How to Plan a YEAR of Content in Just 20 Minutes
What if I told you that you could plan out your entire content calendar for the next twelve months... in less time than it takes to scroll Instagram with your morning coffee? 🤯
It might sound a little too good to be true, but with the right system, it’s totally possible. And today, I'm going to walk you through the exact process I use to do just that.
This simple but powerful framework is what I call the Building Block Method, and it’s not just about saving time (though it does that really well). It also helps you:
Be more strategic with your content,
Reduce mental clutter,
Avoid last-minute scrambles,
And most importantly... create content that actually builds your business.
Let’s break it down!
Why Efficiency Matters More Than Ever
If you know me at all, you know I’m all about efficiency. Not because I want to get more busy work done, but because I want to get meaningful work done in less time.
I run four businesses. I homeschool my five kids. And I work just 20 hours per week.
Efficiency isn't optional for me — it's essential.
That’s why I love batching. When you batch similar tasks together, you eliminate a lot of time-wasting transitions and decision fatigue. For example, if I film four YouTube videos in one day, I can get them done in almost the same amount of time it would take me to film one per week. Total game changer.
So today, I’m going to show you how to batch one of the most important tasks in your business: your content strategy.
Step 1: Choose Your Core Platform
Before we get into the fun stuff, you need to know where your content is going to live.
This is your main platform — where you publish your most substantial content.
It could be:
YouTube
A podcast
Your blog
You might also be active on other platforms like Instagram or TikTok, but your core platform should be one where your long-form, high-value content lives. For me, that’s YouTube.
Step 2: Identify Your Core Content Formats
Now that you’ve picked your platform, decide on the types of content you’ll create.
Think of these as shapes in your building block set: tutorials, listicles, interviews, vlogs, storytime, etc.
Pick 2–4 formats that you enjoy and your audience resonates with. For example:
"How to" tutorials
Personal story videos
Listicle-style content ("5 Ways to...")
Keep it simple. No need to overcomplicate things here. All you need are 2-4 strong formats.
Step 3: Choose Your Main Topics (aka "Content Buckets")
Now let’s talk about what your content is actually about.
These are your content buckets — the major themes your content covers. I like to visualize these as colors. For example:
If you have a fitness brand, your topics might be:
Nutrition
Weightlifting
Supplement reviews
In my business, my three content buckets are:
Startups (starting an online business)
Sales (strategies to make more money)
Visibility (like YouTube and content marketing)
Pick 3–5 main topics that align with your brand, audience, and what you want to be known for.
Step 4: Brainstorm 5–10 Subtopics for Each Main Topic
Here’s where we start breaking things down into ideas for individual pieces of content.
For each main topic, brainstorm 5–10 subtopics. These are more specific ideas within the bigger bucket.
Example (for "Startups"):
How to choose a business idea
Business structures and legal setup
First steps to launch
Tools and software for beginners
And so on.
You don’t need to come up with finished content ideas yet — just specific topics. You can even ask ChatGPT to help you generate these if you're short on time.
Step 5: Come Up With Two Content Ideas Per Subtopic
Here comes the magic.
If you want to post one piece of long-form content per week, you need 52 ideas.
So, if you have 25 subtopics, you just need 2 content ideas per subtopic. That gets you 50 pieces of content right there.
Use your content formats (from Step 2) to spark ideas:
For "marketing basics," you could do:
A tutorial: "How to Plan Your First Marketing Campaign"
A storytime: "My Biggest Marketing Mistakes When I Was Starting Out"
Bonus tip: Use YouTube or Google to research what people are searching for around each subtopic.
Step 6: Put It on the Calendar
By spinning each of your ~25 subtopics into two unique pieces of content, you’ll now have 50+ content ideas — time to schedule them!
Use a calendar or project management tool (like Asana or Google Calendar) to schedule one piece of content per week.
You don’t need to permanently nail down every piece of content for the rest of the year — just get your schedule laid out so you have a plan. It will make it so much easier to stay consistent!
Step 7: Create Your Repurposing Strategy
You’re already putting so much thought and effort into this content — why not make it work twice (or three times) as hard?
Decide which platforms you want to repurpose for (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, your email list, even for lead-capturing quizzes!) and how you’ll reuse the content.
Thanks to AI tools (like a custom GPT), repurposing has never been easier. You can easy turn:
A YouTube video into a quality blog post
A blog post into personable email content
A podcast into entertaining short video clips for Reels or Shorts
Just make sure the repurposed content is actually valuable in its own right. Don’t just copy/paste transcripts. Edit, refine, and tailor it to the platform.
Final Thoughts: Simple + Strategic = Sustainable + Effective
Content marketing is a powerful way to build trust, grow your audience, and generate leads. But you don’t need to be glued to your screen to make it work.
With the Building Block Method, you can:
Plan your content for the whole year
Stay consistent with minimal effort
Be more intentional and strategic
And the best part? You can do it in about 20 minutes. (Okay, maybe half an hour if you want to get fancy. 😉)
Want to Learn How to Turn Your Visibility Into Sales?
Creating content is just the first step. If you want to learn how to turn that visibility into paying customers, check out my 10-episode podcast series: The 100K Method.
I walk you step-by-step through the exact sales strategy I use to run a 6-figure business in just 20 hours a week.
You got this!
ON DEMAND YOUTUBE WORKSHOP
Interested in reaching 1,000 YouTube subscribers and getting monetized in as little as 30 days?
Register for my free workshop to learn the most important factor for racking up watch hours as quickly as possible, how to maximize every viewer that finds your channel so you can reach your goal with fewer videos, and a surprisingly simple strategy for slashing the time it takes to get monetized by half!
