My pre recording routine: 


Preparing for an online course is a lot of work. But the act of actually recording a course (especially one that you feel proud of,) is on another level of challenging. What was once excitement can turn into exhaustion and frustration as the project drags on and takes longer than you originally anticipated due to recording. 


For major projects, don’t plan on recording videos here and there. You will lose momentum and your videos will not feel consistent. Recording can be the hardest part of a longer course, so stretching it out over too many days might cause you to abandon the project if it feels never ending.

Batch Work.
Record. Record. Record. 

Edit. Edit. Edit. 

Upload all. Review all.


This is my pre recording routine. This routine is, of course, specific to my life’s circumstances. These are: 

  • I create courses for a living, so I do not have a different job to work around. 

  • I have teenagers who are 12 & 14 year old, so they are more self-sufficient. 

  • I share custody of my kids with their dad, so they are out of the house for a few days in a row. 


My routine: 


1-2 months ahead of time: 

  • I give myself a deadline. 

  • If planning is going…as planned…I start a pre-launch campaign. In my newsletters I will let new students know of any prerequisite courses so that they can sign up and start with my existing courses in preparation for a new course. I post this date to my course page so that students can anticipate the new release. I include it in my newsletters and start to hype it up in newsletters and my community. I run a membership so I don’t do launches for individual courses. This will vary greatly if you sell one-off courses. 

1-2 weeks ahead of time: 

  • Clear my schedule for ~3 days straight to the best of my ability. It’s not always possible to have a completely clear day (kids, appnts, work, etc.) But I do my best to not add any extra stress. 

  • Tell my partner I’ll be recording on those days. We ebb and flow with helping each other with the other's stress. This will be a time to ask for his help with that stress. 

1-2 days ahead of time: 

  • My partner and I get ahead on tasks that might weigh on me and cause me to procrastinate. I have a really hard time diving into an intensive project like recording if my laundry is piled up, or the house is a mess. 

  • Stock my refrigerator with healthy foods that feel like a special treat. 

  • Clear my desk of clutter. 

  • Organize my computer file system and clear my desktop. 


Day Of: 


  • I eat a good breakfast and listen to a podcast hosted by someone with energy that I enjoy. 

I set up my folders so that I avoid the temptation to save everything to my desktop, creating a mess of files for future Tammy. See my folder system here. (Add anchor link: https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/207135178-Creating-anchor-links )