As we mentioned the other day becoming a content provider is an essential skill to push your career forward.
We often hear people get overwhelmed by the amount of info out there, they get stuck in tutorial paralysis. DJ DeMarco aptly said:
Stop consuming, start producing.
“But what to write about?”
“What I am about to share has surely be done before …”
“And how do I stay consistent throughout the weeks, months, years?”
We’re glad you asked! Here are 5 tips that have helped us tremendously grow as PyBites, ones that we refer back to when we hit writer’s block:
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You have to drop perfectionism.
You have to just get started and accept that your first
Niterations will suck.The good news is that from there on you will improve significantly with an opportunity to create your flywheel effect (read Jim Collins).
But accept imperfection as a guide to become better. If you struggle with this, listen to our dedicated podcast episode.
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Leaders are readers.
Read for at least an hour a day. This includes books, articles and source code.
You build up your reference and you never know where the next bit of inspiration will hit you. Reading will fuel your passion infinitely.
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one. – George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons
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Talk with your audience.
Ask questions. We don’t live in a vacuum. Discuss ideas and see what people are struggling with. It might be something entirely different.
Part of becoming better at marketing yourself as a developer is to solve the right problem.
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Seek accountability.
Adhering to a content production schedule can be really tough. An accountability partner will boost your motivation and will put some positive pressure on you.
For example, knowing that our tech reviewer is eagerly waiting for more tips definitely keeps us motivated, as well as the fact that hundreds of readers are waiting for the next batch of tips.
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Carve out the time.
In this distracted society it’s very easy to have your schedule determined by others. Block out 2-3 hours a day (we prefer in the morning) for deep work.
Examples: Jim Collins tracks his deep work and we adopted the Seinfeld calendar on our platform.
Realize that by procrastinating on this, nothing happens in the short term, but it can be detrimental in the long term. The best day to plant a tree? Not tomorrow, not today – yesterday!
So think about your future self and plan out at least 2 or 3 content production sessions a week. Often this comes down to saying NO to more non-essential things.
Documenting and sharing what you do will not only increase your communication skills, it will also open up new opportunities you could not have envisioned.
Producing a body of work almost guarantees your success as a developer and in any career path you will take.
As you’ve seen it also goes hand in hand with being communicative and productive.
To help you with this we’re proud to announce that we’re finishing up our new productivity course that will save you time and regain your focus.
This is time you can then invest in becoming a content provider and regaining focus to take your career to the next level.
If you want to be among the first to be notified about the Beta launch, sign up here.
Keep Calm and Produce more Content!
— Bob
Cover image by AbsolutVision on Unsplash