If you're anything like me — juggling paying work, parenting, home life, errands, fitness — you might find limited time to sit down at an actual desk to blog or work on your blog-related tasks. So here's a roundup of plenty of things you can do while you're on your smartphone or tablet.
A few of these links are affiliate links, but most are just free apps. I use what I recommend.
Draft a blogpost.
If you're a minimalist blogger (mostly plain text), you might be able to post from your smartphone using one of the blogging apps (WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr on Android & iOS), using email uploads (Blogger, WordPress.com, self-hosted WordPress), or navigating to the site on mobile.
For me, I find the apps and mobile experience inadequate for all the images and coding and customization I love to cram into my posts, so I prefer to finalize things on desktop. BUT, I can absolutely WRITE a blogpost draft while I'm out. I just prefer to do it in email. I use Gmail's Inbox app and like that it saves my drafts well. I just pop my own address into the to field, make the subject line my title, and then Swype away in the text field. I'm Swyping this right now, matter of fact. I'd like to experiment, once I figure out the best headset, with dictating blogposts while I walk, using Dragon Dictation, the native Google voice-recognition on my phone, or another speech-to-text capability. (Here's how one person does this via Evernote.)
Edit your drafts.
If you have a blogpost draft you want to edit, email it to yourself or upload it to Google Docs and use the Google Drive app (Android & iOS) to access it. It has a nice autosave feature, and it will sync with your desktop version of course.
Check and reply to email.
I find being on my phone actually makes this easier, because brevity feels right. Bam. Email done.
Read other blogs.
I use Feedly for my subscriptions now, and I've learned the mobile gesture shortcuts to make the process easy. Save for later articles you want to read in depth or share, or just do it now if you have the concentration time.
Share posts — your own or others.
Your phone will let you pin, tweet, post on Facebook. Go for it. I prefer Hootsuite to manage my (way too many) social media accounts, so I've paid for Pro. You might could get by with Free. I embrace the Autoschedule feature. That way, you can tweet up a storm at whatever random spare moment you have, but those tweets will filter out to your followers gradually at the best times.
Instagram your life.
Share the photos from your phone or better ones you uploaded to your phone or Google Photos earlier. With the new Instagram algorithm (love it or hate it), it shouldn't matter as much when or how often you post. Find new people to follow (you'll likely get some follows back) by searching the hashtags you love and use. Browse everyone else's pics and give some love.
Listen on Twitter.
I have specific streams saved in Hootsuite for this purpose: one natural parenting-related for @Hobo_Mama, one writing for @LaurenWaynecom, and one homeschooling for @PirateFamilyFun. I look for interesting things to retweet or reply to. If your Twitter list is manageable, you can browse live tweets. If it feels out of control, maybe you want to prepare some Twitter lists (easiest to do ahead of time) to group your following into handy categories. These can be either public or private. As long as the categorization is flattering, most tweeters appreciate being on a public list.
Reply to tweets.
Thank retweeters, answer questions.
Record a podcast.
I hear tell Katy does this.
Vlog and walk.
So healthy! So outdoorsy! Just don't run into anything.
Comment on blogposts.
Maybe. This can, admittedly, be kind of annoying from your phone, but it depends on the commenting system. You can also reply to comments on your own posts.
Pin on Pinterest.
I find the Pinterest app (Android and iOS) pretty much as easy to use as the desktop version. The long clicking takes some getting used to, but then it's simple enough. Pin, pin, pin. With the smart feed algorithm on Pinterest, it shouldn't matter as much if you're pinning in a hurry. As you're pinning things you love, take the time to follow boards and users that pop up as suggestions — you'll likely get some relevant followers back.
If you use Tailwind, there's an easy way to schedule pins on iOS. Scheduling on Android requires setting a secret email address, which is a little fiddlier, so I hope they come up with a better solution soon.
If you're pinning to group boards, I recommend the scheduler BoardBooster — you pin to a secret board that's on the same topic as the group boards. Then BoardBooster sends those secret pins out to the group boards on the prearranged schedule you've set (e.g., one pin per day), so you don't run afoul of group board rules. BoardBooster has a mobile site to set things up, but the beauty is you can use the scheduling features from the native Pinterest app, taking advantage of those secret boards.
Post to Facebook.
I like the Pages Manager and Facebook apps for business and personal posting, respectively. Which is good, because that's what there is. No, but seriously, they work well and make posting, scheduling posts, interacting with likes and comments, and even managing Facebook ads easy. Actually, there's now a Facebook ads manager app if you want to go there.
Research.
For a blogpost topic or a blogging topic. Save your finds in Evernote.
Watch videos.
If you're in a quiet space or have headphones, it can be a great way to zone into a blogging tutorial or other media to follow.
Catch up on podcasts.
Same.
Brainstorm new posts.
Fill in your editorial calendar with help from something like Google Calendar or Google Sheets.
Flip over Flipboard.
Read and share articles, and add your own on Android and iOS. (If you want to follow, apparently this is me? Who knew.)
Get your Google+ on.
Plus one some great posts, post your own, and join groups and add to circles from the app.
Link up on LinkedIn.
To be frank, I never use LinkedIn. But there is an app, so if that's your thing, link yourself in.
Snap to it on Snapchat.
What do bloggers do on Snapchat? Heck if I know, but there's an app for that.
Send out a newsletter.
Mailchimp, which is what I use, has a mobile-friendly site. Check to see if your newsletter service does. Even if you want to fine-tune it on your computer, you could get a solid draft saved.
Catch up on your reading.
If you want to review a book for your blog, see if you can get an e-version that will travel with you wherever you go and can be accessed whenever you have spare moments.
Interact with blogging groups on Facebook.
I'm a member of several blogging and writing groups on Facebook. Some are for mutual post sharing, so I use my phone to read, comment, and share other members' posts. Some groups are more varied or social in nature, so I interact on my phone. The Facebook app (or mobile site) makes this a simple and enjoyable way to stay connected with bloggy friends.
Check your analytics.
Google Analytics works ok on mobile. While you're checking out what's blowing up, go ahead and schedule a few shares of your most popular posts.
Check your AdSense or other revenue.
Here's the mobile address. It's fun to obsess!
Comment on YouTube videos.
The Creator Studio app (Android and iOS) has an easy interface that allows you to approve comments on your YouTube channel, reply, share your videos, schedule or publish a video, and check your earnings.
Network.
If you're the type of blogger who has interviews to do and video calls to make, you could do that in an office, or you could do it at the beach, if you see what I mean.
I hope this list gives you some ideas the next time you're out and about without your laptop but with your trusty tablet or smartphone. Leave your own ideas in the comments! You can get a multitude of tasks done in captured moments that will further your blog, make you feel productive, and allow you to focus on other tasks the next time you're desk-bound.
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