Consistency is key, but so is your health

If you ask anyone involved in content creation for one piece of star advice that has allowed them to reach so many people and see brand success, they will often say “consistency”.

If your readers/listeners/viewers don’t know when you’re going to release content, then they will forget about you, and you cannot build up your following.

Of course, consistently putting out good quality content will keep you top of mind, but it’s a lot of work! Whenever I speak to entrepreneurs about this, they get anxiety at just the thought of having to put out so much content.

And that’s exactly what happened to me…

You may have noticed that I haven’t submitted a newsletter in a couple of weeks – going against all the rules. But I started to get serious anxiety every time I knew it was time to write something.

Now, a lot of people usually struggle to think of something to say, but that wasn’t my problem. In fact, I have TOO MUCH to say. I have so many things that I want to get out there, things I want to educate people about and news that I feel people should know. So, my anxiety came from the fact I felt I had 200 articles to write, many podcasts to record etc.

I had to take some time out, as I just wasn’t doing well. I realised that I need to prioritise things and not everything necessarily had to be done right away. However, I then started to feel guilty that I didn’t release that newsletter and anxiety kicked in again.

Health should always come first

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve started to really reflect on what’s truly important in my life. Why are so many entrepreneurs so goal-driven and work around the clock to try and achieve these goals? Why do they let their health suffer as a result and think it’s just all part of the sacrifice to achieve success? Has Instagram/Influencer culture or TV shows like Billions made people money and fame-obsessed?

Personally, the money/fame doesn’t drive me, but I have an obsession with quality. However, I do always want to be the best. I would like our agency to produce amazing work, making our clients extremely happy. And as a result, I want to see all our team grow and become incredible in their own rights. This means working hard and a lot of self-development.

But I started to wonder; what good is being the best if I then get so sick that I can’t do it anymore?

So, I’ve been really learning to take time out to look after myself. It’s not easy to step away from your business, especially when you’re ambitious. But you start to realise that you’re actually a lot more productive and energetic when you come back.

For anyone who is struggling to come up with content right now and feels the pressure to consistently post on social media… you’re not alone. I know that you look around and you see some people posting every day and then they talk about the opportunities they win on LinkedIn as a result. You then feel a bit of FOMO and you think you should be getting these opportunities. A lot of these people don’t tell you that it’s caused them serious burnout, mental health issues and they then take handle the workload coming in and lose more business and damage their reputation as a result.

So, the purpose of this newsletter today is really to let people know that it’s OK to slow down. You won’t be worse off by doing less. Quality and not quantity, remember?

And… don’t believe everything you read on social media.