How I have cured the writer’s procrastination syndrome

“How do you get the discipline required to write?”

This was the question from a coworker that started my day yesterday, at the coffee machine. And he continued by saying:

“I have all these notes, past presentations and spreadsheets that I have created over time, I would like to share them, but getting back to them is very time consuming.”

My immediate reaction is well described below:

It was an unexpected question, that has forced me to think about the way I write. And to conceptualise the reasons behind it.

I am going to share these reasons with you, hoping that they will help you in your writing journey.

So, let’s start with the core concept: finding a discipline goes through understanding why, how and when to write.

1. Why I write

Everything starts with finding the why.

Some people write to build a personal brand. Others because they want feedback on their ideas. Some others because they like it.

I know why I write: I write for myself.

I write because I like it. Because it makes me feel good. Because I want to contribute to the knowledge that is out there. And to express my personal views.

Understanding this concept has been the first step to find a discipline.

Only in that moment I could stop looking for for the perfect format for my audience, for the most exhaustive and shareable one, to start writing in the way I like.

2. How I write

I do not really know my target audience, but I know what I like: I write what makes me feel good. And reaching this conclusion has allowed me to unblock my writing and understand how to write.

I stopped thinking about the best possible structures of an article, but rather to just write in the way I would have enjoyed.

I now write in a short format, with limited references and few examples.

Because that’s the way my brain works. And that’s what I like to read. And I don’t even need internet to do so (a good example is here).

And that’s key, because the format you choose (the how) determines the writing effort.

Trying to write long articles with many examples (like this one) was on my way to find a discipline: the effort was too big, to the point that I was losing the interest to do so.

3. When I write

And finally, finding the right format allowed me to focus on the when of my writing.

Similarly to my coworker, I have a lot of content produced over time, in the form of presentations, mind maps and short notes. And sharing it was one of the reasons that pushed me to start writing in the first place.

However, the reality is that getting back to old content requires a lot of effort and commitment: part of it is often outdated, the ideas are not so fresh in the mind and sometimes not even so interesting anymore.

I had to acknowledge that the content was gone forever: it is too much consuming to get back to it. And I have too many new fresh ideas that pop up in my mind and distract me.

I need instead to write when the content is fresh in my mind.

Which is exactly what is pushing me to write this article now.

I focus on developing the core concept once it is fresh in my mind, and then build on the top of it in a separate session. It takes me 20–30 minutes to write the core, and in total 2–3 hours to refine it (storytelling, formatting, images, etc.).

That has improved my velocity, my commitment and my enthusiasm in writing. I now feel electric every time I finish the core concept of an article, instead of being exhausted.

Summarising, to find my writing discipline I had to understand the reasons behind it (the why), to choose a format that met my needs (the how) and to focus on ideas that are still fresh in my mind (the when).

This has worked for me. At least for now. And I hope it will help you as well.

Have a good ✍️ journey,
— Livio

28/09/2019

Article metrics for nerds: 35 mins (core concept) + 1:35 mins (refinement)