Halfway between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, my eyes flew open at 2:26AM.
“Holy self-imposed deadlines, Batman! I have a blog post to write before December ends.”
It’s been a hectic year, and the last few weeks were a race to the finish. I’ve really been looking forward to a few days away from work—both my consulting business and the tiny bookstore my husband and I opened this summer.
As a self-employed entrepreneur, I have every right to break my own rules and manipulate my own schedules. So what if my December blog post drops in January? Who cares?
I care.
Call it an obsession, a compulsion, or a disorder. Maybe string them together and call it all three.
Whatever the diagnosis, I am a consistency freak.
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If I say I’m going to publish a blog post every month, I’ll do it for a decade and then some, without a miss …
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If I say I’m going to share creative communication wisdom via weekly 60-second videos, you can count on seeing that content hit LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook every Monday …
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If I say I’m going to draw a picture or write a poem every day for a month or a year, by golly I’ll get that sh*t done and posted on the daily …
… even when completing these tasks is inconvenient.
Is this just stubborn stick-to-it-ive-ness? In part, perhaps. But I’d stop investing in these hyper disciplines in a heartbeat if they weren’t returning benefits to me, my career, and my soul.
Consistently producing and sharing content can feel like shouting into the void. It’s discouraging to see “4 views” under a YouTube short. And I’ll admit that not all of my contributions are bangers.
Even so, I don’t regret creating or posting any of the work I’ve shared over the years.
If you’re contemplating resolutions or healthy habits for the new year, please consider a commitment to daily, weekly, or monthly content creation. Write, draw, record, or otherwise make something to share with your online world.
Here’s what you can expect in return:
1. You’ll grow your reputation as an expert (or at least a resource).
When you consistently show up with content that informs, entertains, or inspires, people will begin to connect your name with your niche. Think of the fitness coaches who bravely started posting at-home workouts—many of them during the pandemic. How awkward they must have felt at first, sweating and pep talking to no one in particular from their empty home studios. Fast-forward to today, and the ones who stuck with it (think: Adriene Mishler) have gained followers and respect for their expertise.
And no, you don’t need a massive audience to establish yourself as an authority. Showing up consistently can position you as a reliable resource to a small but engaged crowd. Even on a limited scale, you can become an influencer.
2. You’ll develop seriously toned creative muscles.
The more you use your creativity, the stronger it gets. When I took on my first poem-a-day challenge, I committed to one month, assuming I’d run out of ideas after 30 days of ruminating and rhyming. Not so. The more I wrote, the more poetic subjects and structures I could conjure. My imagination was conditioned by the sprint, and I was ready for a marathon. When that first month ended, I opted to keep penning poems for an entire year.
As your store of creative work grows, you’ll also have fodder for “repurposements.” How can you recycle your inventions of the past? That list of lessons (re)learned? Turn it into an Instagram carousel. That 60-second rant about word count minimums? Expand it into a long-form LinkedIn post. Finding new uses for old content is excellent conditioning for your creative brain.
3. You’ll find genuine kinship with cool people.
Social media gets a bad rap for being superficial, but it doesn’t have to be that way. When you put your honest-to-goodness self out there—sharing stories, insights, and even failures—you invite people to know and connect with you on a deeper level.
Thanks to consistent activity on LinkedIn (not just mine, but theirs as well … thank you, algorithm), I’ve grown supportive relationships with a number of creators and communicators who share my passion for bringing straight talk and storytelling into the workplace. Some of us may never meet in person, but I’m honored to know the likes of David, Deborah, Gregory, Jeff, Rob, and Sondra.
4. You just might make a sale.
Posting on social media is not a marketing strategy. And it sure as hell isn’t my go-to channel for generating new business. And yet, once in a great while—and with even greater patience—consistently sharing content can bring in a new customer.
In my consulting business, this has happened in response to a reel or post. I’ll get a direct message along the lines of: “Hey, I saw your reel about brainstorming. My team could use some help with that. Are you available to lead a workshop?”
Bear in mind, though, requests like this come after years of consistent posting, and typically from people who have spoken in real life with me or my satisfied clients. Consistently sharing expertise is like laying loooooong trails of breadcrumbs for opportunities to find you.
5. You’ll surprise yourself, in a (mostly) good way.
Scrolling back through my archives of articles, posts, and videos, I notice how I’ve evolved as a creative business person, and I can see longstanding through lines in my work. (I wrote about my brush with Jerry Seinfeld way back in 2012. Twelve years later, the writing still sounds like me, and other than a reference to some dated technologies, the content holds up.)
Of course my videos also reveal evidence of some truly awful hair days. But let’s not be superficial, okay?
By consistently producing content for years and years, I’ve built a digital portfolio of my growth and ideas. It’s a visible reminder of what I have done and what I can do.
Will you commit to consistent content creation in 2025?
Consistently creating content is about showing up, not showing off. You don’t have to be perfect. You do have to be intentional about grabbing hold of the stories, insights, and questions that are whirling around in your head, then shaping them into something you can share with the world.
Will every reel go viral? Um, no. Probably none of them. Will some posts feel like they’ve fallen into a black hole? Youbetcha. But the time and energy you invest will return dividends to you as your content accumulates. One creation after another, you’ll be building a digital portfolio, telling your story as it unfolds.
So do it. Write those thoughts, record that advice, add your ideas to the conversation. The world needs your voice. And let me know when you start, because I want to be your first follower.
