web schedule 224x300 Let's regroup here - we've learned how to create a Success Blueprint for your website.

First we went through the content of your pages. Re-read about how to [meet the needs of your customers]({{ site.url }}/maintenance-content "Getting started with website maintenance.") with your content.

Then, we went through the steps to figuring out which pages should be accessible. Re-read about how to figure out a [website workflow]({{ site.url }}/manage-workflow "Your website is too confusing. Let’s fix it.") for your small business.

Most recently, I showed you how to put that all together in your Success Blueprint for reference. Re-read about [creating a roadmap for your small business website]({{ site.url }}/improve-website "This is exactly how to improve your website.").

Once you have your Success Blueprint, it will be best for you to go through and organize your needs in a rotation to constantly keep your website updated and thorough.

I want to be honest here - keeping a maintenance schedule is something that I struggle with. My thoughts here are based on my experience of success and failures in my attempts at doing so, as well as what I am beginning to carry out for myself.

Schedules should work for you, not the other way around.

My number one failure in trying to make a schedule is by trying to make myself work with timing that doesn't play to my strengths.

What I've learned about schedules.

I work best by following what's on my mind until I lose focus, and then let myself become distracted for a set amount of time before choosing something else to work on.

So that's how I work. When I wake up is when my brain first starts working on the things that I find most important.

In the morning, I dedicate at least an hour to chasing down that line of thought.

What I'm still learning about schedules.

What is harder is to take a step back.

I've gotten a handle on the week by week deal. This is what my schedule looks like:

  • Monday: Write Newsletter
  • Tuesday: Write Blog Post
  • Wednesday: Miscellaneous Day (this could be working on my e-book, new ideas I have for the blog, etc)
  • Thursday: Write Blog Post
  • Friday: Miscellaneous Day
  • Sat-Sun: Create Web Tips video
This is all great, but without some bigger focus, those Miscellaneous Days can easily go to waste.

Where I am going with my schedule.

What I am working on is making the best use of those Miscellaneous Days. These are the things that I want to fill them with as applies to the maintenance of my website:

  • Reviewing and rewriting old content
  • Updating website workflows
  • Writing blog posts in advance
  • Analyzing my goals for search engine optimization
The question is, how do I want to keep track of these things?

Getting down to the creation of a schedule.

Essentially I am working on categorizing the types of content on my website.

Really, it will fall into a grid of the four following things:

  • Posts & Pages
  • Featured & Not Featured
Not featured posts will hold the least amount of weight, where as featured pages will hold the most.
Today is a stepping stone post as I gather the resources I will be using for my maintenance schedule to share with you in my post next week.
In the meantime, how will you decide what content will need the most attention for your website?