A typical day of a book blogger – Blogging schedule

Welcome to the final part of the series on making blogging schedules work for you, and this is where I tell what works for me and what doesn’t. Here is my typical day as a book blogger to inspire and help you make your own blog schedule that works.

A typical day of a book blogger

Typically I spend more than 30 hours per week on my blog and book blogging related works, making me a part time blogger and more. I also juggle between beta reading, writing and content development work for my clients. And none of this would be possible without a proper blog schedule that works for me.

Previously on this series

• Importance Of Blogging Consistently: Do You Need A Blog Schedule?
• 5 Reasons Why You Can’t Stick To A Blog Schedule
• How to create a blogging schedule that you’ll actually stick to

Blogging tasks for the week

I normally post four times a week and I have a bookstagram where I post thrice a week. And I am nothing if not being consistent. Yes that sounds like a lot for a hobby blog, but fortunately Elgee Writes is not just a blog that I work on for fun.

To put it in perspective, I work so hard on my blog because it acts as my portfolio and this is where I generate my paid clients from. You will understand it better if you start substituting “content marketing” every time you call it “blogging”.

Related post: Book Blogging Is More Than ‘Just For Fun’

Back to the topic. Each of my post goes through all these processes to get converted into the final output that you are reading currently.

• Coming up with the topic
• Research and creating an outline
• Designing the graphics and images
• Actually writing the post
• Formatting and adding relevant links
• Keeping up with the ARCs and release dates
• Reading books for publishers and authors
• Reviewing books on other sites like Amazon and Goodreads
• Promoting on social media
• Keeping up with the fellow bloggers’ content
• Analytics – understanding what works
• Creating a weekly newsletter for the subscribers
• Scheduling other social media posts
• Engaging with other bloggers on social media like Twitter.
• Bookstagram – has a similar long process from clicking photos to engaging with other bookstagrammers
• Continuing to learn and adapt with changes in the blogging world.

I am sure I missed out a few. But you get it, there is quite a lot of things to do once you decide to take your book blog to the next level.

Here is how I have divided the work all through the week so that I would not feel overwhelmed by the hugeness of it.

Related post: Feeling Overwhelmed With Work? – Things To Help You Out

How my typical day as a blogger looks

I have an almost set routine, though the COVID19 situation has thrown the balance a little off. But it still works with minor tweaking here and there.

My mornings

My typical day begins around 6 30 AM. I am not a morning person, but I have come to realize that waking a bit early gets a lot of things done and you can always slack later in the day, if you want to.

Related post: Amazing benefits of waking up early: 5 tips that work

I love spending the first hour or so on writing, so that I can actually focus and not worry about answering texts or calls.

7 to 8 30 AM: Usually I have prepared outlines for the blog posts or article for my clients the previous day or so, and I just have to put my thoughts into words without having to use the browser for research (AKA the distractions) much.

8 30 to 9 30 AM: Once that is done, and as my family wakes up I make a quick breakfast and coffee hustle. If you personally know me, you would understand when I say “I need a breakfast before 9”. Else, you will have to believe me when I say “HANGRY” was made up to describe me.

Since we are all working from home at the moment (and possibly until the end 2020 at least), things are kinda slow for now. Else this would be my peak time in terms of household chores.

9 30 to 11 00 AM: This is when I write down my to-do list for the day and check if any weekly goals have to be changed. Speaking of goals, I also do a check in of my Google analytics and social media stats on a daily basis.

I also quickly hop on to the social media to check if my scheduled posts are getting posted and answer any DMs or mentions I have received. This invariably ends up with my scrolling my Twitter and Instagram feed for a while.

If there were any client calls I schedule them here, so that I can alter my schedule if needed.

Depending upon the day and the work schedule, I usually spend the morning reading something for work (AKA beta reading a manuscript) or a non fiction.

11 00 AM to 1 00 PM: This is the time I spend on cooking lunch, catching up on errands and household chores. I also have a very long curly hair routine which I try to squeeze in here too.

My noons

1 00 PM to 2 00 PM – I usually hit the gym on weekdays just before lunch. This is a practice that I am trying to build again, now that the gyms are open in the UAE and we are free to use them.

Being the bookworm that I am, I usually read on my phone while workout on the treadmill or so just to keep me distracted from the fact that I am actually working out. I will let you know when it actually works.

2 30 to 6 00PM – This is the time I completely spend on research and development which means I am doing email outreach and pitching for clients.

This is probably the second most productive time of my day.

The daily chores can range from clicking photos for bookstagram to logo designing for a client. And one day is like no other. There is always something going on and fire to put out.

Related post: Bookish Questions For Your Social Media Captions

Sometimes (though I am trying curb that habit too) I catch up something on Netflix while I do some monotonous task. White noise helps me too.

My evenings

6 00PM to 7 00PM – Depending on the weather, I take a walk or watch Netflix or just take a break from work.

7 00PM to 9 00PM – Dinner and family time. I speak to my parents who are back in India and would be retiring to bed around this time. So that helps.

9 00PM to 11 00PM – I catch up with whatever is pending from the day.

I usually spend the time prepping for the next day’s writing session in terms of outline, tone etc.

I usually hit the bed by 11 00 PM and read a bit (or lot, depending on the book) until I can convince myself to sleep.

On most days, I get most things on my list done. It is generally a full packed day and I rarely take off. But it is only because I love what I do and I love keeping myself busy.

Previously on the topic

• Balancing Social Media And Blogging: How To Stay Sane?
• 10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Book Blogging
• What’s A Successful Blog To You?
• Adding WordPress Follow Button To Your Self Hosted Sites
• Blogging Terms You Have To Know As A Book Blogger

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Let’s chat

What do you think a typical day of a book blogger looks like? What is yours like? On an average, do you get most things done on a daily basis? Let us talk.