It's one thing to generate great content.  So far, that's what the Content Workshop series has been about.  But it's quite another thing to generate great content in an efficient and productive matter.  Because for most of us, time is money.  And if the content we're generating is also making us money, we need to be as cost-effective as we can with our great writing.

Here's a scenario:

You've spent hours researching a topic that you plan to write about.  You've got notes spread out all over the desk, bookmarks overflowing out of your browser, and a text file full of clips, blurbs, and miscellaneous notes you've collected from the web.

When it comes time to put it all together, how will you do it?  Click here… shuffle there… re-write this and that… hunt something down that you know you've seen.  If it took you hours to do the research it shouldn't come as a surprise that it'd take you hours to pull it all together, right?

Wrong.

Organizing and creating great content doesn't have to be a time-consuming process.  If you approach writing with the same organization that you'd go about doing… say… your taxes… it can be a much easier, more enjoyable task.  Of course, for that analogy to work I'm assuming you're organized about your taxes.  For the sake of argument, just say you are.

I'm an organizational freak.  I love forms, spreadsheets, and efficiency.  It's kind of my calling card.  If you find a spreadsheet laying around that has fields for just about any scenario… it's probably mine.  I'm not saying that you need a spreadsheet to write.  But a tabbed spreadsheet program can actually help you be a more efficient content producer.

Here's a new scenario:

You decide to write about something.  Before you do any research at all, you create an outline that lays out the format and structure you plan to use (this can change… so be flexible).  Once you've decided how and what you're going to write about, fire up Excel, Calc, Google Spreadsheets, or some other tabbed spreadsheet application.  Then, create tabs for each of the areas that you want to research.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

As you research, drop your links, clips, and information into the correct tab.  Rearrange the tabs and the information you gather in your research as you go.  You may end up merging or trimming tabs.  You'll probably find out as you research that your initial outline needs changing.  But that's all easy to do when you approach the project from a planned, organized perspective.

Once the research is done, your tabs should form the outline and flow of your content.  It should be easy to simply work through each one as you write.  Think of the tabbed spreadsheet as a digital version of the note card system you probably learned for writing research papers in high school.

Even if you're not writing a research paper, organization and efficiency can help you create high-quality content that flows well.  By staying on top of your research and content from the very beginning, you become a more efficient content-generator.  And like I said before… time = money.

Save yourself some time.  Make some more money.  How could that ever be a bad thing?