This week I used the ‘Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for’ retrospective format.
Liked
Working on 10 Things
Writing the newsletter/article flowed this time around, and it came together much more quickly than usual. Probably because it was a simpler concept and didn’t involve quite as much writing as usual! (You can read it here: Reflection questions for people working in content.)
ClickUp
This could be a permanent item on my list, tbh. But a few conversations and things I’m working on made me realise all over again just how much ClickUp does for me. I use ClickUp to plan and manage all my projects, run my to-do list, keep track of deadlines, document my work, track my time, and more. The reassurance I get from knowing everything is tracked and written down is huge. Recently, I’ve spent time creating more templates and reusable elements, and I think that’s adding to the sense of satisfaction.
Learned
Content measurement
Working on a content measurement model for a client gave me a chance to solidify some thinking about the topic. I was particularly focused on the modes of measurement:
- General content ‘health’ reporting
- ‘In-flight’ data for immediate optimisation during a campaign
- Lifecycle measurement as part of auditing to help you iterate content or decide to retire it.
I also went back to this excellent article by Deborah Carver for some input. The Visibility, Awareness, Engagement, Commitment framework and respective metrics were incredibly useful.
Impostor syndrome
A few things have got me thinking about impostor syndrome, the unwanted party guest in the career of almost every woman I know. It’s also been in the culture recently, because of an interview with rugby player Ilona Maher. In it, she says it’s not something she experiences because she knows she’s worked hard and deserves what she has. I liked that. It’s so important to recognise the work you put into your career and be proud of what you’ve achieved. But I think what stops many people from doing this is feeling like they could have done more, that they’re not ‘there’ yet. But after almost 18 years in content, I feel qualified to say: you are never going to feel like you’ve arrived. And if you do, it’s probably because you’re at the first peak of the Dunning Kruger graph. You should always be learning. But just because you’re still learning, doesn’t mean you’re an impostor. Just because you don’t know everything doesn’t mean you don’t know something. Acknowledge how far you’ve come and be proud of the experience you have.
Lacked
A content plan
I don’t have a proper, complete content plan for the next few months, and I really need to get this together. It’s embarrassing how ad-hoc my content is, given how much time I spend helping clients to stop being reactive with their content. The cobbler’s children go barefoot, etc etc. If this week goes to plan, I’m going to take some time to address this on Thursday.
Longed for
A stop to the end-of-tax-year rush
I’ve been working on proposals again. At this time of year, lots of people realise there’s some cash left in the budget and there’s a mad rush to spend before the end of the tax year. The work I get offered/asked to bid for in January is probably enough to sustain me for 6 months. But I end up having to turn down/refer on lots of things that I really want to do, because I can’t get it all done by 31st March. I was wondering if it would be helpful or annoying to do some kind of budget-reminder campaign in November every year?
To do this week
- Run a coaching session
- Content outlining with subject matter experts
- General content wrangling — I have lots of pieces of content in various states of development and I need to keep it all moving
- Add examples to a voice and tone guide, with a particular focus on words to use and words to avoid
- Plan an in-person kick off meeting (excited about this one!)
It’s also my last week for a project I’ve been working on since July, so I’m half happy, half sad about getting to the end of this particular marathon.
Cultural stuff
I’ve finally finished The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin, ‘A bleak moon settled by utopian anarchists, Anarres has long been isolated from other worlds, including its mother planet, Urras—a civilization of warring nations, great poverty, and immense wealth. Now Shevek, a brilliant physicist, is determined to reunite the two planets, which have been divided by centuries of distrust. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have kept them apart.’ It’s an uncomfortably relevant read for this moment in time.
