Seeing as how efficiency can be a key concept, I’ll link to a related thread from just a few months ago: For Those Who Read Fitness Articles, Advice for a Writer?
While the thread was specifically about fitness writing, I’ll (lazily) copy/paste my post there, as I think it can be broadened and slightly tweaked to all writing:
"First, determine your reader. If your target audience is “people who lift weights”, you’re finished before you begin.
The target demo for bodybuilding .com is different than the target demo for T Nation which is different from BoxLife which is different from Runner’s World. You don’t have to necessarily tailor your writing to what an audience wants, content-wise, but you do need to know who you’re talking to in the first place, otherwise you’ll be rambling and unfocused. Even if your target audience is “the 27-year old version of me”, it’s something.
Next (or arguably the real first priority), figure out why you’re writing. Do you have an intrinsic drive to share your unique knowledge? Is writing a promotional method to get more coaching clients? Are you just a chatty dude who enjoys writing? That’s going to influence everything from the topics you cover and publishing frequency to your tone.
After you know who you’re talking to and why , it’ll point you in the direction of what to say. If what you’re saying is really solid, readership will grow."
So yeah, in general, start with conceptualizing who’s going to read it, then figure out your motives for writing, and then finally worry about formulating an idea to put on the paper/screen.
Random comments: When I sit down to write, I can’t have silence and can’t have music with lyrics, so jazz is a good choice. More than a few articles were written to Miles Davis albums.
When doing the final edit, literally read the piece out loud. It forces you to slow down, lets you catch little errors that spellcheck missed (to/too) and helps you to realize how the end product will come across to others.
If I have an opportunity to squeeze a movie reference into a piece, I try to. It makes me smile. I’m genuinely proud of the time I fit a Willy Wonka quote into a training article.
If you re-read old work and don’t see things you’d change in hindsight, you’ve almost certainly not improved as a writer.