Output as Easy as Possible

My custom-design content creation workflow

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, which as much varied levels of success. I…

  • did some writing
  • hosted a podcast
  • gave presentations
  • workshops/seminars
  • webinars
  • …

All the usual stuff. Just not nearly as much as I could have, or wanted to.

Now, in 2024, things have dramatically changed. Being able to approach and tackle the problem with a, or mulitple, AI collaborators, has enabled me to make impressive progress (meaning: I am impressed.)

Let’s start with the why. My goals:

  • Becoming, then being prolific
  • Increasing visibility
  • Building up a body of work
  • Attracting people I can work with, collaborate and further co-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 need to backtrack a little to see how I got here.

To Document and to Be Found

I see three main reasons for publishing:

A: To offload from working memory:

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

B: To learn and explore

  • Process what I come across and translate it
  • Build on what I already know, establishing new connections
  • Expanding my own knowledge and experience landscape

C: 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.

flowchart of the content creation process
Flowchart of the workflow to create content ideas

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 an extended strategy session with Claude.

I began to discuss and develop a strategy 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 generic garbage to a very custom-tailored solution.

We initially suggested three main components:

  1. State of Mind / Current Thinking posts
  2. Living Table of Contents (done: see Map)
  3. Automated Content Summarization

The New Way

A) State of Mind / Current Themes:

Initially, I experimented with having the assistant interview me. I liked the results and enjoyed the process, but for the last three months, I switched from being interviewed to actively reviewing what I had gathered over the past month.

B) Living Table of Contents:

  • Implemented (see Map)
  • Structured (somewhat) with expandable sections for each major topic.

C) Content Collection in Notion:

Use a Notion page database to collect articles, videos, podcasts, and key ideas.

I’m not happy with that part of the system. I have meanwhile installed Hoarder, a self-hosted bookmarking app that can also use AI to auto-tag your bookmarks, and more. I’ve done some preliminary testing, but haven’t found the time, or didn’t want to do more bike-shedding. Production before tooling!

What I do use:

  • Notion Web Clipper
  • Notion mobile app, which I often find rather frustrating. Toom much friction.
  • Voicenotes, recording all sorts of things, including meetings I run with myself
  • Recently added a physical notebook. I have no idea what exaclty I’ll end up using it for. I do hope there’ll be some drawings, too. My longhand is kind of hard to write and read.