Nov 11, 2017 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Social Media Saturday
It’s that time of year again. No, I’m not talking about holidays (at least, not here on the blog.)
I’m talking about what happens after the holidays. That’s write right.
I’m talking about making a plan for the future of your media.
Hey, if you’re like me (and I know at least some of you are), you’re figuring out how to move forward with your health, your budget, your home. So why not your media presence as well?
If you want your social media to grow, you can’t just scatter a bunch of seeds and hope they stick. You have to plot the garden, figure how to feed what needs feeding, and prune what needs pruning.
It’s not too soon to think about a marketing budget, a posting schedule, and contacts you need to make to get the word out.
Overwhelmed? Don’t be.
It’s as easy as getting a weekly calendar and plotting out ahead of time things you want to draw attention to, and maintenance you need to do. If you’re blogging, it might look something like this:
SATURDAY: Schedule posts for week.
SUNDAY: List themes/ideas for next week.
MONDAY: Read book notes, write review.
TUESDAY: Contact/Call/Email so-and-so re: guest blogging
WEDNESDAY: Pull research for next week
THURSDAY: Rough draft posts
FRIDAY: Review/edit posts
Or, if you’re only about posting to Twitter or Instagram, it might look a little different:
SATURDAY: Share recipe posts from so-and-so
SUNDAY: Search hashtags for NYC
MONDAY: Post coffee facts
TUESDAY: Create memes for the week
WEDNESDAY: Follow three new people
THURSDAY: Share three #throwbackthursday posts
FRIDAY: Create list of themes/ideas for next week
Sure, you say. But that’s just weekly. How does a year calendar come into play? Easy-peasy answer coming up! Try to pick a theme for each month before the month starts, and curate information and other links to share. Boom. Job half done. Got guest bloggers? Assign them a day each week or month, and remind them ahead of time. Bam. Another to-do marked off. And once or twice a monthly (even weekly) schedule time to review your stats and responses. See what works, what doesn’t, and change accordingly.
Having a theme and a calendar makes it easy to track the special days you want to celebrate online, the stories you want to write about, and the times you may need someone to fill in if you’re on vacation or at the dentist. [Note to self: Reschedule exam after the holidays.] There are several websites that list Celebration Days. For instance, did you know tomorrow is National Pizza with The Works Except the Anchovies Day? Hey, I’m not making this stuff up!
Now, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say I think y’all can tell I’ve not been following any calendar guide lately. Short posts, late night posts. But hey. At least I’m posting, right?
Y’all will be happy to know it’s time This Girl picked up next year’s Happy Planner. I’m gonna Plan the bejeebies out of 2018. Who’s with me? #plannersunite
Frankly, My Dear . . . : MoJo’s Happy Planners
Okay. So that’s my social media scheduling advice. What do you do to keep track, and how do you get through the days you don’t?
TWEET THIS: Social Media Saturday: Planning is Key @MollyJoRealy #socialmedia
And Frankly, My Dear . . . : That’s all she wrote!
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Mar 10, 2012 |
Remember the Meal Memo in a Jar that I started on March 1st?
Well, this is my month-long recap. Starting with March 1, I’ll track each and every day what menu we pulled and how it turned out. **EDITOR’S NOTE: A whole month of meal tracking is gonna be pretty wordy, so here’s the first week and a half. I’ll post another update (or two) as we continue.**
OBSERVATIONS: We’re eating so much better! Already from Janice’s suggestions, I’m going to revamp the Memo colors to incorporate one that signifies “More Work Meals”: those that take a bit more to prepare and are perfect for weekends or dinner parties. I also want to include “Dining for One”: those meals when Dot or I are out and the other still needs to eat. These meals will consist of easy things like microwavable TV dinners or frozen pizza. Maybe just Mac-n-Cheese with a side salad. I’m toying with the idea of throwing in two slips for when we eat out, like “Pizza Hut” or “Cheap Take Out”. But I’m worried that if I pull them both in the first week, we won’t have another outing for a month. So maybe that can be another colored memo that we know we only pull one every two weeks or something.
I’m paying attention to all your suggestions and ideas, and I really appreciate your feedback and sharing. In the first day, the Menu post has gained some popularity through Facebook, twitter, BlogHer.com and even Pinterest! That’s kinda cool in my Book.
So. Now for the recap. Ya’ ready? Here’s how the Meal Memo in a Jar worked for us so far in March:
1st: I was so excited to start this new idea! I stayed up til midnight last night writing and planning and photographing and blogging. So when I had the chance this morning, I started to drag Dot into the kitchen to pull the first menu. Halfway there she said, “Oh, I’m going to Grandma’s after school today.” Needless to say, my shoulders slouched. She felt really bad, but I assured her that days like these were really worked into the plan. I just didn’t expect it on Day 1. So here I am home alone at dinner time. And that’s when I figure a “Dinner for One” option will be included next month. Tonight, for me, I guess it’s Clean-Out-The-Fridge time. Yea… (*dripping sarcasm, for sure.)
2nd: This morning Hannah pulled the first menu card! Drumroll… “Steak bites, Baby Potatoes, Salad, *Leftovers”. The steak and potatoes are frozen fresh from Schwan’s. I order from them every so often to stock up my freezer and I’m so glad I did. Instead of making the entire batch and refrigerating leftovers for tomorrow, we opted to make just enough for tonight and put the card back in to draw later this month. Schwan’s foods almost always offer several ways to prepare the food. Tonight we went for the less-mess microwave method. In 10 minutes, we had hot potatoes and meat. I tossed a small salad with torn lettuce, diced tomato, carrots and snap peas. Oh, and I already had garlic toast leftover in the fridge that only took two minutes to warm up. It was a pretty fine meal, if I do say so myself.
3rd: Dot went out with friends so I had more leftovers. Instead of dinner, though, I opted to eat more of this morning’s Breakfast Frittata and hashbrowns. Fantastic and filling!
4th: Today’s Meal Memo called for Texas Hash. This excites me because this is a great recipe, super easy, and it’s included in my Cookbook! I took the last leftover bits of steakbites and potatoes and tossed those with lettuce and diced tomatoes for a great salad; and finished it off with Schwan’s frozen garlic toast. Super easy, super delicious. And so much Hash left over that I’m freezing half of it. We’ll eat leftovers tomorrow, and put the Meal Memo back in the jar. Next time it’s pulled, there’s no prep except to thaw, heat, and eat!
5th: Both Dot and I are pretty tired today. So very thankful for the leftovers in the fridge!
6th: Day 3 of leftovers; we’re finishing up the Texas Hash and the Breakfast Frittata. On a side note, am very happy that the Texas Hash photographed well enough to prob’ly make the cover of the Unemployment Cookbook!
7th: Believe it or not, one last day of leftovers! The frittata’s all gone, there’s a little bit of Texas Hash left… but I’m having a cup of yogurt and two frozen waffles. Yummm! *Full disclosure: After taking Dot to youth group I ran through McDonald’s for a burger and Shamrock Shake. They totally messed up my order and charged my card for someone else’s more expensive order. That’ll teach me to go off track…
8th: Dot’s going to her grandparents after school so I’m relegated to scrounging. I think scrambled eggs and toast are on the menu for me tonight. *Late nite note: I opted for peanut butter and pickle on a toasted English muffin.
9th: Finally got to pull another Meal Memo today! Today’s menu: “Dump” Chili, bread, and Jell-O. I chose strawberry-banana. For the chili, I just mixed two cans of no-bean chili, mixed vegetables, and seasoned diced tomatoes. I had everything prepped within 10 minutes. All I had to buy was some shredded cheese and I chose tortilla chips.
Mar 1, 2012 |
I’m not always good at meal planning. I forget to defrost the meat in time. Some days I’m too hungry to wait an hour or more for cooking. I get so busy that I just throw quick things together.
And you know what? I hate it. I had the three-week virus-turned-cough that drained any energy from me for days on end. February was also an otherwise busy month and I missed having dinners ready shortly after Dot got home from school. The kind that also provides those really good leftovers instead of “whatever-you-can-find” foods. Some days I didn’t cook at all and we opted for the semi-healthy fish taco take-out … or worse. Fast food at its finest.
And you know what? I. Hated. It.
I know I have enough in my dry goods pantry and in the freezer to make meals for the month. To be good at it would just take a little strategic planning. And fun.
So here we go.
Invariably, whenever I make a monthly meal plan, it gets waylaid by Day Ten. Things come up. Plans change. And the refrigerated meat I bought three days earlier is now starting to turn. Eww, right?!
So I came up with this great idea. One that will add family fun to the March meals. One that will make sure I take the meat out of the freezer in time. One that incorporates side dishes too.
First, I made sure whatever foods I bought at the first of the month could either be frozen or stored in the pantry. I also kept an “allowance” available for the periodic fresh shopping throughout the month.
Then I had to figure out how many meals to plan for. This is where my basic math skills come into play. Let’s see… 31 days in March. But we don’t always eat together at home. At least once a week, we eat at my mom’s. Twice a month we also eat out. That’s six days. About half of these meals will allow for next-day leftovers. So 31 minus six divided by two less leftovers… that’s just over two weeks worth of meals to really plan out. Round it up to three weeks to include a change of plans or extra meals for company… Hey, I can do that!
To make things more fun, I took some colored index cards and cut them in half. On each one, I wrote a main dish and side dish. For those meals that require fresh produce, I made a note on the bottom of the card so I’d be sure to stop at the store that day. I also noted whether this meal should provide leftovers (also good to know for the days we’re having company).
Once I started, I was amazed at how little time and effort it took to really make a meal plan for an entire month!
My plan is, each morning before we leave the house, I’ll let Dot pull a card from the Meal Jar, and whatever that card says is what I make for dinner that night. No exceptions. No trades. And no more excuses about not defrosting the meat on time. [The only exception would be if we’re having company which would necessitate a meal that offered more servings such as possible leftovers.]
With a little decorative label and a ribbon, my jar will be as pretty as it is functional.
I’m looking forward to a month of healthy, thought-out, ready to cook meals.
And you know what? I think I’m gonna love it.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
