What are the best ways to balance your workload in a Content Management career?

Get ahead whenever you can. Look for timesaving software and techniques, like schedulers. Repurpose content all the time. It should be like your clothes closet—if you can't reuse a piece over and over again, in different ways, then it's just taking up space. Hire good people and train them/get them trained! And most importantly, trust their training enough to know and feel that you can always delegate to them, or leave them to mind the store when you're away. Also, fer realz—TAKE YOUR VACATION TIME. You won't have a balance if you don't take time away. Trust me, the work will be there tomorrow. And just in case it isn't, you should be looking for another job by then, anyway.

When you are part of an aggressive marketing team with aggressive targets, setting realistic goals is pivotal. Early on, I'd often overcommit, leading to delayed deadlines and compromised quality. To find balance, I began by thoroughly assessing each project's scope against my resources. Regular communication with stakeholders and collaborators ensured alignment and allowed for necessary adjustments. It's also vital to sometimes say 'no' or 'not now' to ensure every content piece is purposeful and of high quality. Ultimately, in content management, it's not just about time but managing expectations for consistent, top-tier results.

I believe content management skills come hand in hand with being organised. You can have tons of amazing ideas but without a solid plan it won’t work or produce the results you’re looking for. If you’re Identifying key dates ahead of time and producing evergreen content while keeping a well managed monthly content calendar, you will allow enough time for you to make multiple rounds of amends and get client feedback before the deadline.

Right. Your have to know what you want from your career what you want from the rest of your life. Then ask yourself what goals are important and what you can give up to achieve them. If going to every one of your child's little league games is important, that could mean working less and earning less. But you also should have a handle on the amount of money you need, and make allowances for that.

In addition to the typical things around content management like keyword research and SEO in general, I recommend becoming a sort of "jack of all trades", meaning this: Learn about DNS Learn about PHP Learn about both front end and back end JavaScript In short, never use the phrase "That's someone else's job."

Balancing your workload in a Content Management career is made more effective with an agile mindset. Prioritizing high-value tasks, staying flexible, and breaking work into manageable parts is crucial. Collaborate with your team and use agile project management tools, such as Kanban or Scrum boards, to track and handle priority tasks. Regularly review and adjust your processes, set realistic expectations, and seek feedback. Self-organization, time management, and continuous learning are vital. An agile mindset, combined with a project management system, enhances your ability to handle priorities efficiently and maintain a balanced workload while delivering quality content.

In my experience leading a content marketing team, planning and prioritizing have been game-changers. Together, we categorize tasks by urgency and value. We've integrated tools that simplify days by letting us plan each day. I often spend hours planning our months and weeks so that we are not overwhelmed and yet don't miss the plethora of tasks on our plates. These tools offer a shared view, ensuring everyone's aligned. Moreover, regular team reviews are crucial. We assess our strategies, making adjustments based on feedback and evolving needs. This approach not only boosts productivity but also strengthens team cohesion. By focusing collectively on what's essential, we reduce stress and elevate our output.

Always plan and schedule content: Content planning and scheduling can save you from last-minute rushes. Create a content calendar that outlines publication dates and deadlines. This will allow to work ahead and reduce the stress of last-minute content creation. Also I recommend to invest in efficient content management systems to streamline your workflow. It's a game-changer for balancing your workload.

The notion of planning and prioritizing isn't novel, and while it's fundamental, the advice lacks a deeper dive into the unique challenges faced in content management. The suggestion to use generic tools like calendars or task lists doesn't tackle the nuanced needs of content projects. Also, there's no mention of how to handle unexpected urgent tasks or how to adapt to the fast-paced, ever-changing demands in the realm of content creation and management, which is crucial for stress reduction and maintaining productivity.

Be ruthless with your time. Update your work timings in calendar and decline if someone blocks your time outside your work hrs. At first, they may hate you but very soon they will realize it's value. Walk the talk. Once you start drawing boundaries for your work time and approach, your team will follow.

When I had new people join the team, I would explain the types of work we did and then find out what activities they liked and thought they were good at/comfortable with. It made delegating work easier because I knew who felt confident in certain areas (not everyone is good at everything) and who enjoyed doing specific types of work. It allowed me to play to the strengths of the team and made meeting deadlines easier.

Learn to say no. Don't overcommit to new projects or tasks if your current workload is already substantial. Politely decline or negotiate deadlines when necessary.

The idea of delegating and collaborating is essential, yet there's an oversimplification in how it's presented. It’s not just about offloading tasks; it’s about building a symbiotic relationship with your team, where everyone's strengths are utilized to their fullest. Additionally, the part about providing "clear instructions, guidelines, and feedback" is touched upon lightly. This is a crucial aspect that warrants more emphasis as miscommunication can lead to project delays and increased workload. Also, integrating a mechanism for seamless communication and feedback within the team could be a game changer in managing workload in content management.

Get to know your team - well! Learn what their strengths and preferences are, keep the communication lines open at all times and I would also recommend holding a WIP meeting weekly or fortnightly internally. This meeting allows the entire team to run through their high priority items, and if you find that some team members have capacity, you can identify quickly who may able to support you. Team culture is vitally important for delegation and collaboration to work.

Delegate non-core tasks to trusted team members with clear guidelines. Collaborate with other content pros like freelancers to tap into diverse skills and offload workload. Building a support network amplifies your output and frees you to focus on high-level strategy, planning, and creative direction.

The emphasis on automation and optimization is spot on, especially in a field where technology can significantly lighten the load. However, a critical aspect is understanding that not all tasks should be automated; the human touch is irreplaceable in certain areas of content management. Plus, while automation tools can save time, the initial setup can be time-consuming and may require a learning curve. It's also important to note that over-reliance on automation could potentially lead to a disconnect with the actual content, possibly affecting its quality or relevance over time. Besides, the paragraph could benefit from examples or suggestions of effective tools or practices to guide someone new in the field.

One of the most important areas for automating and optimising, is task management and comms. This is important above all else, because an organised content team who is well briefed and communicated, can achieve anything. Using systems like ClickUp, Asana or even Wrike, can make a monumental difference in efficiency and resourcing.

The iron is red hot. It seems like every minute open source and free tools are getting an AI upgrade and they all seem to be geared towards squeezing in that last microsecond of the day. There are macros for photography. There are tools that automatically remove ums and ahs from speech. There are augments that enhance video passively *without the click of a button*. There are almost eight billion people in the world and a million of them have probably had a problem and a thousand of them have probably solved it. Throw your problem into a search engine and let crowdsourced ingenuity take over the rest.

Establishing systems and processes by using appropriate marketing tech stack should be one of the priorities especially for new teams. You should be able to streamline your day-to-day with project management tools such as Asana or JIRA for content management. It will be helpful to integrate different tools such as CRM with Slack notifications. Creating an optimal content calendar to keep everything organized and to reduce unnecessary meetings or chats will save creative teams time and energy. Instead, you can use the time for strategy meetings and even just for coffee chats.

Explore what "Eklavya" did in "Mahabharata". He was hungry to learn and he did so from the sidelines. If your approach towards knowledge is insatiable, no one can stop you in excelling at "Content Management" or any career!

Continuous learning is critical in content management. As the landscape continues to evolve rapidly, updating yourself should be second nature to any content professional. That would guarantee your ability to produce and manage content that your target audience would look forward to consume.

What went wrong can be just as important as what went right. To quote the Oscar snubbed "D3: The Mighty Ducks", temporary Emilio Estevez replacement Coach O'Brien notes "you learn a heck of a lot more from losing than from winning." How was the time management? How was the load management? Did you neglect to use every tool at your disposal? Did you try to use every tool at your disposal? Was communication clear for the whole scope of the project? Always read. Always reach out. Always realize there's more to learn.

As a content manager, I find having a weekly meeting cadence is very helpful to share learnings and discuss roadblocks or updates. This helps foster collaboration. We do shoutouts or give compliments to team members to recognize their efforts and contributions.

As content managers, we pour so much energy into our work. But recharging our own batteries is crucial. Set boundaries, take breaks, sleep well, exercise, and make time for fun. Guarding your health, happiness, and work-life balance prevents burnout. An inspired, passionate, and renewed you is the best version of you. So rest up and come back refreshed, not burnt out. :)

Some of the best ideas emerge after rest and rejuvenation. Allowing your brain to process all the information is the first step. Setting sensible timelines is perhaps the second step towards creating successful content management outcomes. Often times, pushing deadlines to the last minute can give the adrenaline boost but takes away the crucial aspect of incorporating feedback.

Life is a marathon and work or study which happens to consume quite a chunk of your time, the logic applies. It needs balance which comes from caring for your health (Physical and spiritual). Identify what clicks for you and then go for it. Example: If you love walking, go for that long walk at 6 am. If you love soccer, invite your close ones for a friendly match. If no one is willing, go for that self match which has you, the football and the ground. Come back to the content you wanted to build. It will be magic:)

Seek feedback and continuous improvement. Regularly assess your performance and processes. Learn from your experiences and adjust your workload management strategies as needed.

Create time blocks in your calendar to visually plan how you allocate your time. Consider using various colors to represent different projects or project stages. Another crucial step is to tag and label everything. Often, companies have databases with unidentified contacts. Take the time to tag each contact with details such as gender, age, income, education level, hobbies, and specialties. This organization ensures you have a clear overview of your contacts and their attributes

Benchmark your work with other experts. Follow them. Compare how you do it with how they do it. Don't copy, rather let you influence by the good stuff you see.