When you create for a living, it’s essential to have a set creation process that gets your brain in the right mode to do the creating. So today I want to talk about my consistent process for writing new content.
Obviously, my own creative process is focused around writing copy and content both for my own company and for my clients. But other kinds of writer – heck, other kinds of creative – might find inspiration here too.
Step 1: Plan ahead
One of the most crucial tactics that keeps me consistent is planning ahead. Once I know what topics I am going to be blogging about, or what copy I’m going to be writing, I create outlines for each piece ahead of time. That time gap is important – this needs to be something that is done separately from the actual task of writing each piece.
This doesn’t need to involve anything too in-depth, but the more detail, the better equipped I will be when I come to write. At the very least, I craft a bare rundown of headings and themes so I can hit the ground running when I come to flesh out that particular piece.
If you’re looking for a way to use AI in your creation workflow, this is a great place to adopt it. AI can help you flesh ideas out and make sure you are covering all possible talking points.
I call these proto-plans “skeletons” and I keep all of my most mission-critical ones in a place where I can easily access them.
Step 2: Schedule it in
Next, my advice is to schedule in the time to do the actual work. Become familiar with how long the creative process takes for you so you can put a realistic chunk of time aside each time.
I like having my work scheduled ahead of time so I know what kind of creative mood to foster for that day’s writing work. Which brings us nicely on to…
Step 3: Wrangle your brain
If you’re like me, then cultivating the right headspace is essential to creating the right vibe in your creative endeavours. This isn’t easy, especially when you have mental health issues and/or neurodivergence under your brain-bonnet.
Only you know you, so I hope you know what you – as an individual – need to do to manage your own mind.
But this is where, at least I find, forward planning comes in handy. When you know you’re going to write blog post X today, you’re going to talk about Y, and you’re going to use Z tone of voice, you can hopefully better optimise your headspace (and your physical space) to focus on that task.
Step 4: Do the thing
Once you have your plans in place, you have them scheduled in, and you’ve cultivated the right mental vibe, it’s time to actually show up and do the creating.
Even if you feel like procrastinating or you’re too busy corralling a misbehaving brain, you might as well do so whilst looking at your project, or reading/watching/listening to relevant research materials. That might be enough to help regain focus and get the creative juices flowing freely again.
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[Note: This video was originally filmed in a shorter format back in 2019. This version has since been expanded, edited, and refilmed.]
