Technical writing is about helping people. Technical writers are mediators between users and the company. They try to eliminate any roadblocks clients might have when using a product or a service.
In this post, we would like to show you a typical day in the life of a technical writer. We are also going to provide some tips that might help you plan your day through and just enjoy what you like doing the most - writing.
Productive Mornings
To get the most of your daily tasks done, it is important to start planning things ahead right in the morning. Many technical specialists claim to do this. Remember, it is always better to start off with more difficult tasks, to get them out of the way before lunch.
Revising some already written material works best in the first part of the day, as well. Especially, when you had a good night sleep, your brain got 'rebooted' and is now ready for action.
Of course, this will mostly apply to office workers with the 9-to-5 schedule. But, regardless of when your work starts, try doing the planning part first. Yes, freelancing is now a big thing for the whole technical writing industry, but even if you are a freelance tech writer, you should plan your work day ahead properly.
By the way, we have a great post on freelance vs. full-time for tech writers, check it out to learn the pros and cons of either approach.
Best Lunch Breaks Ever
There are two types of people: some like having productive lunch breaks, communicating with colleagues about work, networking, etc.; while others prefer resting from work completely. For technical writers, we would suggest the second option.
This, actually, concerns many professions where people are dealing with loads of information. It can be exhausting to keep concentrating all day long. So, our advice is - take a real lunch break. Clear your head a little, go eat outside, do some fun stuff like playing a video game with other team members, take a walk, or just relax on a sofa with some great music in your headphones.
You will be amazed at how much more you can accomplish after your break is over. So, the most productive lunch breaks are lazy and work-free!
Right after lunch another efficiency peak usually comes. And, we have some ultimate advice from experienced tech writers that you can implement at that time.
First, make sure you are through with all tasks that have dangerously close deadlines, and then dedicate a little time to research, 2 hours a week is enough. Try keeping up with the emerging technology that your projects are connected to. This will help you not just do a better job working on a specific project, you will also be constantly growing as a specialist.
End of Work Day Crisis
If you followed our advice and got all the most frustrating tasks done in the first part of the day, the end of your work day will be a walk in a park. Now, you can do some less pressing and stressful tasks, so you won’t even notice that your productivity keeps decreasing.
But, if the end of the day still feels like a struggle, try using some of the lifehacks for technical writers we have prepared.
They can be used at any time throughout the day, of course. It is just that you might want a little efficiency boost right before going home.
Conclusion
So, this is a typical day of a technical writing specialist. We do hope that the tips we have added to this post will help you to make your work more efficient and way less stressful.
Good Luck with your technical writing!
ClickHelp Team
Author, host and deliver documentation across platforms and devices