Output as Easy as Possible

This page is part of the Map of what’s going on in my mind. Please note that this article is unfinished. Take it as my current public draft.

More Output

The wish to create or produce more output has been with me for a long time. I’ve been through various attempts at solving this for me.

Now, in 2024, the game has changed. Being able to approach and tackle the problem with an AI collaborator, has enabled me to make impressive progress. The fact that I am typing and you are reading this, is the proof in the pudding.

Let’s start with the why. My goals:

• Becoming, then being prolific
• Increasing visisbility
• Building a body of work
• Attracting people I can work with, collaborate and further develop my/our ideas
• Balancing my input-to-output ratio, so that I can to some extent justify my curiosity-driven explorations and adventures

I have to backtrack a little to see how I got here.

To Document and to Be Found

I see two main reasons for publishing anything:

A: To offload from working memory:

• Create a record
• Achieve closure
• Free up mental space to move on

B: To communicate and connnect:

• Connect with the right audience
• Share ideas that resonate

Iteration 1: A Better Way to Extract What’s on My Mind

This is a version from sometime late July, early August.

The innovative part of this workflow was the the Monthly Expert Interview. That’s the key element. Here’s why:

I arrived at a point where it seemed, for most people, the main problem of creating content was to have ideas what to write about. That is not so much a problem for me, honestly. Since I do have lots of interests and read/watch things and talk to people, I have more than enough input.

Further, most people try to solve the lack of ideas by:

• copying what others (influencers, top voices and thought leaders) post about, including the used structure (template)
• using some kind of topics matrix or formula to generate ideas, e.g. your topic is weight loss; your formula is “These 7 (usually, it is 7, right?) foods are sabotaging you” Do we really need more of this? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Well, note the top left of the diagram, I think, one, I actually know what I’m talking about because I actually have expertise and experience. And two, I also have my somewhat unique perspective, take, or opinion on things.

Combine that with the input, and voilá, we have a potent mix.

To facilitate my own regular brain dump – maybe “working memory extraction” sounds a bit nicer, I experimented a bit and implmemted the expert interview, for which I am playing the expert, and AI is taking the role of a decently prepared journalist.

That worked great. I provided the AI system with some research, which consisted of a list of topics I have on my mind at the time. Then I instructed it to execute an interview with me, and to feel free to ask follow-up questions if and when I may mention or touch upon other, related, topics during the interview.

Iteration 2: Make It Fit Like a Glove

In phase 2, I had a strategy session with Claude. We started by looking at the writing process of James Clear (Atomic Habits). I soon realized that Clear is wirting books and has a very problem set quite different from mine.

I began to discuss and iterate on this with the AI. I have to admit, I was again delightfully surprised by the results of the process. In short, we were able to go from very generic advice to a very custom-tailored solution. Until I get a chance to review this process, here’s the preliminary result, as a summary.

Refined Approach to Content Capture and Publishing (Summary)

Initial Context and Challenges

• You're a consultant specializing in remote team operations and exploring the use of generative AI in the workplace.
• Your main challenge is capturing and publishing ideas before losing interest or moving on to new topics.
• You already publish content but want to improve your process for triaging ideas and mapping them to the right format, medium, and channel.

Initial Proposed Solutions

We initially suggested three main components:

• State of Mind / Current Thinking posts
• Living Table of Contents (done: see Map)
• Automated Content Summarization

Reasoning: These components would allow you to capture evolving thoughts, provide easy navigation of your content, and maintain an up-to-date overview without constant manual updates.

Your Feedback and Additional Context

• You use Notion and Voicenotes for note-taking and idea capture.
• You’ve been experimenting with an AI-assisted interview format for State of Mind posts.
• You have a website that could potentially host a Living Table of Contents.

This feedback helped us refine our approach to better fit your existing tools and preferences.

The New Way

A) State of Mind / Current Thinking (AI-Assisted Interview Format):

• Monthly AI-generated interviews based on your recent content and experiences.
• Use of Voicenotes for recording responses, with AI transcription and summarization.

Reasoning: This leverages your natural tendency to “ramble and meander” while providing structure, and integrates with tools you’re already using.

B) Living Table of Contents:

• Implemented on your consulting business website (see Map)
• Structured with expandable sections for each major topic.

Reasoning: This aligns with your professional focus, provides value to clients, and offers SEO benefits.

C) Content Collection in Notion:

• Monthly Notion page to collect articles, videos, podcasts, and key ideas.
• Focus on making collection as easy as possible (AEAP).

Reasoning: This addresses the core challenge of capturing ideas before losing interest, utilizing a tool you're already comfortable with.

Detailed Implementation for Content Collection

We focused on making it easy to add content to your monthly Notion page:

• Notion Web Clipper for easy saving of web content
• Email-to-Notion integration for quick captures
• Mobile app quick add for on-the-go ideas
• IFTTT or Zapier automations for collecting from various sources
• Voicenotes integration for audio captures
• Shortcuts and templates to reduce friction

Reasoning: By reducing the effort required to capture ideas and content, you're more likely to consistently collect material for your monthly reviews and publications.

Next Steps and Considerations

• Start with setting up the monthly Notion page template
• Implement one or two collection methods (e.g., Web Clipper and email integration)
• Test the workflow for a week and adjust as needed

Reasoning: This gradual approach allows you to find what works best for your specific workflow without overwhelming changes.

Claude’s comment:

 Throughout our conversation, we continually refined our approach based on your feedback and specific needs. We moved from a broad, potentially over-structured system to a more flexible, integrated approach that leverages your existing tools and preferences. The focus shifted from comprehensive content management to making idea capture and regular reflection as frictionless as possible, addressing your core challenge of capturing ideas before losing interest or moving on to new topics.

This refined system aims to balance structure with flexibility, allowing you to maintain a consistent output of content while accommodating your natural work style and the evolving nature of your ideas and interests.