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YouTube is a tough gig to balance with everyday life. It takes time to make quality videos, and that clashes with so many things: working full-time, going to school, connecting with family and friends. The list goes on.
Creators who last the longest always have a plan. They audit their daily schedules to find pockets of free time for shooting and editing. Then they ask themselves, What kind of YouTube workflow fits my lifestyle?
In this episode of TubeTalk, we speak with someone who has the answer: TechnicallyTee. He’s a tech creator who makes unboxing videos, gear reviews, and tech tutorials for more than 40,000 subscribers. He also has a traditional job and a family, so perfecting his YouTube workflow was necessary. Now he’s super productive, uploading content to his YouTube channel almost daily.
“It took me about a year and a half [to figure it out] because I’ve been going hard like this for maybe about four, five months now,” TechnicallyTee says. “And that’s because I’ve found [this YouTube setup], and I’m taking advantage of the time I have with this workflow.”
Do you wish you were more organized as a YouTube creator? More consistent with your content? Here’s your roadmap to a better workflow, courtesy of TechnicallyTee.
Many people overlook the power of planning when they start a YouTube channel. It’s easier to do something more exciting, like shopping for cameras or researching the best YouTube niches. But in reality, nothing is more important than brainstorming video ideas. It’s how you grow a thriving channel, so you’ll feel lost without frequent planning sessions.
Read More: 7 Tips to Craft Irresistible Video Ideas on YouTube
TechnicallyTee recommends four steps to get started:
For example, TechnicallyTee does all of his planning on Sundays. That’s when he sits down to brainstorm video ideas, write them on a whiteboard, and determine which videos get filmed that week.
When Monday arrives, he’s ready to produce a video. TechnicallyTee starts shooting at 7:30 a.m., and he spends the next three hours recording, editing, and making a YouTube thumbnail. He finishes by 10:30 a.m. and prepares to start his regular job soon after – a schedule that repeats Monday through Friday.
If waking up at 6 a.m. isn’t your thing, that’s OK. But like TechnicallyTee, try to find your productivity zone for shooting videos, whether that’s the morning, afternoon, or evening.
To post as many YouTube videos as possible, you need a dedicated recording space. It should be large enough to fit all of your equipment – tripods, camera bodies, and microphones – and quiet enough to block out extra noise.
“The room itself [is] a tremendous help because there’s no way I would be able to pump out as many videos if I had to constantly put up equipment and take it down,” TechnicallyTee says. “It would just be tiring.”
We always say creators don’t need expensive gear to grow on YouTube, and that’s still true. With just a smartphone and reliable WiFi, you can get 1,000 subscribers on YouTube in no time.
Despite that, there are benefits to having better gear.
For example, a fast laptop won’t freeze and shut down when you’re editing 4K videos. The right lighting saves you from having to do a color correction job on an otherwise perfect video. Even having multiple camera bodies – which TechnicallyTee swears by – saves time. You don’t need transitions because you have multiple angles in the video.
“Now I have so much gear – and I have the right gear – to where I can sit down, stuff is automated, and boom: It [turns] on…. For me, I feel like that’s where the gear does matter,” TechnicallyTee says.
To be the most productive on YouTube, you need a collection of gear: lights, audio, multiple cameras, tripods, etc. Nothing has to be expensive, but each purchase should enhance your workflow.
Batch-recording is the oldest trick in the YouTube book. Everyone swears by it because you end up with three or more videos in just a few hours of work. But it’s not for everyone, and that’s what many creators discover when they batch for a long time.
TechnicallyTee stopped batching when his videos lost their spunk. He could hear the fatigue in his voice while editing, and he didn’t want to release sub-par content.
“If I got a new iPhone or Samsung or something like that [to review], I would literally be batch recording for like three hours…. It got overwhelming, and I didn’t need to [do it],” he says.
Creator burnout on YouTube is real. If you decide to batch record, make sure it’s the right method for your content and overall workflow. And remember to take plenty of breaks when you’re tired.
Lydia Sweatt is a writer, bookworm, and bass guitar enthusiast. When she goes outside, a bicycle goes with her.
