Creating content is an essential part of running a business, but what happens when the pressure to produce begins to weigh you down? Over the past year, I’ve grappled with the anxiety and guilt of not creating enough content. As life gets busier and time feels scarcer, the balance between work and personal life can feel impossible to maintain.
In this blog, I want to share my personal journey of navigating these challenges and how I’ve learned to find joy in the creative process once again.
The Pressure of Content Creation
For much of 2024, I found myself in a mental rut. I love creating content—it’s a huge part of my business and my passion. But as my schedule became busier, the time I needed to create seemed to shrink. This led to feelings of dissatisfaction with my work and guilt about not producing enough.
There’s a duality to content creation that many of us face: knowing it’s essential for your business while longing to spend time enjoying life. For me, this often meant wanting to go outside, explore, and document my surroundings with a camera or drone, but feeling stuck on the sofa, burdened by the expectation to “get something done.”
Finding Inspiration in Unexpected Places
One day, while scrolling through TikTok, I noticed a trend: split-screen videos featuring a person talking on one side and completely unrelated footage, like someone gaming or woodworking, on the other. It struck me that my own viewing habits leaned towards these types of videos—a mix of meaningful content and casual, unrelated visuals.
This realisation sparked an idea. Why not try this approach myself? It could allow me to create content that’s both enjoyable to produce and engaging for my audience. Inspired by this trend, I decided to experiment with overlaying my commentary on unrelated B-roll footage.
A New Approach to Content Creation
In my first experiment, I focused on capturing footage purely for the joy of it—beautiful landscapes, everyday activities, and hobbies I love, like skateboarding and gaming. This shift in perspective was transformative. I rediscovered the pleasure of documenting life without the pressure to tie everything directly to a subject matter.
Overcoming Anxiety
Another major hurdle I faced was the anxiety that often comes with creating content. Whether it was finding a quiet location to film or speaking in public spaces, these challenges could be overwhelming. I realised that part of the problem was trying to fit my creativity into rigid formats.
By allowing myself to simply capture visuals without speaking or worrying about the perfect setup, I removed much of the pressure. This made the process feel lighter and more enjoyable.
A Plan for 2025
As we move into 2025, I’m committing to a new content strategy: focusing on capturing B-roll that showcases my life, hobbies, and interests. These clips can be used as overlays for any subject I want to discuss, providing flexibility and reducing the anxiety of on-camera performance.
This approach also serves as a reminder of the days I’ve enjoyed. For example, a trip to Dunraven Bay, where I captured stunning shots with my drone and camera, stands out as a day where I felt fully present and creatively fulfilled.
Advice for Fellow Creators
If you’ve ever struggled with guilt or anxiety around content creation, here’s my advice:
Focus on what you love. Capture footage or create content that aligns with your passions and interests, even if it’s unrelated to your core subject matter.
Embrace simplicity. Use B-roll or behind-the-scenes footage as the foundation for your content. It’s versatile and less stressful to produce.
Document, don’t perform. Shift the mindset from “I must create something perfect” to “I’ll document what feels natural.”
Reuse and repurpose. The B-roll you capture today can serve as a valuable asset for future projects, saving time and effort down the line.
Join the Conversation
As I step into this new way of creating, I’m curious to hear from you. What are your plans for tackling content creation in 2025? How do you balance the pressure to produce with the desire to enjoy life? Let’s share ideas and support each other on this journey.
Leave a comment or get in touch—I’d love to hear your thoughts!
ABOUT ME
My name is Byron Phillips and I run Datrysiad Media.
Datrysiad Media is a video production company based in Cardiff. We help businesses with their pain problems and communicate their stories.
We are a full-service video production that can handle every aspect of the video production process. Creating high-quality video content that meets your needs and exceeds your expectations.
