HOW TO PLAN A MONTH OF INSTAGRAM CONTENT IN ONE HOUR
Posting on Instagram shouldn’t feel like a full-time job. If you’re waking up every day trying to figure out what to post, you’re doing it backwards.
The truth is, most people overthink content. They wait for inspiration, chase trends, and try to create from scratch every single day. That’s not sustainable. You need a system.
Here’s how to plan out an entire month of content in just one focused hour.
STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR 3 TO 5 CONTENT PILLARS
Your content pillars are the main themes or topics you post about. These help you stay consistent, relevant, and clear.
Examples:
Branding tips
Behind-the-scenes of your work
Client wins or testimonials
Austin lifestyle or local spots
Personal insights or stories
Once you have your pillars, you never have to wonder what to post again.
STEP 2: BRAINSTORM 5 POST IDEAS PER PILLAR
Set a timer for 15 minutes and quickly jot down 5 ideas for each pillar. Don’t overthink it. Just get ideas on paper.
Example for “Branding Tips”:
Common Instagram bio mistakes
How to choose your brand colors
What your grid says about you
The power of consistent messaging
How to build trust with content
If you have 4 pillars and 5 ideas per pillar, that’s 20 post ideas. Done.
STEP 3: ASSIGN DATES TO EACH POST
Open a calendar (digital or paper) and plug in your ideas.
Start with:
3 posts per week = 12 posts/month
5 posts per week = 20 posts/month
You don’t need to post daily. You just need to post consistently.
Spread your pillars across the calendar so you’re not repeating the same type of post back to back.
STEP 4: WRITE CAPTIONS AND CREATE GRAPHICS IN BATCHES
Don’t write one caption, design one graphic, then move on. Batch all captions first. Then batch visuals.
Use:
Canva for easy graphic templates
CapCut or InShot for simple video editing
A content scheduler like Later or Metricool to queue everything up
This will save hours every week and keep your content looking consistent.
STEP 5: REUSE, REPURPOSE, REPEAT
That tip you posted three months ago? Post it again with a different hook. That Reel that performed well? Turn it into a carousel. That long caption? Break it into a series.
Most of your audience didn’t see your content the first time. Repurposing is how you stay visible without constantly reinventing the wheel.
FINAL THOUGHT
Planning a month of content isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being intentional. When you have a simple system, you’ll show up with more confidence, more clarity, and way less stress.
