There you are, working on your to-do list, trying to create content for your dealership. You sit there and contemplate what you can write that will be relevant and interesting to your customers. But no ideas come to you. The more you think about it, the more frustrated you get, until you simply give up trying and move on.

Content marketing can be frustrating. In the words of J.K. Rowling, author of the much-loved Harry Potter series, “The wonderful thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting. The terrifying thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting.”

Yet, there is a solution… being “lazy.”

According to an enlightening article in Time magazine, rather than beating your head against a wall, trying to come up with a creative idea in your content marketing, sometimes being “lazy” will actually make you more productive.

The article states, “Laziness is a lost art. I don’t mean laziness in the sense of filling each moment with mindless distraction. I mean proper idleness, when we choose to do nothing. In a world of constant distraction, we rarely put our mental feet up. Instead, we spend our spare time bouncing between novel distractions — going from checking our email, to reading the news, to surfing Facebook, and so on — activities that often make us even more tired.”

When your mind just won’t cooperate, and you’re doing your best to come up with ideas for content, sometimes the solution is to take a break and forget about writing. Take a MENTAL break. The article shares, “research shows that unfocusing is just as powerful, albeit in different ways. While focusing makes us more productive, unfocusing makes us more creative.”

When I need to “unfocus,” I do activities that I really enjoy and that give me more of an exterior perspective, such as sailing, cycling, paddleboarding – or eating chocolate – oh wait, perhaps forget that last one!

Your “unfocus” could be anything from taking a walk around the block, to riding your bike. Yes, in the retail automotive industry, that’s a difficult thing to do. However, by so doing, it can make you more creative AND more productive.

The next time you find yourself sitting at your desk and no bright ideas for content are coming to mind, consider taking a break, going for a walk or simply doing nothing.

You might find that by being “lazy,” you actually end up refreshing your mind and body and return in a more productive state.

So, go be “lazy” when you need to be… and you may find yourself more inspired, motivated and creative.   

To your future creativity!