I post one TikTok every day. That's 365 videos a year, which sounds insane, so I thought I had the math figured out.

The plan: pick 3 days a month, film 10 to 12 videos each time, and the whole month is covered. Roughly 36 videos, evenings only.

The first batch day actually worked. I filmed 10 videos in one sitting and edited them all the same night. But it was a fluke. I was home alone, nobody bothering me, a perfect storm. The "three times a month" plan never happened again.

Part of it stuck, though. I still batch. When I get to the office, I prepare 5 or 6 scripts and record them all in one go. The new studio helps a lot: I turn on the lights, plug in the laptop, and I can record. Editing is outsourced, I don't touch it anymore. And I read from a teleprompter, because English isn't my first language. Without it, one video takes me 20 to 30 minutes instead of 3.

Even with all of that automated or delegated, one video still costs me 45 to 50 minutes on average. The idea, the script with retries, studio setup, a few takes, post-production hand-off. Every video is a small project.

Which is why I can't take it seriously when creators say you should film 5-20 videos a day. Five a day at my cost means doing nothing else. No product. No day job.

The only way that works is with a team around you. People who prepare the scripts, do the post-production, the cuts, the animations, the illustrations. Then sure, you just sit down and talk. But that's not "film 5 videos a day." That's running a small production company.

The claim only sounds believable if you haven't tried it. You hear it and think: low barrier, just open the camera on your phone and talk. Then you sit down and do it.

The reality kicks pretty hard.