Behind-the-Scenes
The 4 Secret Hacks That Helped Me Write Content Every Day for 237 Days
Habits That Propel Consistency
The last 8 months have been fascinating.
I’ve managed to…
- Write on vacations.
- Write on the weekends.
- Write on 25-hour long train journeys.
I’ve managed to publish one article a day publicly.
This is unusual. This isn’t me.
I can’t believe I’m writing about consistency being one of my strengths.
If you’re wondering about the secret behind my consistency, here it is👇🏾
Writing an article a day takes enormous effort. But you know this.
What you probably don’t know are the peripheral activities needed to support this habit.
Here are my top 4 daily habits that have helped me stay consistent.
1. Meditation
I’ve always found writing hard. Besides, throughout my life, I’ve rarely paid attention to this skill like I do now.
Thanks to never developing this habit, I felt extreme stress at the start of this 8-month journey.
This is where meditation helped. I’ve been meditating for 4.5 years now. Mostly on and barely off.
The habit of meditation has been the biggest enabler in my writing habit.
It helps me calm down, it raises my awareness and thus improves my observation skills and it helps me reflect on my actions.
Without meditation, I wouldn't have written so consistently.
2. Journaling
Till 2022, I believed I lacked creativity. It was one of the reasons, I always felt, I couldn't come up with enough ideas to write about.
But then, last year, I stumbled upon a book called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
Reading this book unlocked my creativity and changed my life.
Since then, I’ve been journaling regularly.
My journal has become my safe, sacred space where I can let go of my emotions and negative thinking.
Doing this first thing in the morning helps me deal with my emotions better.
It has helped me get rid of my limiting, negative thoughts that have always stopped me from working on my fears.
I swear by it now.
Note-taking
I’ve always dismissed and refrained from taking notes. Writing down ideas didn’t seem cool and neither did it appeal to me.
When I began my journey, I didn’t have a note-taking system in place. Soon, this started bothering me a lot.
To get over this, I spent 20+ hours watching videos, reading blogs and varied books on how to develop my own note-taking method.
I finally stumbled upon the Zettelkasten method.
If you are looking for some note-taking ideas, I’d suggest you start here👇🏾
David B. Clear’s article is one of the best reads ever. If videos are your thing check out Vicky Zhao’s YouTube video.
Since I began, I’ve written more than 300 Zettelkasten notes, scribbled 500+ ideas and developed a library of my own.
Doing so has upped my game significantly because I’m no longer nervous about facing writer’s block.
I also know I can access amazing thoughts in a matter of seconds.
If you’re starting out, make sure you have a note-taking system in place.
Walking
Movement is another critical building block in a writer’s journey. Since April this year, I’ve gone for a 30-minute walk every day.
It has been so instrumental in my journey that on the days I feel stuck, I leave my desk and go for a walk.
30 minutes in, I return with an improved mood, a flurry of ideas and a zeal to complete my article of the day.
It is one of the most important tools in my arsenal.
Bonus
In April, I challenged myself to listen to The Tim Ferris Show every day for 100 days non-stop.
My life has never been the same.
Thanks to the show I…
- Found new ideas.
- Found inspiration.
- Found new frameworks.
There were a lot of days filled with negative emotions and every time I was in the dumps, thanks to the show, I somehow found new ways to look at my writing progress.
It uplifted me and helped me stay on the path even when no one was reading my articles.
Since then, listening to podcasts has become an integral part of my life. It is now a new format in which I learn and come across new ideas.
Honourable Mention
Reading.
I’m sure you know the importance of reading and I don’t have to repeat it.
However, I couldn’t conclude this article without mentioning the role reading has played.
Thanks to books like Choose Yourself by James Altucher and The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin, I’ve found several new frameworks and tools to deal with my emotions better.
Nourishment for your brain comes from reading.
Reading is to the brain what food is to the body.
Last Words
The act of sitting down and writing is the most important. However, without the habits mentioned above, I don’t think I would have been this consistent.
A lot of these things were accidents. I got there by trial and error.
None of these happened overnight. It took time. Like most things, the initial struggles were intense.
If you want a single takeaway from this article, you should give a minimum of 3 weeks to a single activity before deciding its worth.
That’s what I did. There’s no other way.
Your turn. What are the biggest obstacles you face when you try to be consistent with the life you want to create for yourself?
