enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Edcal

Without a doubt the number one thing that helps me get a blog post up each weekday is a monthly editorial calendar.

For the past few years (since this really became my job) I have loosely planned out a month's worth of posts at a time. (You can read much more about where I get content ideas from here.) My plan always changes as the month goes on. (These pictures from last week are already totally outdated!) A project will fail, my photos from an event will be awful (or more likely – I won't take any photos), I'll come up with something that's great, a new idea will pop into my head, etc. But having a basic framework for what will be posted when helps keep me on track and focused. It guarantees when you check the blog at 5am PST there is something new to read. It also guarentees I'm not scrambling at 5pm PST the day before.

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In the past, I have used a giant wall calendar and post-its to map out posts. In the new office, the big calendar didn't really fit into my plans so I scaled back a bit and built a "calendar" out of an old cork board and washi tape. Obviously, I didn't measure the grid exactly, but point of this is to see a month at a time and be able to move around and add post ideas. While my office was in limbo, I wrote post ideas directly onto a calendar and found that didn't work at all for me (even when I wrote in pencil!). I need the flexibility to move things around. The stick on post-its is not ideal against the cork, but that's what push pins are for. Once I'm out of post-it's I'll switch to cut down pieces of scratch paper.

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I didn't bother with numbering the calendar – the actual dates are not as important as knowing what's going up next Tuesday – so it will be very easy to change this up from month to month. The best part about it is it's within arms reach of my computer and to-do list. And also the triangle washi tape, obviously.

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15 responses to “my cork board blog editorial calendar.”

  1. Toni From Avatar

    Oh Elise, I just love you. That is all! 🙂

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  2. Sarah Avatar

    Thank you for all you do! You will simply never know the joy your blog brings to me. I’m so, so thankful I found it. Seriously!
    I’m so excited for your little family and all the wonderful adventure you are going to have, good and challenging and everything in between, and crafting all along the way!
    Many Blessings to you!

    Like

  3. jane rogers Avatar
    jane rogers

    Hi
    Your blog is amazing and so are you !! LOVE this idea ! will be so workable for lots of project scheduling !! YES !!
    Have a wonderful first Christmas with the wonderful girl !! Kids and christmas are the very best and it gets us Moms totally excited in a stressed out way too !!
    jane

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  4. Juliette Avatar
    Juliette

    Simple, practical, and ingenious…thank you for sharing!

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  5. Diana Avatar

    Lovely idea! I love how basic and simple it is.
    xo
    Diana
    http://unusuallylovely.com

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  6. Gina Avatar

    I love this idea! I’m thinking about blogging five days a week soon, so this would be a great way to keep my blog posts organized and flexible. Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Welcome Home Taylor Avatar

    I love this. I try and do the same with my month of blog posts, but I don’t have a cool cork board like this, which is a fantastic idea to keep things open and visual.
    xoxo
    Taylor
    http://www.welcomehometaylor.com

    Like

  8. Amy @ Wildflower Ramblings Avatar

    I love your new header pictures — and your beautiful art — you have inspired me — and your jade wreath — you’ve inspired me again. 🙂

    Like

  9. erinsuzanne Avatar
    erinsuzanne

    I love this idea! i am a high school teacher, and this year started using this method-loosely planning things out a month or six weeks at a time- on sticky notes in my lesson book. And…I’ve stuck with it because being able to move things around instead of erasing or crossing out makes so much more sense! This way, if the kids don’t understand something or there is a news event or we get really involved in a project and need more time, it is a simple tweak to the post it notes.

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  10. Fiona Avatar

    Simple, yet effective. Such a great way to keep an overview!

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  11. Joyce Avatar

    Thank you for sharing this!

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  12. Alanna N Avatar

    Thanks for sharing this! I am really wanting to dedicate more time to my blog this year and although I know it won’t be a daily thing, more like a twice weekly thing, I’m going to adapt this idea a bit to keep track of blog post ideas. Thanks again Elise 🙂

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  13. Aubrey Avatar

    So smart! Does the washi tape stick? I have sticky notes on my cork board now, but like you they don’t stay… was wondering if washi tape holds for long? Thanks for great idea!!!!!!

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  14. Melanie Avatar
    Melanie

    Love these ideas and tips. What would you think of making your “calendar” board a magnetic board? A piece of sheet metal (galvanized for instance) from the hardware store with washi tape separating the days and weeks (like your current cork board). You could even fit the sheet metal into a frame of some kind. I love magnet boards and they’re so easy to use. I get super-strong magnets from Amazon.com (just be sure to keep them out of reach of Ellerie). Have fun! Thanks so much for all your thoughts and ideas and beauty and inspiration!

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  15. Betty819 Avatar
    Betty819

    Just found your blog via pinterest..I like the cork board..did you buy it like that, already framed or make it yourself? What is size, please? This would be great for me to have in my home office. How did you know how to mark off the blocks like a calendar? I’m looking at a calendar I purchased from Staples..that might give me the idea of what size would be best. It’s a 12 month calendar and each day has 4 broken lines marked off but it is specific for 2014 with special holidays notated. I need something that is more generic, yet days of week listed and then I could fill in date. Any ideas?

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