June 9, 2015 Keeping Up with Content – 5 Tips to Help You Survive a Writing Tidal Wave
5 tips we use to keep our heads above water and keep up with content.
In the communications world, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of content that needs to be written every day. Between responding to emails and taking care of internal communications tasks, sometimes your brain feels fried before you even start in on your to-do list.
As part of the marketing team here at Fishhook, I know how often we have to work to get content out efficiently and effectively without drowning in the sea of “too much to do in too little time.” So, I thought I'd share a few tips we use to keep our heads above water.
- Prioritize: Sometimes it can feel like wasted time to sit down and put your to-dos in order, but it is 100% worth it. Set up your path to the finish line for the day and take the hurdles one at a time. Having content deadlines and priorities set is so helpful to us as a marketing team because it helps us keep our eyes on little pieces at a time instead of the overwhelming amount of work there is to do.
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Get a Visual: This has been a key element here in the marketing den. When we have a lot going on, we find it extremely helpful to write each priority down on sticky notes and put them up on the wall. That way, we keep them in sight and can also celebrate every time we take one down. Whether it’s sticky notes, a piece of paper or a dry erase board … put your priorities somewhere the whole team can see them.
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Use Your Team: If you have a team that you work with, recognize what each individual's strength is and assign them tasks based on what they do well and what they do quickly. Sometimes people work best when they can go off and work on a task themselves; others work best when they can bounce ideas and questions off someone else. Find out who is in what camp and empower them to work in their best space.
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Set Time Limits: Sometimes you just have to give yourself a more immediate goal. Challenge yourself and/or your team to finish a project in a certain amount of time. Even if you don't always meet your goal, setting a time limit can help keep you focused on the task at hand.
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Have Fun: Here at Fishhook, we love to laugh. And in the marketing den, I'm pretty sure it's the only way we survive. We're serious about the work we do, but we have a blast doing it. Allow yourself and your team to just have fun. Give space for jokes, for banter and maybe even a YouTube video or two!
Looking for more tips on writing? That's what this webinar is all about!
Click below to watch on-demand.
