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Last weekend, my husband and I took our three kids and one big dog to New Hampshire for three days. The stars and planets must’ve been aligned just so because, before we left, I completely outdid myself with planning ahead. I:
- Scheduled a blog post
- Turned on my email autoresponder letting people know I was away
- Planned the next week’s dinners
- Had Peapod deliver my groceries on Friday morning before we left
- Washed, dried and set out Hope & Grace’s uniforms
- Filled the van with gas
- Made a list of everything we needed to pack for the trip
- Packed everything we needed
We spent three whole days with family and friends, having a blast with the kids and some great laughs with the grownups. On Sunday, we packed everything up and headed home.
When we arrived back in Rhode Island, the only thing we “had” to do was unload the car. Planning ahead had made reentry so effortless.
Which started me thinking…how else could I plan ahead to make life easier?
I came up with one major thing that would make life – and blogging – easier: creating a blog editorial calendar, something I’ve thought about for years but have never done.
So yesterday, I spent about 30 minutes brainstorming blog topics and another 60 minutes creating my Editorial Calendar page here on the blog.
Spending 90 minutes of my time planning ahead will save me countless hours all year long, scrambling for blog topics or worse, not writing any posts at all. (Which is where I was headed before I created this editorial calendar…)
So…my February action is to plan ahead.
Right now, I want you to take 10 minutes (c’mon, you can spare 10 minutes) to think about a few ways that you can plan ahead to save time, save money and make your life and business easier. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- A monthly meal plan
- A yearly promotional calendar
- A weekly “uniform”
- A daily social media schedule
- An FAQ page for your website
When you’ve come up with a few ideas, I want to hear about them in the comments below. If you’re stuck or not sure how to implement your ideas, let me know that too.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow your editorial calendar is top-notch!! I look forward to each month’s topic. I’d say 2010’s theme for TMM is “organization*action*results”. Love it!
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Heather Allard Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Thanks so much, Ros! Lord knows I’m trying. LOL. How have you planned ahead?
Heather
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Coming home knowing you weren’t behind was probably the best part of the trip! A little planning solves many of our problems. The one plan I can’t seem to stick to very well is the meal planning. I only seem to get that one a few weeks in a row. Then it all goes haywire. Perhaps that’s a task I’ll delegate–that counts as planning, right?!
[Reply]
Heather Allard Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
You know, it really was the best part of the trip – being ahead of the eight ball instead of waaaay behind, like I usually am. LOL. I think the meal planning works best if you do it a month out or on the same day each week while you write your grocery list. But yes, delegating totally counts as planning.
Who will you delegate it to?
Heather
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I love your editorial schedule. That’s a great idea.
I just wrote a post on my blog about all the reasons that you should blog regularly, but I haven’t set up a formal schedule myself.
I do it informally. I try for a Monday and a Thursday, but I think you just inspired me to actually write it down and make it formal.
I feel more productive already!
[Reply]
Heather Allard Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Great article, Conrad! After blogging for over 3 years, I recently found myself all out of ideas. LOL. So, the editorial calendar really helped me focus on one topic at a time – that ways, it’s not overwhelming trying to come up with post ideas every week AND as I see/read things, I can bookmark/tear them out and save them for that month/topic. I even bought an accordion folder so I can stuff it with things I tear out of magazines.
Heather
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Funny, I had just given this some thought over the weekend (planning ahead for my blog). I did not come to a formal conclusion for myself, but I was able to jot down some ideas to help with my motivation.
Just a side note, we plan our dinners on a weekly basis and it helps A LOT! I post our menu on the fridge and everyone knows what we are having for dinner (and if I home a little late, my husband knows exactly what to make for dinner!—LOVE IT)
[Reply]
Heather Allard Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Cathy,
You’re right about planning the meals weekly – works really well for us too. Except, I keep forgetting to write it down – have to do that so I can avoid the “What’s for dinner?” question three times.
Heather
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Hi there, great tips. Meal planning and clothing organizing resonate big with me! I noticed a “clutter” topic on one of your links, and was reminded of a great series of books by Jeff Campbell the Clean Team, mainly Speed Cleaning and a second called Clutter Control. I DO NOT GET PAID to endorse their products, nor personally know them, lol, but the books give you a methodical way to clean a house. Quickly, and not in drudge fashion. They offer great products you can just order in bulk and have a catalog. This stuff is not expensive and WORKS BETTER and comes in bulk so you’re not shopping for cleaning stuff all the time. I’m no housekeeping aficianado as anyone I know will tell you, ha. These books and products are super, save time, make your house look nice and are teachable to kids!!
Janie
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You have really helped me too. I do a similar meal plan list. I don’t write the days, but simply 7/8 meals with the side dishes as well. I choose at 5:00 depending on how I’m feeling–no thinking required. On the weekend, I also look at my calendar and plan my remaining blocks of time. Like Monday morning–daughter time, Tuesday afternoon–return calls, Wednesday–ice skating, Thursday afternoon–tutor students, and Friday check in with Simply Chickie clients.
Cheers,
gwen
[Reply]
Heather Allard Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
That’s a great idea, Gwen – blocking off time for different activities during the week. Thanks!!
Heather
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Love the editorial calendar idea. Thanks for keeping us inspired.
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