Summary

Zacc Rowlands outlines three tools he uses to overcome content creation procrastination: scheduling, establishing rules, and imposing time limits.

Abstract

In his article, Zacc Rowlands addresses the common issue of procrastination in content creation by sharing his personal strategy involving three key tools. Recognizing the tendency to delay work until the last moment due to Parkinson's Law, Rowlands emphasizes the importance of setting a specific time for content creation, leveraging the habit stacking method by pairing writing with a pleasurable activity like coffee. He also advocates for establishing clear rules for content creation to provide direction and structure, which helps in overcoming decision fatigue. Lastly, he uses time limits to create a sense of urgency, gamify the process, and ensure timely completion without falling into the trap of perfectionism.

Opinions

Rowlands suggests that without deadlines, individuals are likely to procrastinate, a phenomenon he attributes to Parkinson's Law.
He believes in the effectiveness of James Clear's habit stacking method to build new habits by attaching them to existing ones.
Rowlands posits that setting clear content creation rules reduces the challenge of a blank canvas and transforms the task into a solvable puzzle.
He views time limits as a beneficial challenge that not only provides a deadline but also turns the creative process into a game, enhancing productivity and preventing over-perfectionism.

3 Tools I Apply to My Content Creation Process to Prevent Procrastination

Less time thinking, more time doing.

Image photographed by the author, Zacc Rowlands.

I used to think for hours about what content to make.

Now, I create content in less than an hour.

Staring at a blank screen, waiting for creativity to spark, was driving me mad.

Hours went by, and nothing got made.

Then, as the clock ticked down and I only had 30 minutes before I had to leave for work to make a new piece of content, ideas would effortlessly leap forward onto the keyboard.

Why is it that when there is a deadline or a time limit, we can stop thinking and start creating?

Parkinson’s Law: Work stretches to fill the time allotted.

Think about all the last-minute writing sprints you did when you had an essay due the next day.

Think about all the times you wished you had started writing that essay four weeks before when the assignment was first presented.

The problem is without a deadline; we tend to procrastinate till the last minute.

It’s not your fault, blame Parkinson’s Law.

Don’t worry, I have a solution.

I use these three tools to turn a burdensome task into a challenging game to beat.

Tool #1) Schedule content creation

Remember Parkinson’s Law?

To prevent procrastination, I set a time to create content ahead of time.

In this instance, I knew I would have the house to myself at 9:30 am. With this knowledge, I planned ahead of time that I would sit down and write at 9:30, no matter what.

Borrowing James Clear’s habit stacking method, I paired my writing time with my favorite morning habit, coffee.

This way, I have a schedule to uphold, and I get to pair one of my current habits with a new habit, increasing the likelihood of showing up to my commitment.

The next question is, where to start?

Tool #2) Establish rules

If you have a blank canvas and I ask you to draw something, your first question might be, draw what?

Without any rules for the content you create, there is no starting point, which leads to decision fatigue.

Too many options.

Instead, I establish clear rules for the piece of content I’m creating before I do any ideation.

For instance, this long-form had a few rules that I’m following:

• Write from personal experience (“I” statements)

• Present one specific problem related to content creation (procrastination)

• Present a solution to that problem (3 tools that solve the problem for me and, by extension, you if applied)

• 600 words or less

With these rules in place, I no longer have a blank canvas.

Instead, I have both a goal to reach and a puzzle to solve.

I can make a headline that meets those parameters and go from there.

Tool #3) Time limits

When is a piece of content good enough to publish?

For the perfectionist, it may never be good enough. You might spend hours upon hours refining and manipulating the content until it is deemed worthy.

To avoid that, I add a time limit.

This does two things:

First, it gives a clear deadline so I can negate the downside of Parkinson’s Law.

Second, it offers a new challenge to content creation.

It gamifies my creative process.

For this piece, I set a time limit of 30 minutes to write and 15 minutes to edit.

In 45 minutes, I have:

• presented a problem

• offered a solution

• created a new piece of content

And did it all with 590 words.

Try it for yourself.

If you enjoyed this article, you can follow me — Zacc Rowlands — for more content about writing, photography, and creativity systems. All photos in this article were shot and edited by me, the author, Zacc Rowlands.