Staying productive can be difficult, especially if you’re running a side hustle, a blog, working full time, or juggling any multitude of responsibilities. Even though you’re [hopefully] doing these things because you enjoy them, that doesn’t mean you have to spend all of your time on work.

Because I run a freelance business, a personal blog, work full time, and have other responsibilities and hobbies, I’ve learned how to manage and “hack” my time to cross more things off of my to do list.

Below are four tips for staying productive and getting more done more quickly.

1. Schedule social media posts.

I don’t do this consistently, but when I do, I’m so much more productive with my time. Using an app like HootSuite or Meet Edgar, you can schedule social media posts for all of your various accounts/platforms/brands in a shorter time period. This works especially well for Twitter since social media gurus say to post 10+ times a day there.

Social media schedulers also let you copy old posts and queue them back up, making it easy to tweak your promotional content as needed.

2. Work in batches to get a ton of stuff done.

Is there anything more satisfying than crossing things off a to do list? As I’ve been growing my business, running my blog, and working full-time during the day, I’ve learned that batching my tasks is the most efficient way for me to get things done and cross items off of my list.

What’s batching? It’s pretty simple, actually: any tasks that require similar actions can be grouped together and done in a [hypothetically] shorter time frame.

For example, I batch my image editing and creation for my blog. I typically write four posts at a time, which translates to roughly two weeks of posts. When I’m finished writing my posts, I edit any photos I took and create my Pinterest and social media images at the same time. Because I’m already in the groove after doing this for one post, I finish up the others faster than if I started over the next day.

I save at least two hours doing my blog images this way; same goes with writing or editing in batches!

3. Create templates for posts and images.

I know I was just talking about batching tasks, and having templates for posts and images is really crucial to that. You might create a Pinterest template in Canva that you can edit for each new post, or you might purchase a set of templates from someplace like Creative Market. Using Photoshop templates gives me more creative freedom and customization options.

I recently purchased templates on Creative Market and love them! Having templates helps you brand your blog or business more easily and keeps your aesthetic the same across all platforms.

Post templates are a little harder to create, but I have a general formula I like to follow that ranks well with search engines:

Intro > Header > topic/point 1 > Header > Topic/point 2 > Header > …

See the pattern? Pair each point or topic you make with a catchy header to organize your posts and make it easy to read. I write each post with that set-up in mind, meaning my posts are always set up in a similar way. Again, this helps with branding, SEO ranks, and general organization.

4. Keep a list of post ideas and writing topics handy.

Besides having to create graphics and schedule social media posts, blogging or running a small business also requires you to write. This is the most time consuming of my activities, especially when I can’t think of anything to write about.

To increase my productivity, I keep a list of post ideas that I know I want to write or have the knowledge to write. Whenever I’m lacking inspiration, I revisit the list and find a topic that strikes my fancy. This cuts down on writer’s block. Boom!

In the age of social media, side hustles, and blogging, productivity hacks are essential to staying on track and managing your time. I hope you found some of these tips helpful!

What are some of your favorite ways to stay productive? Let me know below!