planning

How To Outline A Blog Post in 15 Minutes
How long does it take you to write a blog post? This question is one I see bloggers ask each other all of the time. I’ve even googled it out of desperation and curiosity to figure out the answer. It takes a blogger approximately 2-3 hours to write a quality blog post. I started comparing my writing performance to the responses of other bloggers. How to outline a blog post efficiently? Is two hours enough time to brainstorm a blog topic, gather thoughts, and still have enough time to write it?

There are many ways to outline a blog post!

Some bloggers do not take as much time as others to write their blogs. Don’t worry. The last thing you should do is compare yourself to another blogger’s writing schedule. The best advice for figuring out your writing schedule is to create a consistent timetable that works for you.

I would not recommend adopting another bloggers’ writing schedule, but I would recommend learning the strategies that helped them develop the blogging schedule that works for them. This blog post highlights one of the best tools bloggers use to publish quality blog posts — blog outlines.

Blog outlines are simple tools for bloggers to draft, write and organize their ideas for a blog post before publishing.

this guide will cover:
- how to spend less time planning out a blog post
- what to outline for your blog post
- examples of blog outlines
- how to outline your next blog post in 15 mins
How To Spend Less Time Planning Out A Blog Post

If you are spending more than the average amount of time it would take to write a blog post, you are most likely doing this:
- struggling with coming up with topics
- researching while you write
- not passionate about the topic you chose to write about
One thing that will help cut out much of the time you spend writing is to start drafting your blog posts in advance. Developing a blueprint for your blog posts gives you more ideas for what you will be discussing in your post. It can not be easy to juggle all our ideas for one topic & without drafting or jotting them down, we will forget them. Start sketching your blog posts & researching topics thoroughly before committing to writing the post.

Need help brainstorming topics you should write about? Check out this list of 350+ blog topic ideas for any niche!

How To Outline For Your Blog Post

Are you looking for ideas for what to write on your blog post outline? First— you will need a topic. The topic you chose needs to be something you can talk about comfortably and freely. Next, you will need:
- Key subheading content points
- Supporting statements for that subheading
- Affiliate links for any suggestions for readers
- List of keywords and tags for search engine optimization
You can even take it a step further and create a checklist/to-do list for each step in your writing process. To-do lists and checklists for your blog post will help you remember to edit, format, schedule, publish, create pictures, etc. Here is an example of what a blog post outline should look like:

example of a blog post outline

A Simple Blog Post Outline

Ready to start outlining your next blog post? I have the perfect blog post template for bloggers planning out their blog posts. I created this template to help with organizing and writing ideas for quality blog posts. The Blog Post Template is a digital pdf that you can download and save to any digital planner or notetaking application. This digital template is designed to help bloggers brainstorm post titles, publish dates, related posts, call-to-action, and key content points. The digital blog post template has checklists and to-do lists to keep bloggers on track with outlining, writing, editing, formatting, and scheduling their blog posts. The template also includes space for tracking tags, links, and keywords.

Click the jump to get your blog post template and start planning your writing content today.

Never have to worry about writing quality blog posts again! To keep your readers engaged, your blog posts have to be cohesive, entertaining, informative, and easy to read. It’s easy to write and have all your thoughts jumbled at once while you’re trying to remember to get all of your ideas out!

Use this Blog Post Planner template to avoid never having to worry about jumbled thoughts, incohesive paragraphs, and sloppy structures ever again! This Blog Post Planner template was designed to help bloggers and writers get their key points across, create blog outlines before writing, and checklists for blogging tasks.

Bloggers should be using outlines when preparing to write quality blog posts. Using an outline before you write helps you create thought-flowing, entertaining posts & cuts down on how much time you would usually spend writing your blog posts. You can easily create an outline for your next blog post in 15 minutes! Outlines are another tool to help you stay consistent with blogging & they will also help with coming up with ideas for additional blog post topics!

Was this helpful? Leave me a comment below.
3 Tools For Goal Setting and Excellent Planning
It’s been super important for me to get organized with my ideas and goals because I’ve got all these great, big ideas floating around in my head, but no clear thought on how to execute them. It’s not enough for me to just come up with an idea (nor should it be enough for you). I need to find tools for goal setting and planning. The only way to see the outcomes of these ideas is to plan them out.

What am I doing? How will this work?

My impulsive thinking can sometimes lead to a load of inconsistency in executing these ideas. I get so excited that I rush or skip several steps in the execution process. This is how dreams get deferred and ideas get crushed. When you know better then you’ll do better.

That’s why I am sharing three tools I use to assist me in setting clear and concise goals through planning. Keep scrolling to learn new ways to help you stay organized, plan out ideas, and develop strategies for executing your plan.

Necessary Tools For Goal Setting

Tools for Goal Setting: Gratitude Journaling, Planning, Organizing

Journaling is the #1 source of where my ideas and goals begin. Through self-reflection prompts, I construct a list of 3-5 personal and professional goals I want to accomplish for the week. I also set monthly goals and daily affirmations using a gratitude journal. I find appreciation and gratitude to be instrumental in planning and setting realistic, attainable goals. The Daily Expression Gratitude Journal that I use comes with a “Gratitude Garden” that contains mindful questions and notebook pages for me to jot down my emotions and thoughts. I created it as a way to live with gratitude and appreciation. It’s available online for purchase and on sale for $7 here.

Goal Setting Tool #2: Planner

Having a planner as a tool is necessary because this is where I can sort out goals and figure out how I will meet them by listing small tasks that I can complete. Sunday- Saturday, I fill my planner with productive activities related to my weekly or monthly goals.

Let’s use an Instagram Reel as an example. The objective will be to create an Instagram Reel for the week.

I pick a day during the week that I can research reels to trigger inspiration, days that I can prepare for creation, and then the day that I want to post it. Making a reel does NOT just happen in five minutes! I realize that there may be intricate actions that I will need to take before it can happen. I may need to learn audio (lyrics and dialogue), rehearse dance moves, and sort out a look. Some of the questions I ask myself:
- Where will I film this reel?
- What should I wear?
- What is the tone?
I maximize a lot of my time by using a planner. The mom life is sporadic and chaotic. It’s easy to feel spread thin and busy. Honey, that’s the quickest way to burn out! Using a planner is beneficial to productivity. I’m able to juggle all of my many hats (human, wife, mom, teacher, writer, etc.) and not feel like I’ve completely exhausted all my time. It all gets done through time blocking, sticky notes, affirmation stickers, and lots of colors.

TIP: Use markers and colorful pens to list your tasks in your planner.

Goal Setting Tool #3: Google Calendar

The last tool allows me to schedule my tasks into a digital calendar, and get reminders and alerts when it is time to execute them. Once I learned from other digital content creators about all of the magic that Google Calendar has, I started using it for purposes other than birthdays. I use Google Calendar to
- help me figure out what time I have available to get things done.
- stay on track with time blocking
- celebrate accomplishments
- remember what’s planned for the day
- follow a schedule
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Was this helpful for you? How do you set goals and execute them? What tools do you use to help you execute your goals? How do you hold yourself accountable? Comment your thoughts on this topic below.

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