How using spreadsheets changed the way I blog

I bloody love spreadsheets. I'm not sure if it's the thrill of being able to do maths quickly on them (it's a bit of a rollercoaster tbh) or the fact that it makes me feel somewhat organised in life, but me and Excel have a bit of a fancy love affair going on. Soz word, but you're a bit too much of a basic bitch nowadays. 
I'm someone who loves list making and organising things. I want to be prepared, so unless something crops up that really upsets  or antogonises me that I need to talk about RIGHT NOW, any post I write has been on my spreadsheet for over a month. Having hardly any posts planned out makes me anxious and concerned that *what if I never think of any content again?*, so if I ever have an idea it goes straight in the spreadsheet (and straight back out if I realise it's a pile of shit).
Before using spreadsheets things were 100% more spontaneous with my blog, but it also made them more sporadic and poorly organised. Having an idea written down for a few weeks gives me time to mull it over and decide exactly what I want to do with the post and what I want to write. 

Each month is a blank canvas, and I fill it up gradually, marking off when I've drafted posts, taken photos, posted something, etc (as you can see above). Most months I have a few 'set' posts to get me going, e.g. favourites, book hauls, book of the month posts, bloggers I've been loving, which makes this blank canvas a whole lot less intimidating. 
I have a lil column for if I've had a sponsored post or have been sent a sample of something for a post so I can 1.) actually remember to write the post for it and 2.) ensure that I don't post things like that too close together. I mean, it's pretty unlikely that that would happen, but a girl can dream, right?
Every post is colour coded according to theme (I told you I've got a bit of a *thing* for organisation). Yellow = lifestyle, pale green = mental health, pink = beauty and so on. It means that I can make sure I vary my themes a little, and it's also fab to look back on to see what kind of posts I write about most frequently/what times of year I'm inspired to write on certain topics etc.
Each month has its own sheet and it's just absolutely made my blog 50 times easier for me and my little anxious brain to handle. Now if I'm feeling uninspired for new ideas, I've got a little stockpile waiting for me, so it doesn't matter. I'm able to look back on what things have done well and what's bombed, so I can change my content up if I want. 
The second part of it is my stats sheet. This has every follow count for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Bloglovin at the start of each month since May 2016, as well as a goal for each month. I know everything's not all about the numbers and all that jazz, but sometimes seeing how things have come along can be the kick up the butt you need to keep going. Every month I mark off in red/green as to whether or not I've achieved my goal. If I'm doing well/poorly on a platform for a few months I can then go back and think about what I'm doing right or wrong, and how I can improve it. 
Basically spreadsheets have given me a way to get down to the nitty gritty of my blog, and an overarching view of what's going on at the same time. I've got it tailored to being exactly how I want it and it helps me kick writing anxiety in the butt, which is always a bonus!
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