What Works for Me, May Work for You Too
Trying to find your way to consistency is more difficult than it seems.
Trying to find your way to consistency is more difficult than it seems.
On Being Consistent
Why is it so difficult to be consistent with your writing tasks? I’ve asked myself this question so many times and even studied the WHY’s.
After reading several posts here on Medium and Mason Curry’s book entitled, “Daily Ritual”, I’ve concluded it boils down to setting priorities. But it goes deeper than that because “life” get in a writer’s way. However, we all have the same 24 hours a day to choose what we want to do with our time.
After spending a lot of time analyzing other writers and wondering how they find the time to write consistently-- I found my own personal plan. Spending your time is analogous to spending your money. So, step one is to decide what works best for you and your personality type.
Here are some things for you to think about:
Are you a morning or night person? When can you do your best creative work?
Do you need to write while being alone or can you write with background noise?
Do you need to write with a pad and pen or can you write directly on a keyboard or phone or tablet?
Do you need to write at the same time of day or does it matter?
Why Do You Want to Write in the First Place?
Writing feels a void in my life. When I have difficult decisions to make in life, I get out a pencil and paper and write down all my pros and cons to help with the decision process. Sometimes I even draw diagrams and images to help push the decision making process along for my answer.
But I enjoy writing, because it’s intriguing and mysterious to me imagining whether my reader is agreeing or disagreeing with my thoughts and point of view. It’s a feeling of love if my reader resonates with my words, but it doesn’t really matter if my reader has opposite opinions. It’s okay with me. That’s the beauty of writing and sharing your view point with other hoping to help someone in a small way. My aim in this post is to help you find your writing “way” of being consistent to meet your personalized goals.
After studying Medium’s guidelines for curating posts and learning how the Partner Program works — I’ve taken the outlook of “just write everyday” and don’t stress over my stats. It’s similar to losing weight. Eat nutritious meals, drink lots of water, leave off sugar, exercise, but don’t step on the scale everyday to check your weight. Boom! One day you will get a pleasant surprise and see your reward from all the hard word by being consistent with your original plan.
Since I’m a morning person — I’ve found my best strategy is to start writing about 15 minutes after I get out of bed. After learning from Shaunta Grimes how she plans her whole work week on Sunday afternoon, I decided to follow her lead.
Who Are You Writing For Anyway?
Finding your actual audience matters — a lot.medium.com
Why Sunday you may ask. Well typically, in the U.S. our business work week is Monday thru Friday, even though most of us may work 7 days a week. I like structure because it helps me to keep track of time a little easier.
Did you know that Ernest Hemmingway wrote an average of 500 words a day and would stop writing at a point that left him suspenseful and charged up? Using this strategy motivated him to keep consistent with his writing habits. We writers need to find our own paths — what works for us. Do you agree? There will never be another Hemmingway!
Writing Tools that I Use
Google Drive and sometimes Word
Hemmingway App
ProWriting Aid
Tools provided on Medium
Dear Reader, I hope that you find your writing path, one that works for you in your life schedule. Both reading and writing are essential for your growth. There are many good programs in Medium, you can invest in to help you improve your craft.
Thanks for reading.