Initiating writing habits
[Currently sipping Puerh Queen tea from The Jasmine Pearl Company in Portland, OR]
In my self-appointed quest to write more frequently, I’m working on finding ways to influence my behavior so that writing becomes a default activity. To read at the pace I ended 2022 at (262 books finished), I took deliberate action over several years. Nearly every room in the house has a book I’m in the middle of, and when I finish one, I replace the room with another immediately. Also, by getting most of my books from my local library system, I am compelled to make progress. Can’t risk getting librarians mad at me for overdue books!
Writing appears to be more difficult to pick up through the same method. I’ve started leaving notebooks or scratchpads in every room but the physical exercise of writing, along with feeling like I must be in a certain frame of mind, often stops me. Internal arguments of “I’m not inspired enough” and “there’s nothing to write about right now” inevitably come.
And then there’s the computer. There’s this blog which I use my many-wpm-fingers to populate. There are the typed characters on the screen that are just begging to be edited relentlessly until the perfect right good enough phrases combinations of words are written found. I could make it a habit to type something every day that is just for me. Ah, but why would I want to sit here after work hours for an additional length of time?
Back to the figuring-it-out stage.
Initiating any habit is hard enough but initiating a multi-faceted one such as writing, which demands creative brain power, a confidence in one’s self and thoughts, and coherence, is downright difficult. I have to remind myself that getting back into writing will require effort. It is fun but not formless. It will mean I end up writing posts about writing that seemingly go nowhere. It will mean that I have to find my way through initiation of a hard thing.
So let’s start with what progress I’ve already made, instead of wailing about will:
Every morning, I am filling out at least one page of a 5” x 8” notebook with whatever imagery I retained from dreams or observations made while waking up. Since doing this, my dreams have become more vivid, and their details linger longer.
Also every morning, I have been jotting down three things for which I am grateful. Sometimes these are straightforward answers (“sleep”!), and sometimes I get descriptive (“wriggly blue pitty noses sniffing the air”). I have not yet felt an overwhelming surge of gratitude but trust that that will come with enough repetition.
Three to four times a week, I have been publishing posts on LinkedIn on a variety of topics. They tend to fit under themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); employee engagement; remote working; being a forever learner; building learning cultures; doing the right thing; and my product marketing experience. Engagement from others on LinkedIn fluctuates but clues me in on which topics resonate.
I have started reading books about writing and plan to revisit the gems from which I’ve previously learned. It’s always a treat to study the craft of other writers and logophiles.
I finally released this website!
I also have chosen once already to sit in a coffee shop to brainstorm ideas for two hours instead of a less writer-ly activity.
*pats self on back as the realization of potential looming future success hits*
I guess I have made decent headway on initiating writing habits. Now to keep these activities up and continue progressing!