Why do I always fail to create a writing habit?
And what I plan to do about it
Last week, I managed to write and publish a blog post for the first time in 9 months. It felt good. I’d created something and actually shipped it. So I told myself that maybe I should write more. Maybe I should even make into a <sharp intake of breath> New… Years… Resolution…
I resolve to write and publish something every week for the whole of 2017
Very shortly afterwards, the rush of obsessively checking my Medium stats started to fade and I grudgingly remembered that I make this resolution every year before going on to fail miserably at it. So I decided to write a short post to myself about why I consistently fail, in the vain hope that it may help me to actually stick with it this year. Below are the questions I typically ask myself before promptly failing to write.
- Does the world really need another blog post about…?
Great, just what we need, another post from a young VC about fundraising tips for founds. Sigh, this is the fourth post I’ve seen on the future of blockchain, AI, <insert hyped tech here>. Awesome, 14 more steps to growth hack the sh*t out of something I probably should care about.
We all know that feeling right? Let’s face it, blogging is an already saturated medium. Even more so since Medium built the perfect typewriter to float an increasing amount of words into our personal filter bubbles. And it’s been a long time since the penny dropped for many that blogging was a great way to build your ‘personal brand’ or execute a cynical ‘content strategy’ to acquire more customers. So what’s my unique angle? What’s the jaw-droppingly interesting thing I have to say this week?
Well here’s what I’ve decided. I don’t need one. If I’m going to develop a writing habit…
I’m going to write like I don’t have an audience.
This isn’t journalling, the goal here is to publish my thoughts, and at some point I want to say something interesting to the world. But let’s face it, writing even 5 unique killer posts (out of 52) in one year, would be much more than I did last year. So simply building up a habit should be my goal.
2. I don’t feel like I’m an expert on a topic, so what gives me the right to blog about it?
If you’re like me, you have a note in Evernote or a stickie somewhere with a list of things that you want to write about. But you may also have an unnerving feeling that there are at least ten other people who are much more qualified to address each topic.
In reality, I know this is nonsense. I just need to get over this smattering of impostor syndrome. It’s not always the case that we shouldn’t write about something, even if we perceive that others know more than we do.
Most of us probably underestimate what we actually know and can pass on to others who will appreciate it
I’m always surprised when I’m talking to an entrepreneur and assume they know something before promptly realising that something that seemed very obvious to me is a complete revelation for them. Even if it was something they knew, just the act of reminding them, having a discussion about it, or replaying a perspective from my own experience can be very helpful.
The best way to learn is to teach. Writing a post on something, even if you’re not 100% expert in it, provides a great reason to immerse yourself in the topic. By the time you’re done, you may well be an expert. It’s an excellent excuse to learn.
Just before Xmas I had two portfolio companies facing issues with Founder Vesting. I started to write up the topic, not just to make sure I had everything covered, but also to make it easier for me to pass that on to the next founder that needed advice on the subject. Luckily, in this particular case, my colleague Tom had pre-empted this and written his own great piece that you should go and read here.
3. Do I really have enough time for this?
We all feel this one, don’t we. Who really has enough time to blog? How do Fred Wilson, Mark Suster and others do it everyday? I’m barely getting through all my emails every week, let alone feeling like I can commit to writing something extra.
Well, I’m pretty sure that this is just an excuse masking the real reasons I’m not writing (as with most things). I could write on the train, write on the weekends, get up earlier etc. Daily is definitely too much of a stretch for me though. Weekly may also be, but that’s what I’m going to aim for,
My bet is that developing a regular writing practise will actually create more time in the long run.
The more I write, the quicker I’ll become. Not just at writing, but also quicker at structuring my thoughts and arguments, which will have additional benefits elsewhere in my work. I’m pretty sure the practice of shipping something every week and spending more time in ‘create’ mode will help me do better work overall.
4. What if my post isn’t good enough?
This is perhaps one of the biggest reasons I consistently fail to get in the habit of writing. Putting a new blog post out into the world creates a new moment to be judged. And what if my writing isn’t perfect? What happens if the post doesn’t get as many likes/reads/retweets as my last one? So many of my posts never get finished because I want them to be perfect and I just don’t feel that I’m at that point. This uncertainty leads to procrastination.
So to give myself a better shop of publishing 52 posts this year I’m going to have to be happy publishing things even if they‘re imperfect. The only way to improve is through regular practice. As long as the posts don’t stink and 1 in 5 posts feel like they were half decent, then hopefully that ratio will improve over time. I love the view of This American Life’s Ira Glass on this particular problem. To paraphrase:
For the first couple years that you make stuff, it’s just not that good. Your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.
Here’s the quote in full, one worth watching several times and coming back to.
5. I wonder if there is a way to make this easier?
So if I’m actually going to ship 52 posts in 2017, I’m going to lower my own (and your) expectations. I’m not going to post 52 original, longform, beautifully written think pieces. And if I lower the bar it opens up several other strategies I can use to hit my goal.
i) Post a review of something I’ve read or listened to recently. I listen to a lot of podcasts, probably too many. I should just write up the best ones into short blogposts, even if it’s just so I remember the learnings for myself.
ii) Make my posts shorter. You don’t have to write long essays to get a message across.
iii) Publish a piece of content that you like. Fred Wilson may blog everyday, but often that can just be a video. Sidenote: I loved the days where more people were on Tumblr doing this.
iv) Curate the views of other people. There are a lot of topics that I’d like to write about which have already been extensively covered by others. There’s value in simply aggregating all these views and compiling them as one resource.
v) Go off-topic. One challenge I’ve had is thinking that I need to stick to one topic or something that is ‘on-brand’. But when I think about it the most successful post I ever wrote here on Medium (>13k views) was about tidying up! So I’ll definitely try and write beyond just tech, startups and venture.
vi) Post a photo-essay. I probably won’t do this, but if you can’t say something in words then maybe I can say something in pictures.
So there we go… after writing all this I’ll probably end up cranking out 3 posts this year and stopping there. But let’s see. As with most years I’m starting out with the best of intentions and I hope you are too.
