A good content creation strategy, like most other things, starts with good planning. Before you write the first few words of your blog posts, articles, etc., consider a strategy to increase productivity. Here is a non exhaustive list of productivity killers:
- Multitasking
- Procrastination
- Perfectionism
- Paralysis by Analysis/ Information Overwhelm
Although there’s nothing new in this list, the fact that lack of productivity is still a problem for some people, these issues are worth repeating.
First, multitasking is considered to be a desirable trait. A lot of descriptions for jobs list “good ability to multitask” as a requirement. The problem with multitasking is that we are forced to spread our focus. Instead of doing one thing effectively, we end up doing several things ineffectively. There is also a tendency to leave one project unfinished while we go on to the next. Rinse and repeat. The way to deal with multitasking is related to what one marketing coach says, “Stick with one thing. Stick with one thing. Stick with one thing.”
The next barrier is procrastination.
“Procrastination is the assassination of motivation.” Procrastination is a warning sign of self sabotage, the fear of failure and the fear of success. The fear of failure is the more obvious of the two. When we want to avoid failure, we often put off a project. The fear of success seems to be counter-intuitive. Why would we fear our own success? That is a topic in itself. Basically, we have a preconceived notion that we are not smart enough, good enough, and so on. So we throw obstacles in our own path such as procrastinating to prevent us from succeeding, thus becoming our own self-fullfilling prophecy. Procrastination can be a symptom of another mental barrier, perfectionism.
Perfectionism is an impossible goal, yet it’s one of the common barriers to productivity. Of course we want to put out our best effort, but the greatest ideas are of no good to anyone when it’s still in our heads. Put your best effort out there and course-correct as needed. Aim for progression, not perfection.
Another barrier to productivity is the dreaded paralysis by analysis and information overwhelm. Not having enough information can be a barrier, but we can have too much of a good thing. The key to dealing with too much information is to break down your projects and information into sections. Another way is to get a coach or a “Done for You” service. As stated in the previous paragraph, it is better to put forth our best effort and course correct as necessary than not doing anything.
The most important piece to get out of this article is to aim for progression not perfection, to focus on one project at a time, and to break down big projects into sections. Just following these three items can dramatically increase your productivity.
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