If productivity YouTube has given me one major takeaway, it’s to set up automated reminders and systems because you will inevitably forget. Plus, even if I know my GYST list somewhat by heart, it’s still fun and motivating to check things off lists!
Over the year or so I’ve been blogging, I’ve gradually developed my own routine of recurring blog maintenance tasks. Because let’s face it, I need Todoist and my planner to scream at me to do these things and not just let my blog slowly succumb to entropy.
I definitely didn’t come up with all of these items on my own, though I’ve made adjustments for my personal preferences and blogging situation; especial thanks are due to Becky @ Uptown Oracle, Clo @ Cuppa Clo, and Soph @ Bookwyrming Thoughts for providing so much blogging advice and emotional support.
This post is part of Bookending Spring 2020, which is organized by Sam & Clo!
It is not based on a prompt, but hopefully you’ll find it helpful in your spring tidying and for general organization going forward.
How I Set Reminders
Because I don’t trust myself to remember everything every week, I set repeating reminders in Todoist for these tasks, so that they’ll automatically pop up. Usually I’ll just use the app to reference the list, write them down [see next point], then come back and check them all off at once.
Then I write them down in my TN/planer to motivate myself to get them done so that I don’t have to keep rewriting them every time I start a new daily to-do list. Here I’ll check them off one-by-one as I get them done, partly to keep track and partly to motivate myself to keep going. It’s probably not the most efficient method, but it’s been pretty effective.
Weekly Tasks
- Clear out blog email inbox.
- Reply to and return comments, if any remain. (I’ve fallen behind on this one, admittedly.)
- Update books & blogging spreadsheet.
- Write and schedule next week’s posts.
- Update end-of-month posts. (This reduces my workload at the end of the month, when I just need to add final updates and proofread the post!)
- Catch up on reviews. (I don’t always have time for this one, but I’m working on making it part of the weekly routine.)
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Monthly Tasks
- Update stats in blogging spreadsheet and Netgalley/Edelweiss bios.
- Update reading challenge posts and bingo boards.
- Update review archive pages: by title & by rating.
- Export blog backup. (Ideally I’d do this at least every other week, but honestly I just can’t be bothered.)
- Make post schedule for next month.
- Make post drafts, outlines, header images for next month. (Or at least start — batching these easier steps saves time in the long run.)
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Once-in-a-While Tasks
- View blog as a visitor would (i.e., open the page rather than just looking from the WordPress dashboard), just to make sure everything’s working and looking good.
- Check that links and images all still work/appear as intended.
- Look over About page and review policy; make changes as needed.
- Look over sidebar and navigation menu; make changes as needed.
- Reorganize my Goodreads library: delete and add shelves as needed.
- Do you have a blog maintenance checklist and/or routine?
- What are your least/most favorite blog maintenance tasks?
- Have I missed any recurring tasks or checks that should be added to the list?
Nine Tale Vixen 
I don’t have a set list written down but I should! After being gone for over a month I’ve been having trouble getting back in the groove since everything is all a big pile of negligence XD
I really like your list it really made me think about what I do to maintain my blog and what I am not always keeping up with. Maybe I’ll sit down and try to come up with my own list!
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oh yeah, coming off a hiatus is definitely an uphill battle, but you got this 💪🏻
having these lists to refer has definitely saved me a lot of stress trying to make sure I don’t forget anything, so i’m glad this post was helpful for you! would definitely recommend sitting down and making your own list 😉
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“Set up automated reminders and systems because you will inevitably forget.” MOOD. Even then I keep forgetting to do sometimes… but I’m trying. 😅 I definitely can’t be bothered to export my blog as a backup, so um… I tend to do that when I can (though I think I set up automatically? I don’t even know anymore. I just know to do it for sure when I’m about to do something that could possibly break something and I’d rather not end up regretting it).
Lately I’ve been winging it a lot more than I normally would; doing what I can here and there… some of them slowly going through painfully (but also rewarding kind of), etc.
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same tbh, these days it’s been such a struggle getting things done 😕 but you are trying and that’s what matters! 💕
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Ah I recently made a spread in my bujo dubbed april GYST masterlist and it’s split into “daily”, “weekly”, “bi weekly” and “monthly” and it’s been helpful, as its also colour coded (because I like colour coding things to make them pretty haha) so anything in a deepish purple are bedroom/office tasks, blue is self care, lilac are blog tasks and green are digital tasks. One of the things I do is clear out my watch later on YouTube and try and watch those videos…instead of you know letting it build up.
Love this post so much Izzy, you’ve also reminded me I should back up my blog…haven’t done that in several months xD (I’m terrible at backing it up ooops)
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color coding is so helpful, it looks pretty which encourages me to actually look at the list but also helps me keep things straight without too much extra thinking 🌈
also, yes, you definitely should back up your blog! 👀
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My routine is literally chaos wrapped in disorganization, but, I try! I love your list…but you know, I love when I do carry out the things I know i should, it always feel so good and productive lol
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I feel that though, I love when things have been done … but it’s a struggle to actually do the things 😅
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This is very helpful! I love to see how other people organize their blogging routines ❤ I need to borrow some of these maintanance tasks as well, like the NetGalley update.
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glad to hear it was helpful! 💕
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