One slide at a time. It adds up.

January 2024Concepts, Workflow

Read time: 2 minutes.

The new year is finally here. I’m not the New Year resolution type; however, I am a goal-setter. Of my many goals, I have labeled this year “The Year of Content.” What does that mean?

Don’t just create content, share it.

Here’s the kicker. I have created a huge amount of content over the past year. What I’ve neglected to do is put it out into the world. I get overwhelmed with blogging, social media, and the endless pages of written content and ideas I have created. 95% of it is presentation-related, and much of it has been shared with my clients.

In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about how many little things have to take place before something big is accomplished. You feel like you’re spinning your wheels and not getting anything done. Productivity is non-existent … or so it feels that way.

Work on one slide at a time.

I address this in my presentation training all of the time. Just work on one concept or slide at a time. If you make one slide better each time you work on your deck, your entire presentation will get better and better. Why have I had such a difficult time with my content? Because I’m not taking my own advice.

Three simple steps to follow.

There are many things I’ve done to help me create content and presentations, so now it’s time to put these concepts to work and get stuff out in the world. Of the many things, these three have helped the most.

Work within my strengths.

If you don’t already know, discover how you work best and do it. For me, it’s getting up at 5 a.m. and taking 1-2 hours of time to do stuff for me. Creating content, designing slides, writing, or doing anything that gets me closer to accomplishing my goals.

Make it easy.

Schedule time to do the work and find ways to make it easy. If you’re going to write, have your computer set up and ready to go. For me? I travel often, and most of my great ideas happen while driving. My Apple Watch was a complete game changer. I set my watch face to open voice memos with one tap, recording all my ideas and brainstorming. Then, once a week or so, I download and transcribe them: content and lots of it.

Simplify and organize.

These are crucial steps in creating presentations, so why do I not apply these elsewhere? In my attempts to create a masterpiece, every time I do something, I get in a gridlock, and then I can’t get anything done. Simplifying for me means breaking things down into small tasks that I can accomplish easily. Staying organized means always using a to-do list and keeping all of my content where I can find it. Using templates, having master files, and doing what Nancy Duarte calls “digital hygiene” is a game changer.

Little actions add up to a lot.

Apparently, these things work, as I just finished and posted my first piece of content in 2024. This one little action is one tiny thing getting me closer to my goals. Happy New Year, and here’s to accomplishing your goals and your presentations, one slide at a time.