Efficiency and cranking stuff out

Joe Chernov emailed me: "My question to you is this: how are you SO prolific? Where do all of your ideas come from?"

In the past few days about a dozen people have asked me how I can crank out so much stuff.

I announced my new book Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History (written with Brian Halligan) on Friday. The book releases in the next week or so.

And in November, I have another book coming out called Real-Time Marketing & PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now.

In addition, I’ll write about 100 blog posts and deliver about 50 talks all over the world.

I'm not as fast a typist as Chris Brogan. So that isn't how I can create so much.

Here's how I do it.

I love what I do. So writing books, thinking up ideas for blog posts and delivering talks is not really “work.”

I don't procrastinate. When I have a good idea in my mind or I am on deadline, I crank it out.

I don't have to sit in any damn meetings (unless I want to).

I'm always looking for material. I travel the world giving talks and really dig when I find a great example of great marketing or PR that needs to be told.

I am an efficient writer. One way I stay efficient is with Text Expander for the Mac which I was turned onto by my friend Steve Johnson. The product allows for codes for long strings of text that I use frequently. When I want to type "Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History", all I do is type “mlgd\” and the application fills in the rest. I've got about 100 things with codes. So, for example, it takes me just a few seconds to reply to a speaking inquiry.

I repurpose content. Blog posts that have a positive reaction from people frequently become stories in one of my books.

I put my internal editor on hold for first drafts. A technique called "Freewriting" that I learned from Mark Levy in his book Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content allows me to get ideas down very quickly without seeing if it is "good." (Mark's book is just about to release in its second edition.) With Freewriting, I write and write and write for ten minutes or thirty minutes without caring about spelling or grammar. Then I look for nuggets of inspiration, which I edit to become blog posts.

How about you? How do you stay efficient and crank it out?

Image: Shutterstock / matka_Wariatka

Comments

[Stephen Denny]

David:

As Robert McKee told us, "All first drafts are crap." Freewriting - or just getting the draft down on paper so the adult part of the brain can quickly take over - is a powerful way to break inertia for me.

One that I'd add to your list (it's on mine) is the benefit of mono-tasking. We've got too much to do and we sometimes think we need to do it all simultaneously. We don't. Getting something done from start to finish - even though email in pinging and Twitter awaits - is a Zen-like process worth cultivating.

Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to reading mlgd\!

[Rob Leavitt]

Thanks David -- all great points and helpful. Great reminder from Stephen as well; mono-tasking is key and a necessary complement to not procrastinating (which is one of my biggest problems!). The other thing for me is outlines; anything longer than a short blog post deserves a strong and detailed outline; the more time on the outline, the less time it takes to actually write the narrative. Anyway, keep cranking -- and I look forward to mlgd\ too!

[Mark Levy]

Thanks for mentioning me and “Accidental Genius,” David. I’m delighted freewriting has been such a help to you.

You really are one of the most adept practitioners of freewriting I’ve seen. We’re on the phone one day, you come up with an idea, and by the next day you’ve written a twenty page chapter on it.

I’m going back over this post to make sure I’m trying all the things you’re doing.

[David Siteman Garland]

When you love it, it is like a crank. When it feels like work, it is like a herd of turtles.

To give context: I've done 100 video interviews entrepreneurs this year, written a book out in December, currently in the midst of TV tapings, held monthly events in St. Louis for entrepreneurs, plus some speaking (and prepping for a wedding). Thank you coffee (just kidding...but seriously)

Here is the not-so-secret sauce: Focus on what you actually love to do and outsource or at least PLAN to outsource the rest.

Even if you can't swing it right now, at least getting in the mindset that you can get rid of it in the future is huge.

Just my .02 :)

[Jchernov]

You weren't kiddng that you were gonna blog this question! Great stuff. In fact, this might just have been the most thorough answer to any question I've ever asked anyone, ever. Love the post, and the tips. -Joe

[David Meerman Scott]

Joe -- You asked. I cranked an answer.

Stephen and Rob -- mon-tasking. Cool. Never heard that before.

David -- yes, outsourcing. I do that too. It probably should have been on my list.

Mark -- what can I say? Your freewriting ideas are essential to my work.

[Linda VandeVrede]

Good tips for productivity, for sure!
I had to do a major paradigm shift in my productivity habits when I developed tendonitis. I have to use voice recognition software now, which is not nearly as efficient as the typing I could do beforehand. But what I've found helpful is focusing on those times of day when I'm most alert - early morning and early evning - and on plane trips. While I can't use the voice software on plane trips (unless I get a cone of silence), I can take handwritten notes.

[Vee]

I often find myself having an idea or two out of the blue and if I decide to do something about it when it happens, then it usually turns into something great. If I happen to wait on the idea until I have more time however, I usually forget about it or procrastinate. Your point about not procrastinating is on point because if a person waits, they are bound to never get around to it. Anyone who runs their own marketing business or home based business should heed to your advice with that one.

[60SecondTweets]

Hi, David --

I get asked the same question all the time.

I chalk it up to ADHD. (I'm not kidding.) Sure, as a kid I was bouncing off the walls, but as an adult, I've been able to channel that into productive energy.

I also love what I do (writing a blog, authoring a book, speaking at events, consulting). So, like you, it's not really work -- it's fun!

Best,
Jamie Turner
The 60 Second Marketer

[Go2Mach2]

Thanks David...All good tips.

The one thing I do every day without fail is "Listen."

Whether that's listening to the viewpoints of other people, reading various materials, or simply looking around the internet - I Listen...

Listening gives me the spark to put everything else into action.

Thanks again...I needed the reminder today.

[Ianryerson]

I agree strongly with the "free writing" strategy. It allows for all your thought to poor out in front of you without them getting lost or shuffled around inside your head.

[Kathy Garolsky]

Thanks for the good tips you shared.
Hoping to learn more from your upcoming articles..Thanks

[Wendy Marx]

Great post. One caveat though: You need to be prepared for the shock you'll experience with your first pass. The post reminds me of a story the humorist Calvin Trillin would tell about his first draft: Something on the order of if his maid every wanted to she could put him out of business by publicizing his first drafts.

[Tom Nolan]

How bizarre...was wondering myself how you produce so many posts and have time to write books etc and wam here's the answer...ahead of the game again David!

[Srinivas Rao]

David,

I love all your tips. I'm somebody who has severe ADHD. But what I realized is that I could harness the power of that it. It turns out when you love what to you do, laser like focus becomes easy. I can often write 5 blog posts in 2 hours when I get into a flow state. I realized that people have natural states of flow or getting in the zone and if they do all their work during those zones they can be really productive. I also try to do almost all of my work early in the morning and only do admin stuff later in the day.

[chandani]

That is some really good points David. If you love what you do it keeps cranking. Inspired by you I just recently restarted my blog to improve my writing. I look for inspiration in happening news and also blog posts. And just write a draft without thinking just let the ideas flow. After that if it sounds good start putting some real examples together.

[Travis Wals]

Thank you for sharing your techniques and resources. As one who has recently found what he really loves to do, I have been trying to find my groove in staying efficient and cranking it out. I often get stuck in the writing process and try to edit too much while I am writing, which frequently ends with frustration and staring at a blinking cursor for a few minutes at a time. What a waste of time. So, I am definitely going to give the "Freewriting" technique a go and see if it can help me develop better content.

Thanks!

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks to all of you for the comments on this post.

I'm sort of amazed at the reaction of this post. I didn't realize this would become a popular topic.

Joe asked me the question and I wrote him a quick answer via email. Then I spent about 10 minutes freewriting an answer as a possible blog post. I then cleaned it up, got the links and images, and posted.

Total time to create this post was less than a half hour.

Cool stuff. Thanks again.

David

[Mark Levy]

I read Travis's comment about getting stuck by writing and editing simultaneously. I've heard that problem referred to as task overload. That is, the writer asks their system to do more than it was designed to handle, and the system rebels by shutting down.

When I write, I’m careful not to try to do too much at once. I remind myself that writing is a two-step process, and that each step is independent of the other.

In step one, I focus on what I want to say. (The ideas.)

In step two, I concentrate on how to say it. (The style.)

I don’t know if I’m a better writer because of this two-step approach. But it makes me clearer and calmer.

[David Meerman Scott]

Great approach Mark. That's what I do too!

[Lisa Sandbank]

Thank you David for the book suggestion and to Rob for the outline reminder. Your article and comments couldn't have come at a better time for me.

[Rachel Survil]

Great comments here! What helps me most is to catch my ideas for possible blog posts before they float away. I carry a small moleskin journal with me wherever I go and jot down ideas that come to me in inconvenient places (traffic, or the like). I find that once it's written down, it simmers in the back of my mind until I can get to it.

[Colin Warwick]

At the end of the week I look in my email "Sent Items" folder and usually there's something blogable. Anything there has jumped three hurdles already: 1) Somebody had a question (so probably others have the same question) 2) That somebody thought I could answer it (so that indicates I might have something to contribute) 3) My answer is right there, so indeed I did come up with some sort of answer (so maybe it's worth sharing). (Of course I remove any personal stuff before posting publicly.) Hat tip: Mike Volpe

[David Meerman Scott]

Colin -- the "sent items" folder idea is brilliant. Thanks for that. I'm going to try it.

[Peter Dunin]

thanks for the great tips and advice!really enjoyed reading this article.

[Kolb Learning Style]

Thanks for sharing your tips, I'll be looking into text expander for me and a few friends.