Realized I was overcomplicating my editorial calendar after one blunt comment

I used to plan content 6 months out with color coded columns and audience segments. A colleague looked at it and said 'this looks like a project plan for NASA, not a blog schedule.' At first I was annoyed, but then I noticed I was spending more time updating the calendar than writing actual posts. I cut it down to a simple 2 week view with just topic, draft deadline, and publish date. Now I plan 4 weeks ahead max and leave room for timely pieces. Traffic actually went up by 15% in the first month because I could react to trends faster. Has anyone else found that less structure in the planning phase helps your content feel more natural?

2 comments

2 Comments

william_carter14d ago

6 months out with color coded columns? lmao that's genuinely wild. I get a little twitchy if I try to plan more than two weeks ahead because the internet changes so fast. You had a whole NASA mission control setup just to blog about stuff that might be irrelevant by month three.

lily_singh214d ago

Wait william_carter would your brain explode if you used sticky notes instead of a spreadsheet?