One of the most common objections I hear about batching is from clients who say they’ve tried it, but it “just didn’t work.”
I’m always a bit skeptical of this answer. So, when we dig deeper, I find that they tried batching one, maybe two, times and stopped when they felt it didn’t work perfectly.
Here’s the thing though: batching is a nuanced process and it will likely take some time to get it to work for you.
The classic way people try to batch for the first time is to block out time on their calendar to create. Then, they sit down and try to create four posts at once from start to finish.
While that process may work for some, it is by no means the only way to batch.
Here’s an example of how one of my clients makes batching work for her.
She spends one week per month creating 4-5 posts for the upcoming month. But, she breaks it out across three sessions.
- In session one, she outlines and brainstorms for each post.
- Then, in session two, she drafts any written posts or records any video posts.
- The final session is where she edits and uploads videos, polishes written posts, and finalizes any worksheets that will go with the posts. She also drafts the newsletter content to send the posts out each week.
At this point, the posts are handed off to her team to complete and publish on the appropriate date.
This process works way better for her than starting a post and finishing it off in one sitting. She generally blocks off three hours for each session, and at the end of the week she has 4-5 completed posts.
Now, of course, you might be thinking, “Nine hours! That’s insanity!” But if you consider that she’s gotten an entire MONTH of content ready to go in one week, nine hours really isn’t so bad.
Plus, she then gets three additional weeks of the month to devote to other business building projects. Amazing, right?
Now, let’s compare her batching process with mine.
I also shoot to create all my content for the month in a single week. But, I block off 1-2 hours per day to write 1-2 posts per session. I like to draft my posts from start to finish and I prefer working in shorter bursts when I’m creating content.
I generally get all the posts ready in three work sessions. This means the fourth session is when I write most of my newsletters. On the final day, I have time to wrap up any posts or newsletters as needed.
I then turn it all over to my VA to finish up. So, in 5 sessions, I create 4-5 posts and 4-5 newsletters. But, as you see, I do it very differently than my client.
The important take away here is that batching is a really valuable process, and there is no “right” way to batch. So, it’s important to make a plan and try it on for size. (Link to how to batch).
It may take some tweaking to feel good for you, but in the end you’ll be glad you stuck with it.
So start with a batching method that makes sense to you and work towards improving it as you work through it. The end result will be a process that helps you maximize your content creation efforts plus give you more time and freedom to attack other business activities!
