If you’re a solopreneur, consistent content creation may feel like an uphill battle. Your work is your passion and your gift to the world. But how do you succeed in the digital landscape without it taking over your life?
1. Content Creation in Sync with Your Life
Creating content doesn’t have to be a chore. You shouldn’t have to halt your life for several hours whenever you create a single post for social media. Instead, your content can be an organic extension of your life. A great way to avoid spending a ton of time creating content is to batch it, we recommend 3-4 months at a time.
Platforms like TikTok are great for this, since you can record short, genuine, and engaging videos almost anywhere, anytime. It’s an easy way to connect, especially for those starting their content creation journey. TikTok is a very popular way online users are connecting with content, so it’s a win-win if you choose to create on this platform.
If you’re interested in using Instagram, think of it as your digital business card. Whenever someone looks you up, your feed is a quick way for someone to get a feel for your and your brand. Instagram’s primary weakness is that it’s difficult to discover new creators to follow, so treating it like a portfolio and keeping it up to date regularly throughout the month is all you really need to do. Even posting once a week is great.
YouTube, while it offers great opportunities for creating income, requires a higher level of production and may not be the best place to begin your rhythm. Once you find the content creation cadence that works best for you, we recommend considering whether creating YouTube videos could be a good fit for your content creation journey.
2. Practice Makes Perfect
The rhythm of content creation is something that takes time to establish. At first, you might struggle to find the beat that feels good to you, but don’t let the process deter you. The more you practice, the easier it becomes. You’ll gain experience, confidence, and it’ll get easier the more you post.
Start simple. The goal isn’t to create complex videos or lengthy posts but just to start. This is your opportunity to get comfortable talking on camera, which simply takes practice. Keep showing up and you’ll keep getting better.
3. Align with Your Vision
Your content creation process should be in sync with your life rhythm and also aligned with your broader vision. If you want more clarity about your vision, consider creating a mood board. They can be powerful visual tools that can help define what you aspire to achieve or how you want to feel. Platforms like Pinterest make it easy to collect images that inspire you, whether they represent an actual goal (like building a retreat center) or convey a desired feeling (like expansiveness, joy, or abundance). Seeing your vision personified in images can fuel your motivation and naturally shape your visual and written content.
4. Embrace Life As It Is Now—Challenges Included
It’s crucial to acknowledge that it’s okay not to be okay all the time, or even most of the time. If you’re a neurodiverse entrepreneur, I’m sure you’re particularly familiar with this experience. When life feels particularly overwhelming, the best thing you can often do is take a step back.
Remember that every inhale has an exhale. The exhale is a period of rest, a pause, a chance to just be. It’s not a setback, even if it feels like it. Rather, it’s a critical part of the cycle of your life. If you’re worried about stepping back and losing momentum or income, understand that it’s a natural fear, but it will pass.
Challenging times can be fertile ground where profound creations are born. Sharing your challenges and how you’re navigating them can be a powerful testament to what it’s like to be a human being in business. It’s a stark contrast to the ‘highlight reel’ mentality that social media often perpetuates and serves as a reminder that content creation should be a natural part of your life, not something you should force.
Remember, we were never meant to produce 24/7, 365 days a year. For 95% of human history, people worked around 15 hours per week. Now ask yourself: Can I let myself off the hook a bit? What are some ways I can build a truly sustainable workload that works with my natural rhythm? (And millions of years of human evolution?)
Embracing the rhythm of content creation can be achieved by syncing your digital endeavors with your life, your passions, and your vision. It’s about practicing, keeping it simple, and aligning your work with a vision that’s meaningful to you. Above all, it’s vital to acknowledge the ebb and flow of life and allow your content to reflect a fuller spectrum of your human experience. Remember that you and your life comes before all of this—prioritize your wellbeing, and your business will be better off.
