How to Use AI to Plan a Full Week of Content in 90 Minutes (With Prompts)
Two years ago, planning a week of content meant a Sunday evening, a cold coffee, three open tabs, and a 60% chance I'd give up by 9pm and just wing it on Monday.
That's not me anymore. Not because I got disciplined — because AI got useful.
In 2026, I run a 90-minute weekly planning session with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude that produces: one YouTube video script, three short-form scripts, five Instagram captions, two blog outlines, and a full visual shot list. All from one anchor idea. All sounding like me.
Here's exactly how — every tool, every prompt, every step.
The Idea Behind the Workflow
The biggest mistake creators make is treating every platform as a separate brainstorm. Monday's a TikTok day. Tuesday I'll think about YouTube. Wednesday, blog. Friday, oh god, did I post on Instagram?
That's how burnout happens.
The fix is the one-anchor-many-formats model: pick one solid idea per week, then let AI shred it across every format you publish on. Same insight, different shapes. That's how the creators who never seem to run out of content actually do it.
AI just makes the shredding stupidly fast.
My 3-Tool AI Stack (And Why)
I'm not married to brands — I use whichever tool is best at the specific job.
- Gemini — research and YouTube scripts. The live web search is the killer feature.
- ChatGPT — short-form video scripts, Instagram captions, image generation.
- Claude — long-form writing, blog outlines, editing. The voice control is just better.
If you only have one, ChatGPT will do all three jobs adequately. But once you're publishing seriously, splitting the work across tools is worth it.
Step 1 — Lock the Anchor Idea (5 minutes)
Open Gemini.
"I'm a content creator in the [YOUR NICHE] space. Based on what's trending right now on YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit in this niche, suggest 5 anchor topics for a week of content. For each, give me: the angle, why it's working now, and which audience pain point it solves. Cite at least one source per topic."
Gemini's web access means these are real, current trends — not whatever was popular in early-2024 training data. Pick one. That's your anchor.
For this article, let's pretend we picked: "Why most productivity apps make you less productive."
Step 2 — Build the Content Map (10 minutes)
Stay in Gemini, same chat.
"Take that anchor topic and break it into a one-week content map across these platforms: 1 long YouTube video, 3 short-form videos (TikTok/Reels/Shorts), 5 Instagram captions, 2 blog posts. For each piece, give me: a working title, the specific angle, the platform-appropriate hook style, and how it ties back to the anchor. Make sure each piece can stand alone — no piece should feel like a teaser for another."
This is the heart of the system. You'll get a structured map you can drop straight into Notion, Trello, or wherever you plan.
Step 3 — Write the YouTube Script (20 minutes)
Move to Gemini's script workflow (or hand the outline to whichever AI you prefer). The prompt I run:
"Write the full YouTube script for [Title]. About 1,200 words. Write it the way I talk, not the way someone writes: contractions, varied sentence length, no corporate filler, no 'in today's video' opener. Mark [B-ROLL] tags wherever a visual would help. Include a natural mid-roll moment and a soft close — no aggressive CTAs."
If you have older transcripts, paste them first and ask Gemini to analyse your voice — that one step doubles output quality.
Step 4 — Spin Out the Shorts (15 minutes)
Switch to ChatGPT.
"I have a YouTube video about [topic]. Below is the script. Pull 3 short-form video ideas from it — each one 30–45 seconds, each one a self-contained insight. For each: write the first 3 seconds (the hook), the middle (the payoff), and the close (CTA or punchline). Don't just chop the script — restructure each into a stand-alone short-form story. Tone: punchy, conversational, no clichés."
Paste the YouTube script after this prompt.
You now have 3 shorts that each work alone but all feed traffic back to the anchor video.
Step 5 — Generate Instagram Captions (10 minutes)
Same ChatGPT chat.
"Write 5 Instagram captions tied to the same anchor topic. Vary the formats: 1 story-driven caption, 1 contrarian opinion caption, 1 listicle caption, 1 carousel hook (with slide-by-slide outlines for a 7-slide post), and 1 short punchy caption under 50 words. Each should feel like a real human creator wrote it — no 'Are you tired of X?' openers, no emoji-heavy LinkedIn energy. Match the voice of the YouTube script."
The carousel outline alone usually saves me an hour.
Step 6 — Outline Two Blog Posts (10 minutes)
Switch to Claude. Claude's better for longer-form structure.
"Based on the anchor topic [topic], outline two blog posts that target different reader intents:
- A 'how-to' guide aimed at people actively searching for solutions.
- A 'why this matters' opinion piece aimed at people not yet aware of the problem.
For each: working title, SEO-friendly meta description, primary keyword, 6–8 H2 sections, and the unique angle that makes it different from existing top results. Don't write the posts yet — just the outlines."
When you're ready to draft, feed each outline back in with: "Write the full blog post from this outline. Voice: [paste a sample of your writing]. Length: 1,500 words. Conversational, no AI filler."
Step 7 — Plan the Visuals (15 minutes)
Now you've got scripts, captions, and outlines. Time for the visuals.
For the YouTube video and shorts, ask whichever AI wrote the script:
"List every [B-ROLL] tag in this script. For each, suggest the exact type of stock footage or image I should source (1 sentence each). Group them by 'people on camera', 'object/product shots', 'screen recordings', and 'abstract overlays' so I can batch-source them."
Then I head to Stoxcy to pull licensed stock footage, images, and motion graphics that match each shot. For thumbnails or in-post images that don't need real photography, I'll generate something quick in ChatGPT using the prompt formula I broke down in this guide on ChatGPT image generation.
The split is roughly:
- Real stock footage/photos for anything human, branded, or polished — via Stoxcy.
- AI-generated images for abstract concepts, hero images, and quick mockups.
Step 8 — Schedule, Then Step Away (5 minutes)
Drop the captions and posts into your scheduler (Buffer, Later, whatever). Block your filming day. Close the laptop. You're done.
Total time: under 90 minutes. Output: a full week of content across five platforms.
The Prompts That Save Me Even More Time
These are the side prompts I lean on through the week:
When you're stuck mid-script
"I'm stuck on the section about [topic]. Here's what I have so far. Continue it in my voice — give me three different directions it could go in, 2–3 sentences each."
When a caption feels flat
"This caption is technically fine but it feels lifeless. Rewrite it three ways: one with more story, one with more contrarian energy, one shorter and punchier. Keep the same core point."
When you need a thumbnail concept
"Suggest 3 thumbnail concepts for this video. Each should have: the text overlay (under 5 words), the facial expression or pose, and the background/setting. Make them feel like the channels that consistently get 1M+ views in this niche."
When you want to repurpose old content
"Here's a YouTube video I posted 6 months ago [paste transcript]. Pull 5 new angles I could turn this into for fresh shorts and captions today. Don't repeat the original framing."
A Reality Check
This workflow isn't magic. The output is only as good as your edits, your taste, and your delivery. AI gives you 70% — the 30% you add is what makes it sound like you instead of every other AI-generated creator on the platform.
What it does solve is the blank-page problem. The "what do I post on Wednesday" panic. The reason most creators quit within a year isn't lack of talent — it's the relentless mental load of constant ideation. Outsource that to the machines. Spend your human hours on the craft.
Bringing It Together
The creators who'll thrive in 2026 aren't the ones with the most followers or the fanciest gear. They're the ones who built a sustainable system — one that produces consistent, on-brand content without burning them out by month three.
A simple AI stack (Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude) plus a clean visual pipeline through Stoxcy is honestly all you need. Everything else is icing.
Pick an anchor idea this Sunday. Run the prompts. See how it feels to have your whole week planned by 7pm. That alone might be the most useful thing AI does for you all year.