We Need to Talk about Batching
Episode Overview
Ever feel like the productivity strategy that everyone swears by just doesn’t work for you? You’re not alone! In today’s episode, Branda's challenging the highly praised technique of batching. If you’ve tried it and found yourself more stressed than productive, it might be time for a rethink. Branda dives into traditional batching methods, discuss why they may not work for everyone, and explores flexible alternatives that better suit your unique needs.
Tune in as Branda discusses:
The Benefits and Challenges of Batching
Rethinking Traditional Batching
Alternative Batching Strategies
The Importance of a Personalized Batching System
Mentioned in the episode:
https://www.therelevantcollective.com/retainer
For many years, I preached the powers of batching content. And I still stand by that opinion! But it has shifted just a bit. The reality is that batching is hard for a lot of business owners, especially when you’re working solo. However, batching has a lot of benefits: it keeps you consistent, reduces stress, and produces more thoughtful content. So, what do you do when batching feels impossible?
Let’s Rethink Traditional Batching
I want to start by rethinking traditional batching.
Typically, we are told batching content means dedicating time to do a bunch of tasks together. So you might batch your SEO keyword research. Then batch write blogs. Or batch your email planning and then batch write the emails. You’re grouping tasks together, so you’re not task-switching (which slows you down).
But batching isn’t as simple as it sounds. There’s a big time difference between batching SEO keywords and blogs. Keywords might take 15-30 minutes, but writing could take an hour. Are you going to be able to carve out several hours in a row to write? Do you even want to do that?
Finding a System that Works for You
The best way to handle this batching problem is to drop whatever routine you think you’re supposed to be doing - and instead find the one that works for you.
For example, when I started my podcast, I would batch-record episodes and then find time later to write all the blog posts and emails. This turned out to be a horrible system. Even though it prevented task-switching, it was much harder to write emails later when I’d forgotten when I even said in the episode.
Instead, I created a new system. I found that recording the podcast and writing the email and blog right after worked better. The information was fresh in my mind, and I could knock out an email in 15 minutes (as opposed to 30 minutes when I sat down to write it weeks later).
Alternatives to Batching Content
So, how can you batch content while also being more flexible? Let’s talk about a few systems that might work.
#1 Put a Spin on Traditional Batching: Maybe you can’t batch all your emails or blogs at once. But you could get a few weeks ahead. Or maybe, like me, you decide to batch related content together - like writing a blog, email, and social caption about the same topic.
#2 Write When You Feel Inspired: This one can be a bit tricky, but it works well for some people. Maybe there are random moments throughout the month where you feel really creative and inspired. Use these moments to get ahead on your content. My caution here is not to rely on this as your only form of batching because those creative moments can be fleeting.
#3 Hire Some Help: The best way to batch? Hire some help. 😆 When I write weekly emails for clients, we always plan a month ahead, and I deliver everything at once. That means when the next month rolls around, everything is written, scheduled, and ready to go! Learn more about my copywriting retainer here.
#4 Create a CEO Day or CEO Time: This has been my personal favorite way to batch content. Every Friday, I focus on just my business tasks. That means creating content for the next week or so. If you don’t have a whole day you can dedicate, select an hour or two throughout the week, like Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8am to 10am.
#5 Co-Work and Write: Sometimes you need a little motivation and peer pressure to batch content. Find a business friend and plan batching sessions together. You could meet once a week or a couple times a month - but your goal is to spend a dedicated hour writing your content and getting ahead.
You may have to experiment with how you batch content. And remember that in each season of life, you might need different things. Again, when my schedule wasn’t as busy, traditional batching worked for me. But nowadays, I dedicate specific times during my CEO days or after a podcast recording to write.
While traditional batching may not work for you, it’s still important to find a system that does work and stick with it. When you’re willy-nilly writing emails, you’re going to miss deadlines and get sloppy with content creation. That does have consequences. You may lose the engagement of your subscribers or struggle to make sales.