This focus on a single point is exactly why so many people get overwhelmed by automated writing tools. Left to its own devices, a machine will dump a whole bucket of competing concepts into a draft. It takes a thoughtful human eye to step in, sweep away the extra fluff, and make sure just one useful lesson actually lands with the reader.
Hi Chuck, good question. And the answer is two-fold. Yes, it was difficult to get into the «habit» of stripping away the extras. But the structure helps.
It is kind of the same thing as getting used to meditation and acknowledging all your chaotic thoughts, and then pushing them gently away to reach that point of calmness.
As with a lot of things, it gets a bit easier with practice, but it is still a challenge at times when you have a lot on your mind you want to write about.
There is a variant of the methodology that is called «a 5 bullet operational order» that does the same thing, with structure, but caters for several more factors than the 3 I referred to above. It is used for planning of bigger exercises etc.
I store extra factors I want to discuss for a new papers/posts/essays.
Bottom line is that keeping stuff simple is not easy and is an art that needs to be diligently practiced to work.
Stripping away the noise really is a discipline, and I love your comparison to meditation. It’s so easy to let a chaotic flood of ideas take over the moment you sit down to create. Having a framework like the five-bullet operational order forces you to acknowledge those distracting thoughts, politely show them the door, and focus entirely on what matters.
Thank you for sharing this strategy. I’ve already begun incorporating it into my own content creation workflow, and it’s completely changing how I structure my ideas.
I'm actually using it right now to outline my next newsletter draft!
The same thing is applicable if we don’t structure our writing from the beginning too. You’ll often end up write about several things that has nothing to do with the specific topic/problem you intended to write about.
During my study at the AirForce Academy we learnt what is called “staff methodology” for writing letters, research reports, essay’s. It is a simple and very effective way of writing;
Decide on one specific topic, one sentence defining the “problem” you want to write about, define 3 factors that impacts the problem, add an introduction/backgrouns and a summary/concluson and you’ll have a structure that aids in keeping you in line with the one specific problem you write about
Your point about how easily writing drifts without a rigid backbone is spot on. When you were studying at the Air Force Academy, did you find it difficult to strip away the extra ideas that didn't fit those three specific factors, or did the structure naturally make the fluff obvious? I'm always curious how people fight the urge to overcomplicate their initial drafts.
This focus on a single point is exactly why so many people get overwhelmed by automated writing tools. Left to its own devices, a machine will dump a whole bucket of competing concepts into a draft. It takes a thoughtful human eye to step in, sweep away the extra fluff, and make sure just one useful lesson actually lands with the reader.
Hi Chuck, good question. And the answer is two-fold. Yes, it was difficult to get into the «habit» of stripping away the extras. But the structure helps.
It is kind of the same thing as getting used to meditation and acknowledging all your chaotic thoughts, and then pushing them gently away to reach that point of calmness.
As with a lot of things, it gets a bit easier with practice, but it is still a challenge at times when you have a lot on your mind you want to write about.
There is a variant of the methodology that is called «a 5 bullet operational order» that does the same thing, with structure, but caters for several more factors than the 3 I referred to above. It is used for planning of bigger exercises etc.
I store extra factors I want to discuss for a new papers/posts/essays.
Bottom line is that keeping stuff simple is not easy and is an art that needs to be diligently practiced to work.
Roy,
Stripping away the noise really is a discipline, and I love your comparison to meditation. It’s so easy to let a chaotic flood of ideas take over the moment you sit down to create. Having a framework like the five-bullet operational order forces you to acknowledge those distracting thoughts, politely show them the door, and focus entirely on what matters.
Thank you for sharing this strategy. I’ve already begun incorporating it into my own content creation workflow, and it’s completely changing how I structure my ideas.
I'm actually using it right now to outline my next newsletter draft!
Regards,
Chuck
Hi again Chuck. That is great news that you have found the strategy as beneficial for you and how you work. Let me know me how it works out for you ☺️
I certainly will, I am currently working on it :-)
On point, Chuck 👍🤓
More tools, more automations, more overwhelm.
The same thing is applicable if we don’t structure our writing from the beginning too. You’ll often end up write about several things that has nothing to do with the specific topic/problem you intended to write about.
During my study at the AirForce Academy we learnt what is called “staff methodology” for writing letters, research reports, essay’s. It is a simple and very effective way of writing;
Decide on one specific topic, one sentence defining the “problem” you want to write about, define 3 factors that impacts the problem, add an introduction/backgrouns and a summary/concluson and you’ll have a structure that aids in keeping you in line with the one specific problem you write about
Roy,
Your point about how easily writing drifts without a rigid backbone is spot on. When you were studying at the Air Force Academy, did you find it difficult to strip away the extra ideas that didn't fit those three specific factors, or did the structure naturally make the fluff obvious? I'm always curious how people fight the urge to overcomplicate their initial drafts.
Regards,
Chuck