Batch Like a Productive + Profitable Girl Boss
Content creation usually isn't the favorite part of any content creators business. Like much of life...there's so many moving parts.
When you see a beautifully written blog article, you rarely think about how long it took for that article to be produced.
Rarely as in NEVER!
However when you are the creator, you might think what in the hell am I going to produce. An easy way to rid yourself of those thoughts: create an editorial calendar.
What's that?!?
A fancy or not so fancy plan for your upcoming content.
An easy way to develop an editorial calendar is to think of 3 categories that you address in your services and(or) products. You want these to be general categories because you'll get specific as you move on.
For example: Productivity, business tips and systems.
Then brainstorm topics underneath each. Assign a date and how you'll distribute this content. Boom!
There's some marketers that will tell you blogging is dead.
Content is king and you're the queen.
You need each other.
Content creation goes so much deeper than blogging. Whatever your poison [blogging, video,podcast, etc], make sure you have a beautiful castle for this content king to reside [your website].
So we've established that you're the queen! But to become a true boss, you'll need to batch!
Batching is what makes producing content manageable and easy.
Batching is when you do a lot of one thing for a set period of time.
Let's say you set a schedule where you blog weekly.
That's 4 blog posts a month. I know my math skills are remarkable...stay with me.
Did you know it's easier to push out all four articles than each one individually?
Yep. Science and psychology back me up on this.
Switching tasks or multitasking reduces your productivity by 40%.
When multitasking, we typically switch tasks every 3 minutes and 5 seconds.
When work is interrupted it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back on task.
Batching decreases the time lost between switching tasks.
Ultimately batching allows you to increase concentration and decrease distraction.
Cookies are made in batches because it's easier and it saves time. Besides who eats just one cookie?
Batching your content is the same. Well, it might not be as sweet and gratifying instantly like a cookie, but it saves time with your processes.
Here are some things in your business and life that you can start batching this week:
Email: set up a time and system so you can check your emails and respond to them within an hour or two [an hour would be awesome]. Tim Ferris says he checks his once a day and responds all at once. Such will power that guy has. I’m on a twice a day schedule, that works pretty well.
Phone calls: have a running list of who you need to call on a sheet/in notebook on your desk. Set aside a day or two throughout the week and a time for you to make/return all the calls.
Content creation: Pick one day a month and block off 4 [or more] hours of your most productive time to create content. Add additional days if you have multiple streams of content to create.
Editing content: Pick one day a month/week and block off a set amount of time during your most alert time of day to edit your amazing content.
Curating content for social media shares: Once a week pick a light day to peruse your favorite websites for content to share with your peeps. Doing this on one day at one time, saves oh so much time. Versus taking a few minutes here and there, because the whole act of switching is time consuming. Once complete, schedule your social media for the week.
Client work or projects: complete client work or similar projects all at once until complete. So when you’re done...you’re done. No need to keep your mind boggled down with uncompleted work.
Expenses: weekly or monthly set aside time to review your personal and business expenses. Have a plan on what you’re documenting and reviewing. What actions need to be taken as well as what milestones/rewards you should set for meeting your expense goals each month.
Productivity to profits is the goal around here.
Cooking: schedule in time to plan what you’ll eat for the week, even the days and nights you plan to eat out. On Sundays, set aside time to meal prep and have a cooking party preparing for the week.
Cleaning: schedule in time to tidy up. Cluttered spaces really deter productivity and creativity.
Planning: each week you should have time scheduled in to plan for your next week. Include time to brain dump and sort out new ideas.
Often times people think that when you plan and essentially control your time, that it stifles creativity. Batching is quite the opposite. You are ensuring that you set aside time to go deep within your creative space without being interrupted and produce a greater value of work
Batching provides you with freedom to have fun or take a nap when all the work is complete. What more could a girlboss ask for?
