Is it even possible to plan anything right now?
I’m writing this as the UK is still sitting in its third lockdown. This may or may not be the final one. We may or may not be moving out of it in the next few weeks.
Planning for anything has felt almost futile over the past year. I can list tens of things that were in my calendar that, one by one, were crossed off as they got cancelled.
And as well as the phsyical activities – birthday parties, theatre tickets, holidays – that didn’t happen, the news was so all consuming. Promoting my work felt really distasteful at times. And that’s not to mention my energy levels, which have wildly fluctuated over the year.
A small example: right now, I have very limited childcare. I was going to write this while the kids were theoretically being looked after by someone else. But instead they’ve been interrupting me every 2-3 minutes, and I had to put it on hold for another time.
BUT! All of that said. I still believe in the power of having a plan for my online content. They’re just much more fluid now than they once were. Whereas once I might have scheduled something weeks in advance, now I write the content and use it when it feels right.
The beauty of planning, for me, is being able to use my creative energy when I have it. I can come up with so many more ideas when I spend an hour or two thinking going through my planning process, compared to when I sit down and try to hash something out in the moment.
Taking time out to think about how I can talk about what I’m doing so that I don’t feel panicky and overwhelmed when I need to promote something is really powerful for me.
And I think it will be powerful for you, too. If you want to stop feeling like you’re just flinging things out there, hoping they will stick, and start feeling like you’re in control of your social media, then this is for you. If you want to create content with purpose, this is for you!
And if life gets in the way, the plan can be paused or put aside for another time, but it’s always there, on paper, for you to come back to when you’re ready.
My content planning workbook: 7 Steps to Create an Effective Content Plan is available now. Want to book in some time with me to work through it, step-by-step? I’ve got you covered.
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