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How to Use Systems to Stay Motivated and Productive · The Daily Writer

• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome everybody to the Born to Create Podcast.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Kent Sanders, and I'm your host.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an author, musician, and teacher, but most importantly, I'm a husband and a dad.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Here on the show we talk about practices, habits, and strategies that help us live out our creative calling.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode 42, and today we're going to be talking about how to use systems to stay motivated and productive.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: You can find the post that accompanies this episode at Kent Sanders.net slash motivated.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Do you ever have trouble staying motivated and productive in your creative life?
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: If so, you're definitely not alone.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: My friend Carrie recently sent me a question that expressed what many of us feel sometimes, and he said this.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: When I actually sit down and write, record, or create a video, I'm on top of the world because I'm getting it out of me and into the world.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: One of the problems I have is staying actively productive.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'll have spurts where I'm cranking out good content on a regular basis, then I'll get off track and look up, and months have gone by without anything being done.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, my question is this how do I keep from being thrown off track so easily and stay on top of putting my content out weekly like I want to do?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Carrie, I think that you have separate but related issues going on here, and there's two of them.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: One is motivation and the other one is productivity.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Both of these issues, I think, are solved by having a system for producing your content.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: So a system is a repeatable process that you can use to get predictable results.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now, using systems doesn't sound very inspiring or creative, but that's exactly what you need to do to produce material on a regular basis.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And kind of the philosophy behind this is the way that you think about creativity.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Normally we think about creativity as something that happens whenever we feel inspired or whenever we feel creative or artistic.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I think we have to flip that around and look at it the opposite direction.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Creativity is not a result of feeling inspired.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: I believe that creativity is a result of doing the work.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: And after we do the work and create something, then that's when we really feel inspired by what we've already created, if that makes sense.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: So in this episode, I want to share nine tips for being productive and staying motivated by using systems.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: These very same systems help me to produce several pieces of content every week, including two blog posts, two podcast episodes, which are actually audio versions of my blog posts, and a newsletter.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: And this is on top of my full-time teaching job and my work for several freelance clients.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: So these systems definitely work for me, and I think they'll help you as well.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dig in.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, decide what you want to accomplish.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say is the end goal of the content that you're producing?
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: What is your end game, in other words?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Is the content that you're producing leading to more blog subscribers, more sales, more customers, more leads?
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: What exactly is it all going toward?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's really important to know what your end goal is because that helps keep you motivated and focused.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: So the system, in other words, is regularly evaluating whether your activities are helping you to achieve your goals.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, create a production schedule.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: I have an editorial calendar for my blog.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: It is a simple Excel spreadsheet that is a list of posts and the date that I'll publish each of these.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: And typically I decide a couple of weeks in advance what I'm going to be writing about in each blog post.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Really, it's pretty rare that I sit down to write a blog post or anything else without at least knowing the topic and some type of rough outline.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: So the system here is to establish a production schedule and stick to it.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that will really help you to stay on track.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, say no more often.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: One of the biggest enemies of productivity is simply being overcommitted.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: You probably have too much going on in your life, just like I do sometimes.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really hard, but you have to say no to some things in order to have more time and space in your life to create your art and do the work that's really important to you.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: So the system here is to change your default answer from yes to no.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I think life gets a lot easier when you do this.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, normally we tend to say yes to everything, but you have to change that to where you're saying no to everything except that you're saying yes to the things that are the most important.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: So only say yes to the things that really are going to help you accomplish your goals or things that you really, really want to do.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Number four, use writing templates.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever you sit down to write or create something, you don't need to reinvent the wheel every time you do that.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Use a template for your blog post or for other content so that each one has the same basic length and structure.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Here's an example.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you've read my blog for any length of time, you've probably noticed that most of my posts use a list format.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, it's bullet points, it's it's numbered list, like this episode right here is.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I do that because that's a predictable format and it's easy for people to scan and to read.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Usually my blog posts are around 750 to 1,000 words.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh some are shorter, some are longer, of course, but ballpark, that's what they tend to be.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And they always end with some kind of a question to hopefully stir up a little bit of audience engagement.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Also, for my um blog post images that I use, I use an app called WordSwag, which I will link to that on the post.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I use the same font and typically the same types of images for those posts.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: So in other words, it's all just a system that I repeat every time I do a blog post and a podcast episode.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So the system here is simply to use a template for your content.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Number five, establish a regular time to create.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that doesn't always work out.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: For instance, I'm recording this on a Wednesday morning and I'm gonna release this episode.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh actually, I'm gonna backdate it to yesterday because I'm honestly I'm late getting this episode out one day this week.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Life just kind of happened and that's how it worked out this week.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: But in general, I try to work a week ahead if I can.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it doesn't always work out that way, but that's what I strive for.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: I do think it's important to have at least some kind of semi-regular time to write or semi-regular time to produce content because that helps maintain your energy and gives kind of a flow to your creative work.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said, it doesn't always happen that way for me, but by and large, I shoot for creating my content on Saturdays.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: So the system here is to put a regular time on your calendar to create.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Number six, repurpose your material.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: If your material is good enough to share once, I think it's good enough to share multiple times.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: For example, you can repurpose your material as a lesson.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you can collect a blog post and repurpose those as a book, or you can turn those posts into an audio blog, like I'm doing with this episode right now, because this started out as an audio, or I'm sorry, this started out as a written blog post.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: So the system is always be thinking of ways to use the same material for different audiences and in different formats.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Number seven, attract an audience.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure that your audience has a way to subscribe to your blog or to your website or to your content in some way.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Use something like MailChip or Convert Kit or some other type of V mail service provider to set up an email list and offer your subscribers some type of freebie.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: So currently I offer subscribers a free course on my website that might change in the near future, who knows?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: But I always want to give them something in exchange for their email address because that's valuable.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: They're giving me permission to email them, and I want to give them something of value in return.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever you have an established audience, and especially when you have an email list, those people will be waiting for your material to show up in their inbox.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you might use a Facebook group or some other type of communication to your audience.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: I strongly recommend email at least.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever you use to communicate to your audience, when you do that regularly, they're going to be expecting that content.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: And the more audience that you attract, the more people who are looking forward to your content, that's really a great motivator to help you to be more productive in producing it because you know that those people are waiting for it.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Number eight, oh I'm sorry, uh, with number seven, here's the system once again.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Gather subscribers on your email list so you have an audience who's waiting for your work.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Number eight, announce a publication schedule and stick to it.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: This kind of goes along with number seven, but I think it bears drawing this out in its own point here.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's important to let your audience know how often you're going to be posting or creating content.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Then do whatever it takes to follow through with that.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is going to help you establish trust with your readers and listeners.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I mentioned a few minutes ago that I'm actually a day late getting this podcast out, and honestly, I don't like to do that.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's uh not good to, you know, waver from the schedule that your audience is expecting.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: However, I kind of figure, you know, it's better to be one day late than not doing it at all.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes you've got to be late, you've got to switch your schedule around because life happens and whatnot.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: But as best as we can, I think it is important to stick to a publication schedule as close as we can.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: So the system with this is decide on a production schedule and follow through with it as best as you can.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Then finally, number nine, join or establish a mastermind group.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: So a mastermind group is a small group of like-minded people who help each other accomplish their goals.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: I've been a part of several mastermind groups over the last few years, and it's been a huge part of helping me stay consistent in my creative work.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, a mastermind group doesn't have to be anything fancy.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: It can be as simple as just you and a friend talking every week or two and reviewing the progress that you're making toward your goals.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: That in itself, just having a person to review your goals and to talk through your goals, that is super, super helpful.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I would strongly, strongly recommend that you have some type of partner, friend, uh, accountability group, whatever you want to call it, mastermind, just to help you maintain some momentum toward reaching your goals.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: So the system there is find some people to regularly meet with who will build you up and help you achieve your goals.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: In summary, there's really no magic bullet for staying motivated and productive.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: We all know that life happens, we get busy and distracted, and sometimes we just get discouraged and we lose heart.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: However, I think that these nine tips, or these nine systems rather, will really help you to stay on track and consistently produce content that's impacting people's lives.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: I know that they have helped me for sure.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: So, what are some other tips that you would suggest for staying motivated and productive?
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to hear your thoughts.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: You can join the conversation and find the post and the links that accompany this episode at KentSanders.net slash motivated.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: When you visit my site, you'll find all kinds of great resources to inspire your creativity.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'd also love to share a gift with you when you subscribe to my newsletter.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: You can check it out and learn more about my books, writing, and services at KentSanders.net.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to connect and you can tweet me at Kent Sanders, and you can find me on Facebook and Instagram as Kent Sanders.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that you'll also check out our Born to Create Facebook group by visiting KentSanders.net slash Facebook group.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, remember that you were born to create and designs to make a difference.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: What will you do with the time you have left?