4 Things I’ve Learnt As A Content Writer During Lockdown

I can’t remember how long it has been since we shut the door on the country (was it 7 weeks, 7 years or just 7 hours and things are going even slower than I thought?) but all I know is that it feels like forever since myself, my content team and the rest of the guys at Embryo hunkered down and lived our lives as quasi hermit-crabs.

My avid readers will remember in my last blog that I hadn’t been at Embryo very long before the lockdown commenced, in fact, I only had 8 days in our trendy office in Central Manchester before we locked the doors.

So, all this time working in the spare room has left me with some time to think and I thought I’d share with you the things I’ve learned as a content writer during this time, because why not? It’s not like you’ve got to be anywhere.

#1 Offices Are, In A Word, Great

I’m sure this once controversial opinion is now universally agreed among people but I still thought it was worth saying. Offices, office #bantz and colleagues are great. That social interaction that breaks up your day was something I never even thought about in terms of its importance. Working in the content team and writing content on a daily basis can be a struggle sometimes, there are days when your inspiration well is dry (btw, ‘inspiration well’ sounds like something that Charlotte would’ve written about in her recent blog) and you generally feel a bit ‘bleugh’ about writing. The office atmosphere is such a tonic to that, all it takes is a laugh with a colleague, a chat over the kettle or someone cracking a joke to really shake you out of your mood. Remote working just doesn’t offer that for me and it can be tough on some days.

#2 Monotony Is Not A Writers Friend… At Least Not This One

Wake up, shower, brush teeth, sit at a desk, work, finish, eat, sleep and repeat. Variety really is the spice of life and right now things are pretty bland. For me, that variety is such an important part of my job and its only now, living life as the aforementioned hermit crab, that I’ve come to appreciate just how important a varied routine and human interaction affects the way I write.

#3 Shutting Things Down Has Been Very Helpful

I’m fairly experienced at the working from home malarkey so this adjustment isn’t as big as it is for some but the one thing that I’ve been doing that I’ve found really helpful is establishing physical space between myself and my job when I’m not at work. So at 5/5:30pm I’ll make sure I turn off my browser and put my laptop away. It’s just about mentally shutting off from SEO writing and PPC content creation for the end of the day. That’s not because I dislike my job, quite the opposite in fact, establishing those barriers makes me a better writer I’d argue. Because when I’m there I’m fully focused on the job at hand.

#4 I Miss After-Work Drinks

There is nothing more that needs to be said on this, I just miss going to the pub on a Friday after work.

So there you go, 4 things that I’ve learnt during this obscure time. That’s me for now, hope you’re staying safe and well and let’s all hope freedom is on the horizon in the next few months.