When you’ve got work piling up, how are you going to fit content marketing tasks into your busy schedule?
In this episode, we’re talking about one way to plan your time and increase your productivity so that you start—and finish!—those necessary marketing projects.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[01:12] Introduction
[02:25] Set Up Your Own Simple Project Management System First
[05:37] Schedule Planned Time for Content Marketing Tasks
[07:57] Utilize Unplanned Time to Get More Work Done
[10:28] A Few Tips
[13:31] Bloopers
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Asana
Teamwork
AppSumo
FreePrintableCalendar.com
[Meghan] I think many of us are familiar with pushing content marketing projects to the side when more pressing tasks pop up. Personally, I’ve done this plenty of times.
We tend to reason it out as having other priorities, but that’s an excuse. What’s really going on is that you haven’t planned your work or your time.
[Theresa] That means you’re not thinking about your content deliverables because you haven’t made marketing a priority. And there’s the issue!
You’ve got to approach marketing like you mean it. After all, marketing helps you get that next customer, so your business relies on it.
[Meghan] Many times we see marketing as a “nice to have.” But, if you expect marketing to contribute to your business goals, you’ve got to prioritize it.
[Theresa] And, what helps to prioritize your content marketing workload? Planning!
We know…you’re sick of us talking about planning! But basic planning helps you identify the tasks you need to be working on.
And once these tasks are on your radar, you can start squeezing content onto your list of priorities—and into your busy schedule.
Set Up Your Own Simple Project Management System First
[Meghan] So how do you get tasks on your radar? The key is to create your own project and task management system. It sounds complex! But, it’s really just a fancy way of talking about planning.
This system is an organized way of identifying content marketing projects, the tasks that need to get done for those projects, and the due dates associated with each. Then you put all of that information into an app that’s accessible from anywhere.
[Theresa] Don’t let the concept of creating a “system” overwhelm you.
Truthfully, whether you realize it or not, you probably have some sort of system in place already. So you’ll likely be building on that.
So how are you going to start? The first thing to do is to block some time on your calendar. This will be the time you spend to plan your work.
During this exercise, write out your projects and assign due dates to each. Next, list all of the tasks associated with each project. Then, assign due dates to each task.
By writing it all down, it gets out of your head so that you can start taking action. This process also lets you see whether or not your project deadline is realistic. And if it’s a repeatable process, it’ll make doing the task again faster and easier.
[Meghan] That’s what I do. Working backwards from the due date makes you better at time management. It’s all in front of you, so you’re forced to plan—and that’s the beauty of it.
Sometimes, I actually print out three months from a free online calendar website. This makes it easier to visualize the tasks in relation to due dates.
The thing is…it’s not always obvious to you what tasks each project entails, especially if you’ve never tackled a similar project before.
So, do a little research, take a guess, and write down the tasks you think of. Experience is your teacher, and it’s okay not to know it all. That does mean your project management is messy at first.
[Theresa] Exactly! You’re not striving for perfection. This is about getting out what’s in your head and documenting it so that you knock out your content marketing projects.
After you’ve documented the projects, tasks, and due dates, transfer that information to an app. The goal is to be able to access this information from your computer, smartphone, tablet—wherever and whenever you need to.
I use Asana for my project management and we use it for the podcast. Meghan uses Teamwork too.
[Meghan] So, all of that—identifying projects, tasks, and due dates and putting it into an online app—is what makes fitting content marketing tasks into a busy schedule possible and manageable.
This is setting up a system or a process, and although this sounds like basic stuff, a lot of solopreneurs and small teams do not plan their work! What we’re going over next relies on you knowing what tasks need accomplished and when. That’s why we started there.
Here's some advice to help you knock out those content marketing projects when you're short on time. Click To TweetSchedule Planned Time for Content Marketing Tasks
[Theresa] So, once you know your tasks, that brings us to actually fitting them into your schedule.
You’ve got planned time and unplanned time. Planned time is the time you’ve blocked on your calendar to tackle a task. Unplanned time is when you have time available unexpectedly or maybe even when you’ve forgotten to schedule your time.
[Meghan] Let’s talk about planned time first.
Once you know your content marketing tasks, you can schedule time on your calendar to complete them.
We’re talking about tasks like:
- Content research, writing, editing
- Promotion, outreach
- Image creation
- Website stuff
- Email, phone communications
- Social media
These things take time. To get them done, they’ve gotta go on your calendar. You must fit them into your schedule. And that’s where you can get creative.
[Theresa] Right! You can’t add extra hours to your day. But you can plan your time better.
So, if you’re looking at an already-full day, how are you going to squeeze more tasks in?
How you approach this puzzle will depend on your work priorities. Since content marketing is vital to your business growth and success, you’ll want to make time for it in your day.
A great first place to start is to identify where there is waste in your day. What tasks aren’t contributing to your ROI? Which tasks just take too long with no clear benefit? Then remove those from your daily “todo” list.
Another way to save time is to group like tasks together. For example, activities like checking email, social media comments, texts and phone messages can be done together during assigned times throughout the day. This saves oodles of time!
You can also find time for your content marketing by rescheduling things that are not high priority. This could be projects that don’t need to get done right now. Or meetings with colleagues that simply aren’t important. I struggle with this one frequently myself because I love to be helpful.
Setting boundaries, though, is super important. So don’t be afraid to say no. If you don’t, you’ll find your day filled with other people’s priorities.
Utilize Unplanned Time to Get More Work Done
[Meghan] I love planned tasks because once a task is on my calendar, my brain is already subconsciously preparing for it. This makes my time spent on a task even more effective.
But, unplanned time is sometimes a powerhouse for me too. So, let’s talk about unplanned time, which is really just another way of talking about those moments when you find yourself free and able to work on something but don’t have anything planned.
Take advantage of those unplanned moments when you find yourself free and able to work but don’t have anything planned.
This is spare time that pops up when:
- You’re waiting for an appointment, at the train station, or at a restaurant
- Someone cancels on you at the last minute
- You’re wide awake late at night or early in the morning (I love writing in bed! I’m great at planning and writing at like 5 am in bed)
- You have a long bathroom break (yep, I said it, I put it out there)
[Theresa] OK. I’m not at all surprised that Meghan works on the toilet. However, I can’t believe she just fessed up to it publicly! Wow, we’ve hit a new level of transparency on the podcast!
[Meghan] I mean, during the pandemic you gotta find peace and quiet somewhere, you know? LOL
[Theresa] Oh my, I don’t know what else to say…and that’s hard to do.
Anyway, you get the point that unplanned time can happen any day, at any time (and apparently anywhere! lol).
So, you’ve got to be prepared to take advantage of those moments. Being prepared means knowing what’s on your task priority list at any given moment.
And here’s where the project management app and mobile aspect become even more crucial.
When spare time becomes available, you can quickly check your app to find a task to work on. So wherever you are, you can open the app to check your marketing to-do list.
A project management app is your best friend when it comes to managing your time!
[Meghan] And if you’ve blocked time on your calendar, you can also pull from there to find tasks to do during unplanned time.
Start looking at unplanned time as an opportunity, and you’ll waste less time. And have your work tasks laid out in an app or a calendar to support both your planned and unplanned time.
You’d be surprised at how squeezing tasks into your day or week becomes easier and how your marketing productivity increases just by planning and using your time more efficiently.
A Few Tips for How to Fit Content Marketing Tasks into Your Busy Schedule
[Theresa] And not just using your time more efficiently, but more effectively too. You’re 100% more effective when there is a priority list to pull tasks from. It keeps you focused on the things that matter and protects you from wasting time doing the unnecessary.
Okay, we have a few suggestions for you when it comes to what we talked about in this episode.
Customize the System to Make it Yours
First, take what we’re shared today and make it yours. We shared one way to systemize your project management, but this isn’t the only way. Do what works for you.
Make it Mobile
Also, using cloud-based tools and mobile apps drastically increases your productivity and your ability to collaborate. When you can access your documents and apps from anywhere, it’s easier to manage your time and therefore use your time more skillfully.
One more benefit? If you’re working with a small team, like Meghan and I do, a cloud-based tool allows everyone to see what’s going on and the progress being made. This minimizes the amount of communication time between the team.
Again, marketing productivity and finishing projects are less about the need for more time and more about doing what matters and spending time wisely. Quality versus quantity.
Boundaries Make You More Effective
[Meghan] And I’ll add that boundaries are a good thing. We live in a society that rebels against rules and constraints. But sometimes boundaries are good and make you more effective. After all, deadlines help you finish projects and reach your marketing goals.
So, if you need to, shift your mindset around how you view parameters.
Personally, boundaries in my business have improved my productivity. But, that makes sense for my personality. So, do what works for you, but I encourage you to have an open mind about boundaries and self-imposed deadlines.
Planning Reveals Areas of Growth
And lastly, planning your marketing projects, tasks, and time improves your time management skills. But there may be some growing pains at first! Over time, you’ll get better at working in your business. In fact, planning and systemizing reveals where you can—and where you should—outsource.
[Theresa] That’s a good thought to end on!
By the way, if you missed the previous episode, be sure to go back and listen to it! Meghan and I made an announcement about the new theme of the podcast. So, check it out if you haven’t already.
[Meghan] Also, your positive ratings and reviews help us immensely. If you’d like to support the show, please give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Thanks a bunch and we’ll see you next week.
Want to know when a new episode and blog post launch each week? Click the FOLLOW US button below to get notified!
