Writing every day means you write when you don’t feel like it.
It means you write when you have nothing to say.
That’s part of being a professional. Sitting down and doing the work consistently, on schedule. Not waiting for the muse, or when it feels good.
You go to work every day.
It’s called The Practice.
I’m practicing.
And working here.
It’s kind of fun to write when you don’t have any boundaries. I can write whatever I want here. There’s no common theme, no subject I have to go deep into. No rails to keep me on track.
Then again, there’s no theme, no subject to learn, and no rails to keep me on track. Which means it’s probably not very interesting to read.
And there’s the rub. Constraints make us better. They make us more creative and more focused.
But, let me remind you, if you couldn’t tell from my last 3 posts. My goal here isn’t to be interesting… yet. It’s to post every day.
That’s my one constraint.
And if it happens to be interesting to you sometimes. Bonus!
Thanks for reading.
Every day?
Do I really want to post every day?
I don’t know if ‘want’ is the right word. It’s more about the fact that writing or posting every day is the work of a professional. That doesn’t mean it’s the best or most professional product or output every day, but it’s the Practice that is the goal. So, I want to be a professional.
Creating something for the market to interact with every day is the work of a pro. And by doing it, I’ll get better.
Is it really that hard? It doesn’t have to be long or complicated. Something short takes effort too. But, it’s not the output that counts for me right now, it’s the habit.
So don’t judge.
This is for me right now. Excellent output will come later.
Baby steps.
Every day?
Yes!
It’s one of those mornings where I wake up way before my alarm clock.
I woke up thinking about one thing. This blog. I thought, “Why don’t I write here more often?” I’ve had this for years and totally neglected it. But I keep paying the annual fee for the domain name because I don’t want to lose it.
Why?
Because it’s historical. It’s my legacy. It is what I was thinking about or what was important to me during a particular time.
Now, sure, I have lots of journals that are full of more of my thoughts and feelings throughout the years. And I even have a bunch written in 750words.com over the years too because that’s a private, online space that drives you to write at least 750 words a day. So, I’ve been writing in there recently for the past few months to try and get into a practice of writing every day. I have entries as far back as 2011.
But here, this is different. Kind of.
This is public.
Someone could actually read this. Not that they would, or that many will find it. It might as well be private if I don’t advertise it. ‘Security by obscurity’ I say. This is like a grain of sand on the beach. Someone could touch it, but it’s unlikely anyone will.
But still. They could.
So, you write different when it’s public. You’re a little more careful about what you say, and you pay attention to the quality.
I think that’s why Seth says to do it every day.
Write something worth reading. Write something that people might read.
And write poorly. At first.
If you keep doing it every day, you’ll get better. You can’t help but get better. How long will it take? It depends on how much effort you put into getting better. But showing up every day, whether you feel like it or not, that’s how you do it. That’s how you become pro.
And that’s the subject of his latest book, The Practice.
I haven’t even read it yet (because it hasn’t been released or come in the mail) but listening to his interviews and podcasts he’s doing to talk about it I can get the hint. Plus, it’s something he’s been saying for years.
So, here’s the start of my practice… Again.
You can see all my previous starts on this blog dating back to 2008.
They are other places too. On YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Periscope, Tumblr, TikTok, along with other personal web sites with different domain names.
I dabbled, and played around with each of those when they first came out. Because I like to create and connect with people. But I never went deep, or stuck with them.
I don’t know why.
Maybe because, at the core, I’m a creative person, and I don’t always like to do what everyone else is doing.
Or, I can’t keep up with the practice.
So, here I am again. What’s old is new. I’d like to start practicing. On my own space.
We’ll see what happens.
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