The problem with most content advice is that it makes everything harder.
More formats. More platforms. More planning. More tools. More metrics. More meetings about the metrics.
No wonder everyone’s exhausted.
I was listening to Tim Ferriss’s recent podcast episode on simplifying your life in 2026, and something clicked. He talks about how we confuse optimization with simplification—how we add complexity in the name of efficiency and wonder why we’re drowning.
Content marketing is the poster child for this disease.
We’ve layered so many “best practices” on top of each other that the actual work—thinking clearly and sharing something useful—gets buried under process, planning, and performance anxiety.
Here’s the truth: simplicity isn’t about optimization. It’s about subtraction. It’s about removing everything that doesn’t serve the work—or the person doing it.
These 15 ideas won’t make you more productive. They’ll make you more sane. And in 2026, that might be the most radical strategy of all.
1. One Idea Per Month. That’s It.
Stop treating every week like a blank slate. Pick one concept and explore it for 30 days.
Four blog posts. Eight social snippets. Two videos. All circling the same core idea.
You’re not repeating yourself—you’re going deeper. And depth is what people remember.
Most creators are shallow across 50 topics. Be deep on one. That’s where authority lives.
2. Ban Yourself From Using Certain Words
Pick 10 words you overuse. “Innovative.” “Leverage.” “Game-changer.” “Disruptive.” “Revolutionary.”
You can’t use them for 90 days.
Forces you to find fresher, sharper language. Makes you think harder about what you’re actually trying to say.
Constraints breed creativity. Banned words breed better writing.
3. Film Everything in One Take, No Edits
Hit record. Talk for 90 seconds. Post it.
The stumbles make it human. The imperfection makes it watchable. Perfect videos get skipped because they feel like ads. Real ones get watched because they feel like conversations.
You’re not a production studio. You’re a person with ideas. Act like it.
4. Keep a “No” List Longer Than Your “Yes” List
Write down every content idea you’re not doing.
No carousels. No threads. No quote graphics with stock photos of someone pointing at a laptop.
Simplify by subtraction. Clarity comes from what you refuse to chase.
Your “no” list is your strategy. Everything else is just reactive noise.
5. Publish Only When You Have Something to Say
Revolutionary concept: Don’t post just to post.
If you have nothing this week, say nothing. Your audience will respect the silence more than the filler.
Consistency is good. But consistency without substance is just spam with a schedule.
6. Use Only Your Phone for Everything
No laptop. No fancy camera. No editing software you need three YouTube tutorials to understand.
Write in Notes. Film in your camera app. Edit in CapCut (or don’t edit at all).
The constraint forces simplicity. The rawness forces authenticity. And authenticity is the only moat left.
7. Make Everything a Response to Something Specific
Every piece answers one email, one conversation, one question someone actually asked you this week.
Zero abstract theorizing. Only lived problems with real solutions.
Your inbox is your editorial calendar. Your DMs are your content strategy. Your customer calls are your research department.
You’ll never run out of ideas, and you’ll never create what nobody needs.
8. Write on Paper First, Always
No screen until you’ve handwritten the first draft.
Slower. Quieter. Forces you to think before you type.
Digital is for editing. Analog is for creating. Don’t skip the part where your brain actually works.
9. Only Create What You Can Finish in One Sitting
No multi-day projects. No “I’ll come back to this later.”
If you can’t complete it in one session, it’s too complex. Simplify the scope until you can ship it today.
Done today beats perfect next month. Every single time.
10. Make the Same Thing Every Week With Tiny Variations
Same format. Same structure. Same opening line.
Change only the core idea.
“10 things I learned this week.” Every week. Forever.
The repetition isn’t boring—it’s your brand. People don’t remember variety. They remember reliability.
11. Only Create After You’ve Been Offline for 24 Hours
No social media. No email. No inputs.
Just 24 hours of silence. Then create.
You’ll be amazed what shows up when you stop consuming and start composting. The best ideas don’t come from scrolling—they come from the space after you stop.
Your content shouldn’t be a reaction to everyone else’s content. It should be a reflection of your own thinking. And thinking requires quiet.
12. Set a 15-Minute Timer for Everything
Writing? 15 minutes. Filming? 15 minutes. Editing? 15 minutes.
When the timer goes off, you’re done. Ship it.
Constraints kill overthinking. And overthinking kills more content careers than lack of talent ever will.
13. Use Only Three Formats. Total.
Pick three. Not ten. Three.
A weekly email. A LinkedIn post. A short video. That’s your entire content engine.
Everything else is deleted, delegated, or declined.
You don’t need to be everywhere. You need to be memorable somewhere.
14. Stop Measuring Anything
No analytics. No tracking. No “how’d it perform?”
Just create, publish, move on.
Measure once a quarter if you must, but daily metric-checking is the opposite of simple. It’s anxiety dressed up as productivity.
And it’s stealing time from the one thing that actually matters: making the next thing.
15. Only Create What Makes You Laugh or Cry
If it doesn’t move you emotionally, don’t publish it.
Not every piece needs to be profound, but every piece should make you feel something.
Emotion is the simplest filter for what matters. And what matters is all that sticks.
The Simplest Truth
You may have a complexity addiction.
Strip it all back. One format. One day. One idea.
Everything else is optional.
The best content comes from doing less, better.
And in 2026, that might be the only strategy that survives.
Start subtracting. Start simplifying. Start creating like a human being again.
The work will thank you. Your audience will thank you. And you might actually enjoy it again.