I wrote 150 essays in 150 days. What I learned and how you can do the same | #21

In late September 2022, I made a commitment to myself: write an essay every single day. Working in a fast-paced environment, I was learning new things all the time. But learning by itself isn’t enough, it takes reflection to internalize those learnings. Writing short and simple essays was a forcing function to capture my learnings and internalize them by reviewing on a consistent basis. I wanted to write to make sense of things and to form stronger opinions. I wanted to build a library of insights I could revisit anytime. I started with a goal of writing at least 100 words a day, but the main focus was different: write consistently, no matter what. 

Today, 150 days later I can say that starting this habit has been one of the best decisions I made. Writing not only helped me capture my learnings, but it helped accelerate it. It impacted my life in ways I had not foreseen. In this essay, I want to share WHY you should write every day and HOW you can start doing the same. 

The benefits of daily writing

Writing pushes me to read

When you write every single day, you will eventually run out of things to write about. In the first month of writing, I wrote about things I learned from work, travel, and life. But at some point, I started running out of insights to write about. That’s when I turned to my favorite authors for insightful books and essays. I started reading a lot and taking detailed notes. Everything I read became a source of knowledge and insights I could share through my essays. 

Through writing, I became an avid reader. If in the last couple of years I read 4-5 books in total, I read over 10 books just in the last 150 days. I started not only reading more books, I started getting more out of them as well. When I read, I search for insights and learnings to take away which increases my overall comprehension of the material. When I finish a book, I write an essay about it which forces me to reflect on the material and connect the dots. Because of writing, I’m a better reader and learner today. 

Writing helps me understand

I learned that the best way to understand something is to write about it. Sometimes, I start writing about a topic I think I know only to realize that I don’t truly understand it. Writing exposes gaps in my understanding. That’s when I go back to research and learn more. Even if you think you know about a subject, write about it. You will realize the gaps you need to fill and come away with a better understanding of the topic. 

Writing is learning

Writing not only pushes me to learn and read more, it’s a form of learning in itself. Every time I write, I learn new insights that I didn’t even know were in my head. The process of writing helps tap into my subconscious and uncover new insights. That’s the magic of writing. That’s why I hit the ground running and quickly put together the first draft. I know that in the process of writing I will discover new insights that will shape the piece. 

Writing pushes me to be present

When you write every day, you are always looking for new topics to write about. That quest to learn more pushes me to be more present in everyday life. Every conversation, video, article, or a Netflix show is an opportunity to learn. This mindset pushes me to pay closer attention to things and be more present. Each interaction becomes an opportunity to learn. 

Writing makes me a better speaker

This is one of the most surprising benefits of writing for me. Today, when I express my thoughts and opinions, I speak with a lot more clarity and confidence than before. I think there are two reasons for this improvement. First, writing helps me formulate better opinions on the things that I write about. So when I speak, I communicate things that I thought and wrote about. Second, I think writing is making me a better storyteller. I am learning to better connect the dots and speak with clarity. The clarity of thought is crucial. Instead of going on thousands of tangents, I’m learning to better formulate my thoughts and get to the point. That’s what writing does. 

How to write consistently  

Now that I talked about all the benefits of writing, let’s get to the “How”. Building a consistent habit will require effort, discipline, and setting up routines, but it’s completely doable. Here are things you can do to build a writing habit. 

Ask yourself “what did I learn?”

Every article or book you read, every video or course you watch, every interview or podcast you listen to is an opportunity to learn. To capture that learning, ask yourself “What did I learn?” Although a simple question in itself, it might be a difficult one to answer. The question forces you to think, to analyze and to synthesize the information you consume. It also forces you to pay attention to everything you are consuming. The one rule is that everything should be in your own words. Don’t just copy/paste excerpts from the piece. Even if it’s a couple of sentences, write in your own words.

Asking this question at the end of each reading session was the biggest unlock for my writing. It helped extract insights from everything I was reading, no matter how small. But most importantly, it helped me create a library of learnings I use to write my essays. When I get ready to write, I quickly skim through my learnings. Sometimes an insight can be an essay on its own. Other times, I connect several into one essay. Ask “what did I learn?” every time you consume something and you will have a gold mine of topics to write about. 

Set the bar low

If you want to be consistent, set the bar low. When we want to start a habit, we usually end up setting unrealistic goals that require a lot of time and energy. What you want is to set a low bar so that you can achieve the goal even when you are extremely busy or have a bad day. When I started this journey, my goal was to write just 100 words a day and I didn’t have any standard for how good the essay had to be. Even if it was a shitty essay, it counted. My goal wasn’t to write amazing essays that I could share publicly. The goal was to capture learnings on a consistent basis. Over time and with enough practice, the quality of your writing will improve and it shouldn’t be the focus early on in the process. Some days you will write amazing essays, but other days you will write shitty pieces. That’s okay, it’s part of the process. Focus on writing and making progress. Set the bar low. 

Keep the steak going

There will be times when you don’t feel like writing. When you feel like taking a day off. Don't do it. Keep the streak going. That's the main goal. Our brains crave immediate rewards for difficult tasks, but with writing, rewards take months to materialize. But there is a hack. That hack is building up steaks. I track my writing habit through an app called Streaks. Every time I finish an essay, I long press the goal to record the completed tasks. The app then shows me how many consecutive days I have going. Each time I check off a goal, I get a dopamine hit. Once you have built up a long streak, you will feel motivated to keep going. Breaking it simply isn’t an option. Start small and keep the streak going for as long as you can. Trust me, it will become addictive. 

Read more

Reading books, newsletter and articles is one of the best ways to extract insights and start your writing journey. It doesn’t really matter what you read. I think the goal here is to read enough to fall in love with reading. I recommend setting a goal of reading 10 pages a day. You will end up reading a lot more and learning a ton in the process. 

Conclusion 

The habit of writing everyday has been one of the best decisions in my life. Writing helps me make sense of things, formulate ideas, and express them in a clear and concise way. Every day, I start with a blank page and finish with a complete thought. It’s a challenge I take on every single day. And it’s the one I recommend to everyone. 

Start with a small goal. Build up a streak. Write for yourself. You will not regret it.