With an estimated 200 million blogs on the internet today it's sure to say this pastime is a popular hobby and career for many.
But while the number is high I'm sure a large percentage will be that of redundant and infrequently posting blogs. A lot of my own favourite blogs aren't around anymore!
Why? While blogging is rewarding and fun it is time-consuming. It also requires a multitude of skill sets from photographer to copywriter and of course understanding the technical side of your blog.
These two factors alone are enough for anyone's passion for blogging to wane!
However, I've found simplify my own blog routine has made a huge impact on how I feel about blogging and how motivated I am. From increasing my productivity levels to saving a ton of time!
Which is why I wanted to share three not so common ways I've been able to streamline my blogging routine for the better.
So, a bit of a 'storytime' first, albeit a boring one. Rewind to this time last year and I hated blogging. Yes, you read that right. I hated it because I wasn't feeling well and was on a waiting list to see an immunologist for my list of mystery ailments that were making me feel awful!
This meant the physical process of taking photos for my blog would leave me wanting to go back to bed along with brain fog which made writing posts almost impossible at times and laborious at best. And simply because I didn't feel myself I lost all passion for blogging.
Not knowing how long my symptoms would stick around for, coupled with the fact my blog is my full-time job I decided I need to streamline how I worked, thus making it easier on myself.
Thankfully I'm pretty fit and well now, however the changes I made to the way I blog have stuck around, because who doesn't want things easier, right?
Below you will find the three ways I have streamlined my own blogging routine that I truly believe can help other bloggers that are possibly struggling with their health, juggling their work/life balance or simply need to save time.
These tips could also help if you aren't feeling blogging as changing up any routine can have a positive effect on how you feel about it!
1. Ditch the DSLR/fancy photography equipment
For six of the eight years I've been blogging I used a professional DSLR and while of course the quality of the images was superb I realised that for blogging a lot more went into images than simply how crisp an image is.
So while setting up to shoot blog photos with a my DSLR, tripod and sometimes even professional lights was feeling like a struggle and taking too much time I decided to switch to using the camera on my phone.
I was due a phone upgrade so I decided to up my monthly contract amount and went for an iPhone 7 plus after comparing the lens specs on various models. I then told myself if the quality and look of my blog images ended up not being good enough I could simply revert back to my original setup.
11 months on and I couldn't be happier with my decision of switching to my phone's camera for my blog photography. Most importantly I still get the same amount of positive comments about my blog images because I'm pretty sure no one can tell the difference and it's just so much easier!
The benefits of using a high-quality phone camera over a DSLR are clear! No setup time, no technical skill needed, no corrupt or broke SD cards, no tripod and even the benefit of airdrop if you are using an iPhone and MacBook.
While the importance of visual and written content is equal in a lot of blogging niches these days, the technology of phone cameras is now near to competing with professional cameras so I highly recommend getting used to taking more styled and professional images with your phone and saving a whole lot of time in the process!
Let me know if you would like a blog post on my own tips and tricks when using a phone camera opposed to a DSLR.
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2. Set a timer to get tasks completed
A bit of an organisation blogging tip here that again has made such a positive impact on the way I blog, especially as I'm a huge procrastinator!
By combining micromanagement of tasks with time management I've found I get my checklist of jobs completed in half the time. From emails to writing up blog posts and creating visuals for Pinterest (see how I mastered Pinterest here) I never like to spend more than an hour or so on any one task.
As this is a blog post on how to streamline your blogging routine I will give the example of writing blog posts as whatever your niche you will always have blog posts to write. This can be a quick or length task depending on how you approach it and for a long time writing a single blog post could take me hours... I'm talking nearly a full day sometimes. This made me unable to get other tasks done and left me feeling tired and bored most of the time.
So these days I simply set a timer on my phone for exactly 1 hour and type away! The only structuring I will do is to set out the main points I want to touch upon, so for this post, I started with the headers of each three tips, then open any links in separate tabs than I think I may need.
I will then type away, literally, ignoring spelling mistake and any errors until the post is complete. On days I'm getting easily distracted I will write my blog post up in a word document with my internet bronzer closed but for the most part I now know I don't have the time to sporadically check my emails or browse ASOS for 10 minutes.
Checking how much time I have left every now and again means that I generally complete writing a blog post in the time I've given myself. I then have a small break and come back and read through what I have written, which is often full of mistakes. But that's no problem as I use a free Grammarly plug-in that flags up typos and grammatical errors so proofreading takes only 5 minutes.
I then add in my edited images and schedule the post!
Working in this way does seem very structured however when time is of the essence or you simply don't want blogging to take up too much of your day/week, working against the clock definitely works.
I also like to set shorter timers to tidy up my email inbox and reply to important emails every day as this is easily a task that's never ending and then I'm more likely want to watch Gilmore Girls in bed rather than write a blog post!
It's definitely worth giving a try especially if you find the creative side of blogging fun but the act of writing laborious.
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3. Batch edit
Lastly, when it comes to picture editing or making eye-catching pins especially for Pinterest I like to batch edit. This basically consists of editing a large number of images all at the same time or in the same task... while I watch TV!
I try to see this as something I can easily do of an evening and less of a task as it's fairly easy work that doesn't require too much effort or brain power.
To make light work of editing multiple images in one go, sometimes 20+, I first batch edit the size of them to optimize them for both my blog and Pinterest. This can be done in most image editing programmes in one go, taking seconds.
I then like to individually edit each image' brightening, sharpening and colour correcting where each image needs it. Then finally renaming each file which is just good SEO practice.
This means when it comes to writing a blog post I can simply select the images I need and complete and schedule a blog post in under 2 hours (Side note: This may seem a long time but I tend to write 1000+ words).
Let me know your own timesaving blog tips and if you are conscious of streamlining your blog routine to avoid burnout!
Fee xo.
