Get thoughtful work done first.

As you sit down to begin work for the day, what are you doing first? Wait, actually what did you do when you first woke up? I have a sneaking suspicion that you might be picking up your smart phone to either check email or browse your social apps of choice. Yes?? When you start working, are you again starting with email and the small tasks that are nagging at you to be checked off a list?

Let me say that you are not alone in the struggle. Here is an excerpt taken from the wonderful book, Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus & Sharpen Your Creative Mind (The 99U Book Series 2013 by Jocelyn K. Glei, 99U): 

"....So long as he arrived at work already feeling tired, he instinctively put his energy into executing simple tasks. Doing so allowed him to feel productive without having to expend too much energy. It was the equivalent, he came to realize, of a sugar high" (p.53).

We all do it time after time (some more than others). It's so rewarding to check things off a list and feel like you are getting ahead, but when it comes time for the big important tasks, we fall short and it's easy to procrastinate. 

What should you be doing first?

Well, everyone has to find their own flow, but I find that it's easiest to focus on my writing early in the morning or late at night when everyone is still asleep. However, later at night means I'm probably working up some stress hormones because I've already put in a full day.

As Benjamin Franklin is quoted to have said: "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

So I've begun getting to sleep and waking up early to write. Actually it's 6:11am as I write this now. I even finished early enough to take in the sunrise! Great way to start the day.

Quick Tip: 

Try and find time in your week that is dedicated to solely generating ideas for the content you want to write about. This way you are ready to get to writing rather than get to contemplating topics. 

Cheers to creating great content with clarity.

-Arica

Get People to Read Your Content

A great headline reveals the benefit of the main content.

It's natural for us to describe the features of what the post is about, but what would your reader really care about? WIFM. No that's not a radio station… WIFM is a little marketing acronym for "What's in it for me?" This means that instead of describing the features, we'd talk about benefits. Benefits solve a problem while features just describe characteristics

TIP: Ask yourself, "How will this content benefit my reader?" Will it provide inspiration, education or something else? 

In fact, I realized that initially, I wrote a really terrible title for this blog post. I started off with "How to Write a Headline". Yes, my plan was to educate my readers with tips on writing a headline, but if I step out of my shoes, that just sounds like work.

What I was doing was describing what my content would be about but that doesn't really tell my reader what’s in it for them and why they should take the time to read my post. So I thought about it. What problem am I trying to solve? Well, my goal is to help readers get their content read so they can create awareness about their awesome products and/or services. Light bulb! My title would be: "Get People to Read Your Content".

If you are writing at all, your main goal should be to get people to read it. :)

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Are you a procrastinator when it comes to writing blog posts?

This might help...

1. Write a single sentence of what the content should convey or what specific action you want your reader to take. This will help guide your content.

2. Write the main content for your post. Stick with 300 words or less and 3-4 sentences max per paragraph.

3. Add some visuals, highlight a rhetorical question, quote or quick tip. 

4. Go back into the content and determine the true benefit for your reader. Using six words or less, you'll have your blog title. 

Happy blogging!

-Arica