Should *Being Consistent* Be on Your Checklist if You Are Just Starting Out on Medium
A reminiscence of my initial days on the platform compared to my recent inconsistent posting routine.
Introduction and some background
This is again one of those stories that start with I vividly remember. But I will try to keep it organised and short.
It was in July 2021 when I posted my first article on Medium and it was not until September that I became any serious about writing on this platform.
It all started with no reading and occasional writing that changed into no writing and reading, reading, and some more reading.
We all have that honeymoon period of reading when we take a new subscription to Medium and just can’t hold ourselves back from discovering all the diverse voices that were once behind a paywall.
I posted a lot in the months of September through November. But since then my schedule has been rocky. Crests and troughs keep coming. Sometimes I am away from the platforms for months on an end.
This utopia of writing consistently has always fascinated me. I want to have a one-on-one Zoom call with consistent writers (like the big names on the platform) and see for myself that disciplined writers do exist.
Though that was a little too exaggerated, consistent writers never fail to amaze me.
Some people even handle online writing with their 9–5. Can you believe that? Big fan of Eve Arnold here.
So how should you approach your beginning days?
To be honest, I am one big quitter. No negative self-talk intended here, just being a realist.
I start a lot of things with enthusiasm brimming in me. But come the struggle phase, and I turn to either quitting or giving it no importance at all.
That’s what makes me grateful (and a bit proud) for the fact that I have been writing on this platform for more than a year.
But I think I committed a horrible mistake in the beginning by forcing myself to write on the platform.
Though it was not a routine but rather an infrequent happening, it did affect my mood and made me even more disinterested in putting my fingers to the keyboard.
Conclusion
As Steve Jobs puts it: “[…] you can only connect them looking backwards;” I too can do nothing but learn from the wrong I have committed in the past.
It would have been a lot better had I not thought about followers, stats, consistency, growth, fall, redundancy, or self-doubt at all.
Yes, consistency included.
Just like a newborn is handled with all the love and care in the world, you too need that peace of mind when you are just getting started in your Medium journey, or any other endeavour.
That is what I think is the best.
If you are just getting started, give zero fucks to all the jargon and metrics. Just focus on your love for writing and everything will fall into its place.
What are your thoughts on this topic? What was your experience when you were new to Medium? I would love it if you could share it or write a whole article describing it. Don’t forget to tag me :)
A version of this article originally appeared in my newsletter.