Following a Content Calendar for the Sake of Consistency Restricts Creativity
A content calendar may help you become consistent, but it can create unwanted pressure
If you’re just starting out as a writer (like me), there will be days when you don’t know what to write.
It happens even when you think you have so many ideas to share. That’s what I noticed in my journey to become a “consistent” writer. I want to be consistent because I believe the experts: consistency is the key to success.
To achieve that consistency, I thought about using a content calendar (much like how publication editors manage the release of the articles they publish).
However, after trying it out, I end up finding myself, often struggling to fill out a blank page. This left me confused. A content calendar (aside from helping me achieve consistency in publishing my articles) can also work as a series of writing prompts. If anything, there shouldn’t be a day when I have no idea what to write. But…I am struggling, so what should I do?
That’s when it occurred to me that I don’t understand how and when to use a content calendar.
Planning content ahead of time helps with consistency but it has its limits
I’m a newbie who is a sucker for tips and tricks to establish myself as a writer in the shortest amount of time.
I tampered with the idea of having a content calendar when I decided to pursue a niche topic: life lessons from video games. The goal was to set three months’ worth of topics I could write about and when to publish them. If I can publish an article at the same time each week for 3 months, I will look “consistent” on the internet.
This made theoretical sense when I initially created my content calendar.
However, no one warned me about how hard it is to hash out the details (on the day of writing the article). The flaw in the theory has nothing to do with the content calendar)— it is with the user. The fact that I don’t know what to write is a sign of how much I know about the topic.
If I’m struggling to write, it just means that I haven’t explored the topic well enough to write about it. Now, if it feels like I can write a book about it, then that’s how I know it’s the topic I should write about. None of what I just said was taken into account when I created my content calendar. That was my beginner’s mistake:
I focused too much on following a content calendar without thinking about why I needed a calendar in the first place.
The dilemma with following a content calendar
Which is more important: consistency in publishing your content or consistency in the quality of your content?
Both are equally important. Both require consistent practice. When I say “consistent practice”, I mean, writing in a literal sense. However, consistent practice (alone) does not guarantee the quality of your article will improve over time. It needs to be backed up by consistent publishing. That means, sharing your work with others. Otherwise, you cannot acquire feedback. Without feedback, you can’t improve.
As someone who is new to writing, I understand that.
But in reality, doing both at the same time is a struggle.
Whenever I focus on publishing, meeting the deadline becomes more important than the quality of the article. I find myself half-assing the work for the sake of meeting a phantom deadline no one really cares about. I become a slave to my content calendar.
On the other hand, whenever I focus on quality, I overedit to the point that I’m taking forever to finish an article no one really cares about. I’m a nobody on the internet, so it doesn’t make sense to put all this pressure on myself.
But that’s what I feel. That needs to be acknowledged. Dismissing that feeling consistently may be the key to relieving myself from that pressure. It doesn’t make sense for a new writer to have a dilemma.
It’s a fact that I need to be reminded of every time I write.
When to create a content calendar
I still see the value of having a content calendar, but, there’s a time for it.
It’s not when you’re new to writing because it is unlikely that you’ll instantly find your writing voice. This just means that you haven’t published enough articles to understand what readers expect more from you and what you enjoy writing about. Without that understanding, following a content calendar will only cause you to burn out.
Publishing an article for the sake of staying consistent may be an effective strategy to create a writing habit — but that’s about it.
Staying “consistent” does not guarantee that the quality of your articles will improve over time. The improvement you seek really depends on how intentional you are at practicing your craft. Instead of treating writing as a 9–5 job that follows a strict schedule (for the sake of consistency), perhaps it’s more helpful to enjoy the process as you go.
The more you enjoy the process, the better you become at writing (without even realizing it).
