How To Post Every Week On YouTube (Without Burning Out)

I’ve found a cheat code for posting every week on YouTube while avoiding burnout, and it's called the Weekly Update Method.

I spend my days helping experts grow online, and right now I’m in the trenches building my own YouTube channel with this approach.

So today we’ll break it down starting with how to shift your mindset because the way you think about this changes everything.

Then we’ll look at how to easily extract ideas by focusing on what’s already top of mind. Instead of searching for content, you’re sharing current experiences and discoveries.

And finally, I’ll walk you through the simple process  that turns this into the weekly routine —

Something lightweight so consistency happens almost by default.

Because success here, like almost everywhere, starts with consistency — and recent data from VidIQ backs this up.

They found creators that upload at least once per week grow 2.5 times faster than those who don't.

Makes sense, right? The more you do something, the better you get — and the more chances you give yourself to break through.

But the reality is, that cadence is tough, especially when you've got a life, work responsibilities, and a new topic to flesh out every 7 days.

That’s exactly where the Weekly Update Method comes in.

The Mindset Shift

Did you know that the sweet spot for educational YouTube videos is just five to ten minutes?

So the minimum effective dose here is one 5 minute video per week — that’s only twenty minutes of content a month.

We got this.

But even knowing that, the work can still feel like a chore.

I know it did for me for a while.

And that’s because of how most of us think about making videos.

We think we need something grandiose, and that everything has to click in one video — but learning and growth don’t work that way.

Everything changes when you make one simple shift.

When you go from feeling like you need to create content to wanting to share one helpful idea each week to your audience who needs it, the pressure drops and the process starts to feel a lot lighter.

The way I started thinking about it was this — my channel is basically a help center for my audience.

And just like any real help center, it's a living library of information.

Similar to a help center article, each video focuses on one specific thing .
It’s concise, organized, and naturally connects to the other relevant topics around it.

When you think about your channel this way, each week becomes an update — it's a chance to share what you’re noticing, learning, or helping someone with in real time.

Which sounds like a breeze, but if you're not careful, the ideation phase will wreck you.

Extracting Ideas

We all know the hardest part of working out is just getting to the gym, and that’s a lot like the ideation phase.

We face the most resistance before we pick our video topic.

Now just like going to the gym without a plan, if we don’t have a clear way to flesh out the idea once we choose it, we can waste a lot of time just sort of meandering about.

So let’s look at how to make this simple —

how to pull directly from your current experiences and discoveries to choose your topic,

and how to move forward with a clear plan once you’ve picked it.

Because you’ve only got seven days per video… and the clock is ticking.

So here’s the simple system I use to make sure I never run out of ideas — and more importantly, never overthink them.

You want to have one place where you capture ideas.
That could be a notebook, a google doc, or a note on your phone.

And throughout the week — or even just at the end of the week — you jot down anything that stands out.

Using this video topic as an example, I kept finding myself discussing with people like my guy Dr. Erez how it's important to publish a video every week, but that there's also all sort of challenges to that.

So I jotted it down.

In this phase, you’re not trying to turn these into full topics yet.
You’re just capturing sparks.

And almost everything you write down fits into four buckets:

👉 Lessons or insights — something you realized or learned
👉 How-to or step-by-step — something you can teach or explain
👉 Case studies or real examples — something that actually happened
👉 Relevant news or emerging research — something timely your audience should know

So when you experience any of those during the week, capture it.

The Weekly Selection Step

Then at the end of the week, you review the list.

And instead of trying to pick the “best” idea,
you simply highlight the one you feel most drawn to.

Maybe it’s something that keeps coming up, like what I found with this video idea.
Maybe it’s something you’ve recently figured out.

Maybe it's something  your audience needs most right now.
Or maybe it’s just the one you’re most excited to talk about.

Stick with your gut feeling here and highlight one. Then just go about your weekend without focusing on it, letting your brain start to process it in the background.

The Commitment Rule

When the start of your week rolls around, you have to get after it.

This is where most people lose time and energy, and it's where I used to get stuck all the time.

I'd pick a topic, then second-guess the decision. Or I'd get two days into it, then switch it up.

So my rule of thumb is simple:

Once you pick the topic, there’s no looking back.

You’re not switching.
You’re not restarting.
You’re not judging the idea while you’re building it.

You just commit and execute.

Becoming proficient at posting once per week, every week is the goal.

Over time, you naturally get better at every part of the craft.  We all know the best way to learn is by doing.

The Weekly Process

So now let’s zoom out and look at how this actually plays out week to week.

Because the beauty of this method is that it fits into your life instead of taking it over.

And it really starts the week before you publish your video, right?

You capture ideas as they come up,
you review them at the end of the week,
you lock in your topic…
and then you hit the ground running when the new week begins.

From there, the goal is simple:
make steady progress each day in small, manageable chunks.

Day 1 — The Brain Dump & Packaging (Title & Thumbnail)

Start by getting all your thoughts out of your head.

The easiest way to do this is just talking it out —
use the voice recorder on your phone or a tool like AudioPen or Whisper.

Then you clean it up into bullet points —
either yourself or with AI — and remove anything that isn’t essential.

Remember, five to ten minutes is the sweet spot,
so clarity and focus matter more than volume.

Next, and this is really important. you shape how the video will be presented.

So you're drafting your title and creating your thumbnail image.

If you work with a designer, send them the title, your notes, and any assets for the image.

Seeing the packaging from the start gives you clarity while you write and record.

Day 2 & 3 — Script or Outline

Now you're ready to structure your video.

If you use a script, start writing it.
If you prefer a more off-the-cuff, conversational approach, lock in your outline and key points.

Just make sure you spend enough time practicing presenting the idea before recording day.

Day 4 & 5 — Record and Begin Editing

By day 4, you should be all set to record.

Then you hand it off to your editor —
or if you’re doing it yourself, get to work.

Day 5 to 7 — Finish and Publish

Wrap up the edit, do a final review, and publish.

That’s it — one complete cycle.

Why This Works in Real Life

So now that you can see how this all fits together, here’s why it works so well in real life and prevents burnout.

The reason this works so well is because you’re not trying to carve out one massive block of time — you’re just making a little progress each day.

And when you do that, it becomes a lot more manageable, even with work, family, and everything else going on.

Now over time, as you get more comfortable and more skilled, you’ll find that this process naturally speeds up.
Some weeks it’ll take you less time, some weeks it’ll take a little more.

But the key is that you give yourself that seven-day time constraint.

Because it keeps you moving, it prevents overthinking, and it stops the project from stretching longer than it needs to.