How To Generate Content Ideas While Working A 9-5 Job
Never Run Out of Content Ideas Again
Do you work a 9-5 job and create content on the side? Doesn't it drive you insane when you have a self-induced deadline for putting out a piece of content, and you can't come up with any ideas? Well, there's a reason for that.
Working a 9-5 makes it really difficult to come up with content ideas. Why? Because answering emails, responding to pings, updating PowerPoint slides, and answering client demand for 8+ hours straight isn’t really conducive to creativity.
So, as a creative who works a 9-5 job, I’ve been forced to build habits to stimulate creativity. These include:
Prioritizing my sleep
Going on long walks
Eating real foods and not too much
Curating the content I consume
Scheduling time to consume content
Collecting ideas that I find interesting
Discussing those ideas with other creators
If you’ve been struggling to come up with content ideas as a W2er, let me save you some time and give you my playbook for never running out of content ideas.
1. Prioritize your sleep.
It wasn’t until I started getting more serious about creating content that I started to prioritize my sleep.
I’ve kept a sporadic journal for the past few years. Looking back on some of my entries, one of the most glaring facts is that on days I don’t get enough sleep, my creativity faucet is clogged shut.
I literally can’t come up with ideas if I don’t get a good night’s sleep.
Six months ago, I bought an Oura Ring, a wearable device that tracks your sleep and readiness levels. Every day, it gives me a sleep and readiness score. On days my sleep and readiness scores are 80+, my creativity and idea generation is off the charts.
2. Go on long walks.
One of the most common traits among creatives is that they go on lots of long walks.
There’s something about moving your body that gets those creative juices flowing. Morgan Housel, the author of Psychology of Money, one of my favorite books on finance, has mentioned that most of his ideas come from going on long walks throughout the day. I’ve found the same.
Rachael and I have recently started going on long walks early in the morning. We leave our phones behind and just talk. Some of my greatest ideas come from those conversations.
3. Eat real foods, but not too much.
Garbage in, is garbage out.
If you’re eating a diet comprised of fast food, seed oils, and added sugars, it’s going to hurt your ability to generate good ideas. If you’re serious about creating high-quality content, you have to get your diet in check.
I love CrossFit’s diet recommendation.
If you want to be an idea generating machine, do as my high school soccer coach used to tell us and “Don’t put chicken shit in a Ferrari.”
4. Curate the content you consume.
There’s a lot of garbage content out there. If you’re looking to come up with novel and interesting content ideas, your job is to curate your content diet.
Curating your content diet involves:
Identifying the content you want to create
Finding the creators who are the best at creating the content you want to create
For example:
My goal is to share health and fitness advice
To achieve that goal: I follow health experts and entrepreneurs on Twitter and Instagram, subscribe to various health-focused newsletters, and listen to numerous health-related podcasts.
In a recent interview, Derek Sivers - a famous musician, entrepreneur, and author - discusses how he manages his content diet. He doesn’t read, listen to, or watch the news. Instead, he reads books. He uses books as a natural filter for great ideas.
You probably don’t need to go to that extreme for your content diet, but it’s something to think about!
5. Schedule time to consume content.
What get’s scheduled gets done.
Your idea engine only runs if you regularly feed it with fuel. But fueling your engine requires time, and as a 9-5er, we don’t have much of that!
Over the past two years of creating content, I’ve noticed unless I deliberately plan time for reading or listening to podcasts, it’s not going to happen.
So, what I’ve been doing is compounding my content consumption with walking or working out. The bottom line is that with a busy job, you have to make time to consume. Get it on your schedule so it gets done.
6. Collect ideas you find interesting.
The best ideas are the ones that get written down.
There’s nothing worse than coming up with a great idea and forgetting to write it down.
As a creator, it’s your job to always have a way to collect your ideas. It doesn’t matter where you collect your ideas, but that you are in fact collecting them.
My ideas are spread across 5 different apps - Apple Notes, Google Docs, Substack, Beehiiv, Obsidian, and Notion - but at least I have them written down.
7. Discuss your ideas with other creators.
Great ideas often come from talking about other ideas.
Prioritize time spent riffing on ideas with your friends or other creators. You’ll find it’s a great way to test your thoughts while getting your gears turning to come up with new ideas.
The best content creators have a tribe of creators they can bounce ideas off of. Identify your tribe and schedule time to collaborate with them.
By doing these 7 things, I’ve been able to consistently come up with content ideas while working a 9-5 job.
At times it’s not easy: you have to work late which affects your sleep, you don’t have time to make your lunch so you have to order out, or you don’t have time to go on a long walk during the day so you don’t have the space to think of new ideas.
The bottom line is if you develop the right habits and build the right systems, your job shouldn’t interfere with your ability to come up with good ideas.