Write Consistently to Write Consistently

The best way to write more consistently is to just do it.

I have always been inconsistent writing on this blog. I had the best of intentions, of course. I would tell myself I’m going to post a large blog post every month or quarter. But the large blog posts never seemed to pan out. There are multiple outlines for 3,000+ word blog posts that are completely irrelevant now and will never see the light of day. I’ve never built the muscle of writing consistently, and just as one needs to train for physical activity, I need to train myself to write more. The means both writing less, but more often and removing the pressure to always write perfectly.

Unless you’re getting paid to do it, not everything you write needs to be highly polished and edited. Writing is a dynamic process with many benefits beyond merely delivering our thoughts to another person. Writing helps us think. It helps us organize. It provides a venue for our brains to breathe. It breaks out of 280-character social media posts so we can provide nuance and subtly to our communication (no hate to Twitter; I’m on there often). It doesn’t matter if you don’t think you have much to say or if you think others have already said it. You’re perspective is unique and the benefits of Writing It Down™ are tremendous. Besides, it’s better to fall in love with the process, not the outcome anyway.

As I said previously, we learn best by doing (and by doing a lot). So the challenge to myself and to all those looking to write more is this: scope down your writing and write often. That’s my plan for 2022. I’m going to publish something - no matter how large or small - every week. Feel free to join me!

P.S. I built a landing page (using Remix 💿) to track my progress through the year: https://didraywritethisweek.raygesualdo.com/

Have thoughts about this blog post? Chat with me about it on Twitter!