you keep track of your blogging ideas/schedule?

I spent the majority of last weekend and into this week creating a bullet journal, with plans to use it to organize everything bookish/blogging related in my life.  I’ve created my own planners for years, but this is my first time using the bullet journal system. I’ve only been using it for a week now, but I absolutely love it so far.  All of the planning I did to organize all the post-its and notebooks full of blogging ideas and notes to myself really made me wonder how other bloggers stay organized.  I’ve seen some people use digital or print calendars, planners, a blank notebook, or just their phone.

It can be difficult to keep track of blogging commitments: reviews, blog tours, blitzes, author interviews, giveaways, etc. without having some kind of organization system.  Because I’ve used paper planners in the past, I think this is what really works for me.  Right now I post M-F, and I plan out posts a week at a time on a big post-it note that I stick onto my weekly journal spread. I also use the Stickies app on my Mac to list future blogging commitments that are more than a month out (blitzes, blog tours, etc).  I’m thinking about using iCal as well for an additional organizational tool.

I also like to have a tool to keep track of ARCs and my notes for reviews, but decided to do that separate from my planning. I had been using a blank notebook until I figured out a system that worked for me, but my wonderful Round 3 OTSP Secret Sister Erin  just sent me an amazing Book Lover’s Journal (similar to this), and I think that’s going to work perfectly for me. It has pages for reviews, reading group schedules, a place to keep track of wish lists, and more!

Here are some shots of my bullet journal if you’re curious how I have things set up:

Tomorrow’s entry so far

 

Blog Stats Growth chart from Stay Bookish‘s Book Blog planner, and a list of the Top Ten Tuesday topics (using washi tape so I can update it each month)

January Wrap-Up and Bookish Bingo, the first of many 2016 reading challenge pages. The blue squares are post-its so that I can reuse the same page when next season’s bingo board is announced.

#RockMyTBR and eBook Reading Challenge  pages (blank because I’ll be updating at the end of each month)

LGBTQIA Reading Challenge and Finish the Series Challenge spreads

 

#SixSquared and my blogging challenges (Commenting 365 and the Book Blog Discussion Challenge).

I also have spreads to keep track of my ideas for discussion posts and general blog posts, but I’m keeping the contents of those a mystery…

And on the back page of my bullet journal, I’ve taped in a copy of the Read Harder Challenge, just in case I need some extra reading inspiration throughout the year.

 

What do you use to organize and plan for your blog? I’m always looking for new ideas, so I’d love to hear what works for you. Share in the comments below or link me to your own discussion post!