2 Week Creator update
I've been a content creator for 2 weeks. Specifically, I've been a blogger. What have I learned? What Have I enjoyed? What have I not enjoyed? That is what I am going to share, and I will end with my 3 biggest takeaways.
What Have I learned?
The past 2 weeks have essentially been all learning. Refreshingly though, most of it hasn't been through YouTube tutorials, but rather it has been by actually doing the thing. I've designed and redesigned my website, written a decent number of posts, and set up “business" Facebook, Instagram, and “X" accounts. But, let me start by giving you the numbers:
Websites Created = 1
Blog Posts Created = 8 (including this one)
Creator Journey = 5
Experiments = 1
Book Reviews and Summaries = 2
Social Media Posts = 2
Motivated by the thrill of starting something new, I'm actually fairly proud of this much creation.
On to what I have learned:
1. Making stuff takes time.
2. You need input to create output.
3. Keep it simple.
Making Stuff Takes Time
First, making content takes time. This is obvious, but it is also a reminder that you can't live on motivation forever. There have been days, already, when I have thought to myself “I don't want to work on the blog today”, and yet I have pretty much done something for this project every day for the past 2 weeks. By choosing to do this, I've given up some of the time I usually spent relaxing at night before bed. So far, I've still managed to have 30 minutes to an hour to wind down, so I feel like it has been worth it. The other more consequential thing I’ve given up is reading time. The prior 2 weeks to starting this journey I started and finished 3 books. In the past 2 weeks I have finished 0. Now, that is partially because I've read a lot out of Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings which is over 1000 pages, but never the less, I've lost a significant amount of time to read. And not reading as much has impacted the second thing I learned: you need inputs to create outputs.
You Need Input To Create Output
Creating this blog is not my attempt to be original, it is to share what I am learning. I've decided not to share from my professional life (partly because there are rules around that for what I do), so what I have left is to share what I am learning for my personal use and development. This means I have a small window of time to learn things before and after work and an even smaller window now that I am taking the time to share those things.
Already, only a few weeks in, I have had to pause and think of what to write about. Part of this is me wanting to make posts more frequently than I would need to to hit my goal (around 4 posts a week). But, I think it is also due to not having as much time to read. Also, when I do have time to read, I find myself gravitating to fiction. I've tried making up for this by listening to podcasts on my commute, but currently it doesn't give me the same inspiration as reading a book. And it is more difficult to take notes and organize thoughts. Through this challenge I have learned another important lesson, keep it simple.
Keep It Simple
If you are like me, you are drawn to content that inspires or gives you an epiphany. The temptation is to think that everything you create needs to elicit that reaction. It doesn't. The reality is that it is near impossible to put out content like that from day 1. In the case of blogging, it is almost always better to shoot for quantity over quality. Why? Because you won't know what is good until you try a lot of different things. This isn't to say that you should spew trash. It means that you should be okay with posting sub-par content, and then work to improve it with each post. This is the whole concept behind Austin Kleon's book Show Your Work (review and summary HERE). Showing what you are working on improving will help you improve faster, and the people who take the time to look at your stuff will likely also be interested in your process for creating it.
What I Have Enjoyed
The thing I have enjoyed most from 2 weeks of blogging is the application of what I've written to everyday conversations. I used to wonder how the great podcast personalities could whip out quote after quote and complex idea after idea over and over again, but I'm starting to understand. We live in a world where information is so accessible that we can easily mistake consuming things with learning things. True learning comes from engaging with content not just consuming it. I think it was David McCullough that once said “writing is thinking" . If you write about a new idea, you will understand it more deeply especially if you write with the intent to teach. Furthermore, if you then apply what you learn to your life your understanding will be multiplied again. The people so many of us look up to can articulate and remember ideas so well because they engage with those ideas in a meaningful way on a daily basis.
What I Have Not Enjoyed
I'll keep this short because I've already mentioned this, but the thing I’ve struggled with most is finding time to learn through reading. However, I am going to finish a few books in the next week or two. The first is The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel and the second is The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I’m super excited to share my thoughts and a short summary for both!
My 3 Biggest Takeaways
In closing, my 3 biggest takeaways from 2 weeks of being a content creator are:
I have enough time in my week to create content while still tending to the needs of my family and a full-time job. And, it would be helpful to have a few more hours in the week…
Because of takeaway #1, I foresee the possibility of needing to adjust my goals. My next update will be at 1 month, and I plan to review my goals and assess if they are sustainable. It would not surprise me if I decide to drop from 4 posts a week to 2 and use the extra time to read and learn new things. We will see though. Maybe I will adapt and find a cadence that feels manageable.
Keep sharing the little things, and don't miss the opportunity to share the occasional big thing. The vast majority of my content will be bite size and interesting (hopefully) but not life changing, and that's okay. Also, if I stick with this long enough I'm anticipating some more significant ideas will bubble up, and I want to be ready and equipped to capture and share those in an impactful way.