I have frameworks for a variety of things, especially the work I engage in daily.
I have Photoshop templates for website graphics.
I have a marketing checklist for my podcast.
I have a step-by-step process for the blog articles I write.
These frameworks take the guesswork out of the steps involved at each stage. They allow for increased consistency, efficiency, accuracy, predictability, and productivity in everything I produce.
It might seem like frameworks would prove antithetical and even restrictive to the creative process, but I have found the opposite to be true.
If I’m trying to come up with an article idea, I’d much rather draw from a well of ideas already generated than go back to the drawing board every time. That’s just reinventing the wheel, and I’m not smart enough to figure that out.
More to the point:
In a world with unlimited options, we’re often stymied by decision paralysis.
In a world with unlimited options, we’re often stymied by decision paralysis. Click To TweetWhat if I said to you: “Write a song about anything and have it done by tomorrow?”
Sure, you’d eventually formulate an idea and start putting the pieces of the song together. But you’d probably need to spend a lot of time at the brainstorming stage before even putting the first lyric down on paper.
Meanwhile, if I asked you to write a song about eating cotton candy at the amusement park on a sunny Saturday, that would be a completely different kind of prompt, wouldn’t it? With the subject matter determined, the only thing to do would be to write lyrical and musical content that fits the subject matter.
There are things you do on a recurring basis – setting up new releases on digital distribution sites, updating your website, writing social media posts… Can you see that each of these activities need to be done on a recurring basis and would benefit from frameworks?
Even if you choose not to put any limitations on your creativity (I’m not here to tell you what to do), there are a myriad of other things you do where templates, checklists, and processes would make a big difference.
These days, I even have templates for the books I write. It eliminates the need to create the same sections all over again – title, copyright information, dedication, table of contents, introduction, etc.
I understand that creating systems takes take away from things you’d rather be doing. But I’d encourage you to do something in service of your future self. Set up your systems now so you can be more effective in the time that follows.
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