When I started writing consistently, a single blog post took me a full day. Research, outline, draft, edit, format, publish—each step felt like its own project.
Now I can go from idea to published in about two hours. Here’s the workflow.
Step 1: Capture the Idea (5 minutes)
I keep a running list of content ideas in a simple note. When inspiration hits—usually while I’m doing something else—I jot down the core insight in one sentence.
The key: capture the insight, not just the topic. “Write about AI tools” is useless. “Most people use AI wrong because they don’t iterate on prompts” is a post.
Step 2: Expand with AI (15 minutes)
I take my one-sentence insight and expand it through conversation with Claude. I’ll ask questions like:
- What’s the contrarian take here?
- What are the common objections?
- What’s a concrete example that illustrates this?
By the end, I have a rough structure and several angles to explore.
Step 3: Draft Fast (45 minutes)
I write the first draft quickly, without editing. The goal is to get the ideas out of my head and onto the page. I use the AI conversation as a reference but write in my own voice.
Speed matters here. The longer you spend on a draft, the more precious it becomes—and precious writing is usually bad writing.
Step 4: Edit with Fresh Eyes (30 minutes)
I step away for at least 15 minutes, then come back to edit. I’m looking for:
- Unclear sentences that need simplification
- Sections that don’t earn their place
- Missing transitions between ideas
Step 5: Format and Publish (15 minutes)
Final pass for formatting, add any images or code blocks, write the meta description, and publish.
Two hours, give or take. Repeatable every time.