Here’s a Simple Way to Manage Your Content Writing Tasks

Have I mentioned how much I love organization and time management?

In my past decade as a content manager and writer, I’ve found these two skills are essential to produce high-quality, high-volume work.

Here is my simple system for managing and organizing writing assignments.

Start By Determining Priority

The very first step in staying organized is asking a few questions about your incoming writing assignments, whether they’re coming from a colleague, client, or yourself.

  • When is the due date?
  • What are all the components of this assignment?
  • What is the workflow?
  • How do I collaborate with others on this assignment? 

The goal of these questions is to determine the priority of your assignments. It’s much easier to stay organized when you know the levels of urgency, workload, and collaboration involved in each assignment as they reach your desk.

Next,  Create Three Lists

At all times, keep three lists on hand. You can reference and update your lists every day, and use them to maintain a simple yet efficient process for staying organized. 

Here are the lists:

  1. Task List. This list contains all assignments on your plate. Include everything. Simply list the names of all assignments. If you’re working on big project, consider listing each component so you don’t lose track of them. 
  1. Priority list. This list contains the top few items that are the highest priority for you to work on today or tomorrow. It should only include a handful of items, so you can stay focused and avoid overwhelm. 
  1. Wish List. This list contains all the assignments you’d like to explore in the future. It’s your space to get creative and plan a vision for future works of writing that will make you happy and have an awesome impact. Revisit your wish list occasionally, and see if it’s possible to move any of them forward onto your task list. 

Next to each item on your task and priority lists, jot down the status. Keep it simple, using terms like:

  • Not started yet
  • In progress
  • Waiting on XYZ detail or response
  • Sent for approval
  • Published

Also include links to the assignments, if applicable. 

Finally, when you’ve finished a task, you can either cross it off your list, or move it to an archive list where you can track all historical tasks. 

Work with Content Management Tools

Content management tools are incredible resources for staying organized, collaborating with your team, and tracking each assignment in greater detail. 

Many of these tools allow you to list a detailed description, upload files like graphics and Word documents, chat with your colleagues, and keep track of your time. 

Take your lists to the next level by implementing a content management tool to help you stay organized, informed, and disciplined.

I hope this 3-list system helps you manage and organize your content writing assignments with ease!