Interview with Florian Decludt, Growth Marketer and LinkedIn Content Creator

I’ve been following Florian Decludt on LinkedIn for some time now.

He shares fantastic content on marketing, personal branding, and LinkedIn growth strategies (here is a great example). Florian is also a growth marketer at Reddot and founder of Solopreneur Studio where he helps solopreneurs build successful businesses.

I was interested to learn how Florian operates day-to-day – how he manages his day, how he creates content, what books he reads, what tools he uses, and much more. Thanks for sharing your insights Florian ✌

In this interview, you’ll learn:

The importance of managing your energy levels ⚡
How to batch create your content ✍
Why tools don’t do anything until you ask them to 🔨
The importance of getting clear about what you want to achieve 🎯

Here’s my (short) interview with Florian:

What does your daily workflow look like? Describe your typical day.

I typically wake up at 5am. It’s a habit I picked up when I first started doing growth marketing and it’s been a game changer. After waking up I usually make some coffee and do some writing. I do that until about 630, when I go out to exercise and see the sunrise. It helps me get my dose of sunlight and sync my circadian rhythm for the day.

Then I spend some time with my wife and son until they leave for school and then go back to work at about 9:30am, after eating some breakfast.

I work in Thailand and most of my clients are in France. Which is great because I have meeting-free mornings to focus either on more copywriting work, account monitoring or upskilling, without having to deal with interruptions.

I then spend my afternoons catching up with the team and clients, solving issues that arise and engaging a bit on LinkedIn. I cap the day with a LinkedIn engagement session around when I post and then head for dinner with my wife and son. Followed by sleep at 930pm.

What’s your secret to an effective work setup?

Timing is everything. Effectiveness at its core is a function of energy. You can’t be effective if you’re tired. No matter how awesome your office is. So I always make sure I monitor my energy levels throughout the day and arrange my workday around it.

Effectiveness at its core is a function of energy.

I know I have peak energy in the morning, which is why I try to do all my creative work around that time.

Editor’s note: you can read more about managing energy levels here.

What helps you stay focused?

Effective planning. I always take the time to figure out exactly what I need to do before I execute it. It’s absolutely crucial.

If you don’t have that clarity, two things will happen: first, you’ll burst out of your focus bubble occasionally to figure out the next step. Second, you’ll have a perfect excuse NOT to complete the task because you need “more time to figure it out.”

What do you do when you’re feeling overwhelmed?

The first thing I do is take a step back. Overwhelm comes from drowning into work, or at least the perception of it. By taking a step back, I separate myself from the situation and that allows me to look at it more objectively.

It feels like a lot of work, but do I actually have that much to do? How can I organize myself to get the job done (well) and on time? Can I delegate anything? Can a colleague help me? Can I move some deadlines? Answering those questions help me come up with an action plan that solves the problem.

You’re a growth marketer, coach, speaker, and content creator. How do you prioritize your work effectively?

It’s all about time blocking. For example, I post on LinkedIn twice a day, but I write content just once or twice a week (I schedule it). Because I batch create my posts, I can schedule a 1 hour block of time to write all my posts and then I’m done for at least a few days.

Same goes with my work. I do project management and growth work. I do my growth work in the morning and project management tasks in the afternoon. That way I can focus on one thing at a time.

At the end of the day it’s all about knowing what you have to do and arranging your time so that you can focus on each individual task as much as you can.

How do you strike the right balance between work and life?

I love my job, so it doesn’t feel like work. But I do disconnect on weekends and in the evening to spend time with my family. The key is to plan your time well so that all your work tasks are done on time. That way you don’t need to work overtime and sacrifice your family time.

What book or podcast has shaped the way you work or think?

I’m a huge bookworm, but if I had to pick one book, it’d be The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. It’s been helping me keeping everything in perspective, and see challenges and failure as learning opportunities, rather than something inherently negative.

Editor’s note: see our full book list here.

Share one productivity tool or tip that has impacted the way you work.

Tools are overrated. You first need to get your mind straight and clear about what you want to achieve. Then you’ll realize that productivity will come to you naturally.

Tools are overrated. You first need to get your mind straight and clear about what you want to achieve.

My point is: tools are just blunt objects. They don’t do anything unless you ask them to. That’s why you need to focus on yourself, and what you want first, and then figure out what tools are going to help you get what you want.