How does effective time management impact a successful career in Content Strategy?

Time management matters because it keeps you on track with your tasks or plan, so you can meet your goal at a desired time. Lack of time management may lead to pushing back timeline, incomplete work or low productivity, and overall wasted time that could be used for another effort.

Time management is like the superhero cape for Content Strategists. It helps prioritize tasks, hit deadlines, and plan smartly. When we manage time well, we create top-notch content and adapt to changes easily. It's not just about work—it's about collaborating smoothly, staying updated on trends, and having room to breathe. In a nutshell, good time management is the key to a successful and less stressful journey in the world of Content Strategy.

Time management is crucial because it enables you to leverage your sharpest hours for your best work. The goal is to keep yourself at high output - great time management will position you to achieve consistent performance, and improve.

One thing that I’ve found help in preparing to set SMART goals is to make sure you have the passion, purpose, and plan (P.P.P.) for any goal you are trying to achieve. “Passion” is important because even when you get tired and seem as though things are not looking good, your passion or love of what you’re doing will help fuel your drive to keep pushing for the goals. “Purpose” is important because this is the part where you truly ask yourself, “Why am I doing this and what are my intentions for this?” Every goal can be personal, but the goal is bigger than you if the ultimate idea impacts around you in a positive way. The “Plan” is key because this is the stage where a person puts the pieces together using the SMART goals.

Come up with a framework based on SMART (or other) and use it as a thinking template to evaluate the performance of your projects. Important tip: 1) It needs to be aligned with your client's/company's needs, and 2) If you're a freelancer, you should establish a routine to review this with your client to align expectations and mutual goals.

Separate between your creative and non-creative tasks. Dedicating different work sessions for each will allow you to maximize your sharpest hours for "deep work" and everything else comes after.

A couple things I’ve found helpful in prioritizing tasks is being organized with the deadlines and understanding the resources required to complete the task. Tasks with early deadlines will most likely be a top priority every time so there will be a focus to complete the work. Understanding the resources required is necessary because you may have to consider the collaboration efforts to meet the task deadline. For an example, you may have to reach out to contractors early in the project stages to receive certain services and have time allotted in case of edits and revision for a final content for the task.

To make the most of time management tools, start by choosing one that suits you, like Trello or Todoist. Clearly define your goals, break them into tasks, and set deadlines. Prioritize by importance, and use features like reminders to stay on track. Time blocking helps focus, and regular updates ensure a current task list. Collaborate if you're in a team, and review your progress regularly. Explore tool integrations and stay informed about updates. Experiment, adjust, and enjoy a more organized and productive work routine.

I find that most time/task management tools take so much time to use that they leave you with less time to work, making you less productive. At the same time, companies depend on them. The reality is, you'll end up using the same tool your company has your team using. For this reason, I think it's more important to simplify your use of the tool than which tool you end up using. You have largely the same features with different layouts in most of them anyways. Two great tools that weren't mentioned here are Monday and Notion.

To effectively use time management tools, choose ones that suit your needs, like Todoist or Google Calendar. Break tasks into steps, set priorities, and schedule them. Stay organized, flexible, and regularly review and adjust your approach. Prioritize, schedule, and adapt to optimize productivity.

The last thing you want to do is creative work in a stressed state. Carve your routine to be able to get things done in advance. The peace of mind will allow you to do your best work, within timeframes, and without pitfalls.