How do you balance the research, content, and GTM needs?

The best way to balance research, content and GTM needs is to make sure you're not pursuing any area (research and content, in particular) for it's own sake - it's sometimes super easy to fall into a task sinkhole and lose sight of the larger goal. Make sure you have a mental model where the activities all nest under a couple of top-level goals, you have to keep that hierarchy and parent-child relationship in mind so as to not get lost in the flurry of work. If you're doing research, make sure you have a clear decision point that will be informed by that research that unlocks downstream execution like messaging or campaign delivery. If you're creating content, make sure it's definitely needed as part of a growth campaign, for onboarding, for sales enablement, etc. Don't do this type of work for it's own sake or as a nice-to-have, make sure you know how this work drives the bigger goals and you'll be alright.