How to Easily Batch Create Content to Increase Productivity

Tell me if this sounds familiar: You want to start some sort of side hustle, but you already have a full-time job that you aren’t willing to give up and you aren’t sure if you can balance the two. Does this sound like something you’ve thought about? Is it even possible? Short answer: yes. How to Easily Batch Create Content

You can balance a side hustle and a full-time job. 

Will it be easy? Nope. I’m not gonna lie, it definitely won’t be a walk in the park. But if you’re really passionate about your side hustle, you will always find the time and be excited to work on it. There are plenty of ways to fit everything into your schedule, but you may have to move around your typical activities to make time. 

As someone who runs a YouTube channel that posts one to two times every week, publishes a blog post every week, creates and schedules hundreds of pins, posts on Instagram a few times a week, and creates online courses and digital products throughout the year while also working 40 hours a week at a creative agency, I can assure you that it is indeed possible to do it all. 

Before we dive into my schedule, check out my free ebook: “Which Online Business is Right for You?” If you haven’t started a side hustle yet and are interested in learning what goes into creating a blog, YouTube channel, online course, or podcast, that free guide will be super helpful. I break down the time commitment for each business and describe the type of content and marketing needed to be successful in each. Check it out if you need a better idea of how much time each business will take up during your week! 

Alright, let’s dive into how I balance a side hustle and a full-time job throughout my week. 

 

During the Week 

If you plan on getting work done during the week, the first and most important thing is determining when you are most productive. Are you a morning person or a night owl? I personally can roll out of bed and start typing a blog post. (Which in fact, is literally what I’m doing right now.) I grab my coffee and I am a content-creating machine! However, there are plenty of you who probably have razor-sharp focus super late at night. Determine that perfect time for you and then you can start to figure out how to incorporate side hustle work into your routine. 

Work During Your Highest Productivity Time

Since my productive peak is in the morning, I get up around 6:30 or 7 am, make my coffee, and get to work at 7:30 am. I start my actual job around 9 or 9:30, so that gives me about 2 hours to work on my blog. I like to plan out what I want to work on the night before so I don’t waste any time. For example, I’ll spend those 2 hours editing a new YouTube video for the week, writing a new blog post, or drafting my email newsletter. I set one or two tasks that I can realistically get done in that time frame and get to it! 

Do Mindless Tasks While Watching TV

Now, even though I love working in the mornings, I can sneak in some mindless tasks at night while I watch TV. One thing I love doing while I watch TV is designing pins for Pinterest. If I wrote a blog post earlier that morning that needs pins or I just need a new surge of traffic to my blog posts, I’ll design a bunch of pins while I watch TV. It’s not hard since I use a few templates for my pins and it doesn’t require much brainpower. If you need some help figuring out how to design pins for your blog or website, check out my free Pinterest Design Guide. 

 

The Weekend 

Oh boy, when I get to the weekend I have all the time in the world to work on my side hustles! I know, it may sound strange being so excited to do more work on the weekends when you’re supposed to be relaxing. But like I mentioned at the beginning, if you love what you’re working on, it won’t seem like a burden. 

Write Out a Plan of Action

Every Saturday morning when I wake up, I grab my coffee and plan out my to-do list of what I want to get done this weekend. It can be anything from writing new blog posts and sections of my online course to shooting new YouTube videos and Instagram pictures. I also make sure to make a note of any sort of family events, lunches, brunches, or dinners that I need to work around. You don’t need to completely bail on your social life! 

Since I shoot YouTube videos and Instagram pics in my room, I also make sure to schedule that in when the lighting is good. This is just a tiny detail, but it helps plan my day. The light in my room isn’t good until mid-afternoon, so I shoot my videos then and write blog posts in the morning. 

Take Breaks and Enjoy Them

Again, you can split this up however works best for you. Maybe you want to power through all your content creation in one day so the next day can be totally free to spend with friends or family. I usually find myself working in the mornings and spending the afternoon with my friends at the beach or watching shows. It’s important to take breaks so you don’t get burned out. 

Batch Creating Content

You could even spend a weekend batch-creating content, so you don’t have to work every single weekend. If you’ve never heard of batching content, let me break it down for you: 

“Batch creating content refers to the grouping of similar tasks that require similar resources in order to increase efficiency and productivity.”

 

Here’s an example of how to batch create content on the weekend:

Day One: Outlining

Friday morning or night I usually draft out ideas for my blog posts and YouTube videos. This includes brainstorming and outlining my blog content and YouTube scripts. This portion never takes too long. Just write down all your ideas into bullet points and get a good outline of the content you want to create tomorrow.

If you’re stuck on what to write about, check out my friend Brianna’s list of 100 Blog Post Ideas. This is a great list for lifestyle bloggers!

 

Day Two: Drafting out the Content 

Now that you’ve found out when you’re most productive, devote that time to writing or creating your actual content. So let’s say you want to get 3 blog posts written today. Set aside any distractions, open Google Docs or Word and get writing! Look at the outlines you wrote the day before and start filling out your blog posts. Don’t worry about putting in links or finding images. The whole point of batch creating content is to only do one type of task. For today, that task is writing. So let those words flow in a stream of consciousness without worrying about editing. Since you’re only focused on writing, you should feel pretty warmed up by the time you get to your second or third blog post.

If you have anything else that requires writing, do that too! I typically write my email newsletters around the same topic as my blog posts, so once I’ve written those, I also write out drafts of my newsletters. 

If you’re a YouTuber, this day can be for shooting. Don’t worry about editing the footage yet, just get all the scenes and clips you need for your video today. 

 

Day Three: Editing and Scheduling

Return to your blog posts with fresh eyes and start editing them. Since I write my posts in a Google Doc first, I edit them there and then transfer them over to WordPress when they’re ready. This is when you will also edit any of the formattings so the headings and body text all appear correctly on your blog. 

You’ll also add any internal/external links, images, banners, etc. Once it all looks good and you’ve checked your SEO, added keywords, and a metadata description, it’s time to schedule your post. Repeat these steps for all the posts you have drafted and schedule them throughout the week or month. It’s a super satisfying feeling to know you’re done! 

Also do the same for your email newsletters, if that applies to you. 

If you’re a YouTuber, spend this time editing your video. Keep in mind editing a video takes way longer than editing a blog post, so you can even split up video editing over the span of a few days. 

On day three, if I feel like I have extra time, I also might take some Instagram photos for the week. Don’t worry if you can’t fit it in, but it is nice to have some photos done ahead of time. 

 

Final Thoughts

Phew, that’s a lot. Really what it comes down to is finding a way to develop a schedule that works for you. So while this may work for me, some of these methods may not be best for you. That’s totally ok! I simply provided my schedule so it could inspire you to create your own. The most important takeaway is to realize that it is possible to balance a side hustle and a full-time job. 

Try creating a schedule for the upcoming weekend to batch create content. See how it works for you. I found that I was way more productive when I batched similar tasks together instead of trying to do one whole blog post in one sitting. Plus, I still want to enjoy my social life while working on my side hustles and a full-time job. There’s a way to balance it all without getting overwhelmed. 

If you need more inspiration about starting an online business and creating content, be sure to check out my other blog posts and YouTube videos about my techniques:

My Five Streams of Passive Income

My Weekend Content Creation Routine (VIDEO)

How I Started My Online Businesses

How to Create a Branding Guidelines Deck for Instagram

How I Make Extra Money Every Month With Side Hustles

How I Balance Work with my Side Hustles