On the night of December 27, 2009, I set my alarm for 5:00 AM instead of 6:30. I told my wife, Cher, that I would be getting up early to give myself an extra 90 minutes to write and publish a blog post. Two writers I admire, Seth Godin and Tom Peters, regularly publish on their blogs, Seth every day and Tom, consistently.
Writing a daily blog post had grown out of a habit I adopted in October 2009 to write every day. Early in my undertaking, I wrote a sales version of “The 27 Articles of T. E. Lawrence,” a list created by Lawrence of Arabia. Not long after that, I listed what I still believe are the core skills and competencies for sales and wrote a post about each one. Some days, I had a wealth of ideas, and other days I stared at a blinking cursor for a half hour, waiting for the muse to grant me mercy by giving me a subject to write.
Since then, I have written and published every day, except for the 13 days I spent in Tibet. (Had I known before my trip that China Mobile had fast internet, I would have brought what I needed to write while I was there.)
What I Have Learned Writing Every Day
What follows is a list of positive outcomes I have experienced from writing and publishing 5,000 posts.
Mastery and Self Discipline
I have always been disciplined. When I was 17 and started a rock-n-roll band, and I required the band to rehearse for three hours every night. After talking to several real writers, I learned they wake up early to write. One recommended I wake at 3:00 AM, but for me, 5:00 AM was plenty early when I was getting started. My habits have since changed, and now I wake up at 4:00 AM to write.
Getting up early works because no one wants your time at that hour of the morning. The list of things you wish you had time to do will slide into the 5:00 AM hour with no problem.
The second discipline I acquired was the habit of writing. The early morning is when I have the best energy for writing. It feels like my mind is clear, unlike later in the day when it feels cluttered after the workday. Every day, I write 1,000 words, sometimes a little more. Brevity is good, but if you leave out all context, your message isn’t nearly as helpful for the reader. I think longer is better than shorter if you want to help someone.
How to Know What You Know
You know more than you believe you do. One way to discover what you know is to start writing. When I started writing, things I knew through my experience as a salesperson and a sales leader started to emerge in my work. Even now, I am surprised by things that I didn’t realize I knew.
One of my friends wanted to know how to start writing and I provided this advice: Make a list of 10 things you could write. Then, I counseled him to add about 10 elements of each of the 10 major topics, depending on how much it could be covered. He was incredulous, but he decided to give it a try when he had some time on a flight to Miami. He called me when he landed to tell me had 300 prompts.
To Write Better, Read Better
To write better, do it every day. Something even more valuable is reading. The better the author, the more you will learn about writing. This is why I recommend reading literature. For example, if you like science fiction or fantasy, you can start with George Orwell or J.R.R Tolkien; if you like something darker, you can pick up Flannery O’Connor who provides a view into the worst of human behavior.
Reading widely can help you improve your writing and the way you formulate ideas. I remember a lot of things I read, but I now take notes on every book so I don’t feel compelled to read them again. By reading deeply and taking notes, you can move on to another book. At a book a week, I can read close to 1,800 books, which is about half of my current library.
Writing for Myself
When I want to explore an idea, I start by writing because it requires me to think, organize my ideas, and consider how to communicate clearly. These are some of the more difficult tasks humans face. The process of writing down my thoughts in a coherent way helps me communicate with myself as much as it does with others. If the idea of communicating with yourself strikes you as odd, keep in mind that this is the purpose of a journal.
One approach to writing for yourself is taking notes in real-time. When you have an important conversation you may need to recall later, it’s best to capture the conversation there and then. After time has gone by, you will lose the details. This idea is called interstitial journaling.
Thank you for indulging me. Five thousand blog posts is a meaningful milestone, and the best way to celebrate seemed to be with a post about writing.
