Why You Must Be A Writer: 5 Ways to Begin Your Writing Habit.
I’ve been thinking a lot (shocker) about goals recently.
Specifically about my goals and what I should be focusing on at this time.
My favorite question is “why?”
I love asking that question. It’s such a great question. It’s super easy to ask.
But it can be very difficult to answer.
I’ve been having a hard time answering “why” I want certain goals in my life.
For ex: Why do I want to go to the gym?
Going to the gym has been a habit of mine since sophomore year of high school (about 6 years ago… I’m old).
But the reason why has always changed.
At first it was to get stronger and more athletic for sports.
I played football, basketball and lacrosse.
Then out of high school it was just to look good.
Then I went through my dunk phase where I was trying to dunk (still a goal of mine but injuries are making it feel like an impossible goal to achieve).
And recently I got back into more of a body building style of lifting.
Focus on volume and getting those “look good” muscles (arms, traps, glutes).
Which brings us here.
What are my goals now?
Why am I going to the gym?
I’m in a period of uncertainty.
Lack of clarity. Lack of clear direction.
To this point in my life, these phases were filled with lots of YouTube and lots of late nights unable to sleep.
Not much has changed.
Now I consume higher level content.
- YouTube (still)
- Audio books
- Podcasts
- Courses
- Blogs
I still have late nights unable to sleep as well.
I’m even more of an over thinker now.
I consider myself a philosopher… (Last article on why you must be a philosopher)
But what’s the one major difference now?
I’m a writer.
If you didn’t see that coming from the title… Well then you really need to keep reading my articles. Because that was obvious.
No longer do I keep all of my thoughts and knowledge stored away in my head.
Your mind isn’t great at storing everything. There’s too much to keep track of. And too many new ideas coming in.
Periods of uncertainty are always preceded by periods of clarity.
If you’re in a situation like me where you’re struggling to find clarity.
It’s time to start writing.
Starting a writing habit back in February got me on the right path.
But you’ll always wander off the path.
That’s life.
Clarity. Uncertainty. Clarity. Uncertainty.
It’s like the seasons.
Writing is another layer of self understating.
I explained why everyone must be a philosopher (read it here) in my last article.
Writing is just another layer of that.
Philosophy has a lot to do with “why?”
Writing is more of “how?”
Or “How to.”
It provides more clarity. More structure.
What’s the point of pondering and questioning life if you forget all the answers you come up with?
Why provides the nuance and depth.
How provides practically and clarity.
5 ways to begin your writing habit:
1. Journal
Journaling is the least resistance path to starting.
No one has to read your writing besides you {even you don’t have to look back at it (shout out A Boogie)}
Simply brain dump- Write out whatever you are thinking at that current moment.
This is great to reduce anxiety and clutter in your mind.
Journaling will also help you recognize patterns in your life.
Journaling is high ROI.
2. Consume content
Now you may not have expected this to be on the list.
But to write you need ideas.
You have those ideas already in your mind. You do.
But we often don’t understand how to get them out effectively and efficiently.
So do your research.
Learn how to write. Get good ideas from others.
Learn how to structure your writing. Learn how to communicate effectively and how to capture attention.
Your quality of output is matched by your quality of input.
AKA get off TikTok and Netflix.
3. Twitter
Twitter is the short form king.
You can put out 3+ tweets a day and get feedback on your ideas.
Twitter is a must IMO.
It’s the easiest place to build a following as a writer.
Audience building is the #1 most important thing to focus on if you want to become free.
- Time
- Money
- Location
Get on Twitter and start learning how to catch attention.
It’ll transfer to the next step…
4. Medium
Medium is long form writing.
Now if you are reading this on Medium…
You know what medium is.
If not, it’s basically YouTube for writers.
Writing long form content is hard.
If you can learn to capture attention and write good long form content you will build the foundation for a successful online career.
Long form content is essential to building authority and authenticity with your audience.
It is also incredibly rewarding.
Finishing an article feels amazing. It is so much fun piecing together a persuasive and entertaining piece of content.
Ohh and guess what?!
You can get paid directly for your writing on Medium.
Yup, you can monetize with Medium’s referral program.
Medium is a no brainer.
Bonus
You can also start a newsletter with Beehiiv on alternative.
I write out these articles and post them on Medium and Beehiiv which is simply my own email list and backlogged newsletter.
The benefit of Medium is the traffic is already there. The downside is you are reliant on Medium.
Benefit of beehiiv?
Traffic that you own. Your email list cannot be taken away from you (as long as you have it saved somewhere).
Downside of course is that you must provide your own traffic.
Hint: From your Twitter ;)
5. You are a writer
You are now a writer for life.
You don’t become a writer when you publish a book or get 50K Twitter followers.
You become a writer first. NOW.
This means writing down ideas and quotes.
Treating your writing as your life’s work.
An extension of yourself. Of your consciousness.
- Tweet daily
- Write down ideas
- Gain wisdom & knowledge
- Write long form weekly (minimum)
- Take your writing seriously (It’s you)
Welcome to the life of a writer.
There’s no going back.
Thank you for reading!
