Almost every day, I see so-called Social Media “Experts” shouting at us that we need to schedule our content.
Here are just a few titles I’ve come across this morning on my FYP page:
- “Posting Schedules To Grow on Instagram”
- “How To Plan A Whole Month of Content”
- “Monthly Content Planning Process”
And – the absolute worst of the worst: “How I Plan 1 Year of Content in 1 Hour”.
Don’t get me wrong, content scheduling works for a heck of a lot of people, and it’s easy to understand why. In fact, I don’t want to shame anyone who does schedule their content, because I have a huge amount of appreciation for it. But, I am here to tell you, that if scheduling content doesn’t work for you: that is okay, because I too, am one of those people. So, please do not let anyone make you feel bad for choosing not scheduling your content.
Content Scheduling, does not work for my brain. Of course, in typical me-style, I wanted to investigate the “why” behind this, so I’ve been doing a little research that I want to share with you.
There isn’t any strong scientific evidence that out right proves that content scheduling doesn’t work for some people, which makes sense because social media and the whole idea of scheduling is still a very no concept, in the grand scheme of things.
That being said, there is research and psychology-based evidence that can give an idea of why scheduling might be less effective or even counterproductive for certain types of people, depending on personality traits, cognitive styles, and motivation. This definitely backs up my idea that it is my brain that causes problems for me, when it comes to scheduling content.
Ultimately, this research suggests that there are four types of people who might find content scheduling unproductive for them:
- People with ADHD or Executive Dysfunction
- Those with high openness to experience, but lowness in conscientiousness within the Big Five Personality Types.
- Creative individuals
- Anyone with Anxiety, Depression or other energy-limiting conditions.
People with ADHD or Executive Dysfunction
The evidence suggests that people with ADHD or similar executive dysfunction can often struggle with rigid schedules, and tend to benefit more from a work-style that is more flexible. The most interesting piece of research that I read, related to the concept of “Time Blindness”. This idea suggests that time-based structures like schedules, can feel too abstract for those with ADHD, especially when tasks are planned too far in advance.
High Openness and Low Conscientiousness
Rigid planning is a big problem for people who score high on openness, but low on conscientious, because they thrive on spontaneity. They are more likely to procrastinate, which also means that things like planners and content planners are less likely to work for them, but instead promote procrastination.
This is an interesting one, I think, for a lot of us, because there are so many adverts – particularly on social media – pushing planners at people who struggle with procrastination, but they are proven not to work for this personality-type. So, if you feel that this could be you, there is no planner that is going to fix things for you. It sucks, but please stop buying them (I need to listen to this one myself!)
Creative Individuals
This one actually surprised me, however when thinking about it, actually makes a lot of sense. The research suggests that people who are highly creative (so artists, writers etc) are more likely to find that strict scheduling disrupts their natural flow.
This one definitely fits with my personal experience. I spent way too much time creating posts that I scheduled a couple of months in advance, and I always felt that the posts I created were boring, lacked personality and definitely had no creativity in them.
Sitting on Canva, creating 10 Instagram carousels, and still retaining that sense of creativity is always going to be difficult.
Energy-Limiting Conditions
Those of us who have energy-limiting conditions, such as anxiety and depression can often find the idea of scheduling to be really overwhelming, and I know that this is absolutely right for me. This overwhelm then leads to either avoidance or burnout, or at worst: both.
Mental health studies show that task aversion increases when emotional energy is particularly low, especially for pre-scheduled “creative” tasks.
If you’ve never heard of the “Spoon Theory” which is prolific in the chronic illness and neurodivergent communities, it illustrate why some people just are not able to commit to rigid plans, because their energy levels rise and fall on a daily basis, and can often be unpredictable for them.
So what can we do instead?
If you are – like me – a person that struggles with content scheduling, there are a few ideas that might work for you, as an alternative.
- Using a Content Library
Some people refer to this as being like looking at a Menu in your favourite restaurant, and choosing from a list of options that you could choose, maybe based on varying factors such as your overall mood, current energy levels or even how much time you have available right now.
This could include:
- a collection of quotes you want to share
- short-form video ideas
- quick wins or tips
- Customer Testimonials
2. Batch When The Mood Is Right
Rather than forcing yourself to put together a rigid schedule, take advantage of any periods of time that you do feel focused. The advice I read on this was to take a full focus day, however, I personally don’t think that’s realistic for most of us who are already struggling with this side of things.
From my personal experience of running Letters From Poppy, I know that I need to make a short-form video for every letter that I write, so when I print the letter out for photography, I make sure I take time to choose a section to read out, and I will create the basics for a voice over video. I don’t add the caption, because I don’t at the time of creation know what I need to write.
Placing things in draft when you’re in the mood, and then sharing them when you need something to share and/or are lacking inspiration, can be incredibly helpful.
3. Give Each of the Week a Theme
The idea is that you set a type of post for each day of the week, so for example, you might share a quote on Mondays, behind-the-scenes on Tuesday etc. However, don’t feel that you have to stick to them too much, because really they’re just intended to inspire.
Further Reading:
If you would like to read more about some of the topics I have mentioned above, I recommend the following:
Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65–94.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience