Yesterday marked 11 years of near daily writing on this blog. I say “near daily” because I missed a few days in the first two years. But, 4018 days since we started and 4858 posts later, I’m glad to report that it’s been consistent since then.
Someone asked me about my writing process over email the other day. I’ve gotten that question a few times and I do my best to explain that the process involved is minimal.
I pay WordPress and Feedblitz so I can just show up and write. I used to manage all of this with free alternatives until a couple years back. I started the blog as a student and had more time than money – it took me a while to make the switch. But, I’m grateful for the ability to automate it now.
I also don’t check any stats or try to improve SEO or my social media footprint. I occasionally share posts and notes on Twitter and LinkedIn – I’ve learnt to only do so on days when it feels right. Eight years or so ago, I got comfortable with the fact that the eclectic nature of the blog means it will remain niche. Despite focusing on “writing for myself,” I’ve been fortunate to have folks like you as friends along the journey. I treat that as a privilege and, as I have said before, ALearningaDay email is my favorite email.
All of the above means I get to focus on taking time every day to ask myself what I’ve been learning or thinking about and then attempting to synthesize and share. The only bit of process involved here is a OneNote sheet where I dump any and all ideas that I think might be interesting to flesh out. I estimate 10% of those ideas make it to these posts.
That aside, I aim to set aside 15-20 minutes each day to write. I don’t generally have more time than that. That is especially the case now with two kids. I generally write in the morning. But, I’ve been going through a phase of late when I write a post before I sleep. So, it depends.
The most important part of the process is simply sitting down with an open WordPress tab for 15 minutes and shipping something at the end of it.
On some days, I feel good about what I’ve written. On others, not so much. But, I ship nevertheless. The discipline of doing so for the past 11 years has made me a significantly better human being and has more of an impact on me than I can comprehend or articulate.
I am grateful I’ve been able to stick with it – with lots of support from my wife. And, I am very grateful for the many friends, readers, and colleagues who’ve inspired lessons over the years. Finally, I am grateful for the many of you who’ve been along for the ride over the past few years – thanks in large part to Seth :-).
Thank you for all the encouragement… and looking forward to the next 11.
