I Will Write More(candrewlee14.github.io) |
I Will Write More(candrewlee14.github.io) |
[1]: https://ryanholiday.net/all-success-is-a-lagging-indicator/
But as Ryan is suggesting, having things to write about is a side-effect or consequence of minding your "garden" (to avoid confusion, this is not a nod to Candide).
Any tips?
One thing I guess works is "just blurt it out spontaneously". Ryan Holiday also has a motivating line on that (https://ryanholiday.net/so-you-want-to-be-a-writer-thats-mis...):
> No one ever reads something and says, “Well, I got absolutely nothing out of this and have no idea what any of this means but it sure is technically beautiful!” But they say the opposite all the time, they say “Goddamn, that’s good” to things with typos, poor grammar and simple diction
If you wanted to do that, you’d be doing it already. So quit making promises and just do the thing, or don’t.
Just enjoy where you are in life and focus on whats most important now.
The end of a year really does correspond to a lot of things that end. The tax year, project deadlines, the big holiday season is over, reconnecting with family via reunions, etc. There very much can be a feeling of wiping the slate clean and starting fresh, and that isn't just a superstition; it aligns with things that actually happen in our lives.
So there's nothing wrong with using that extra bit of space of psychic room to do some reflection and come up with some new goals.
Easy to say “just do what you’re supposed to do” as if that phrase by itself had magic powers. It is known that motivation and habit is a fairly complex process, so I don’t get why we still get such reductionist comments around here.
We need more empathy and less criticism toward others, specially when they’re trying to improve themselves.
If you failed the last new years resolution, then reduce the scope of the goal and then start today. Lumping goals into the new year tends to make them too difficult to achieve. Start small and snowball. Don't wait.
Right. Except by March all of these people are back to sitting on the couch. I'm sure if it were as measurable as gym memberships, we'd see the same thing happen with all resolutions.
Going to the gym is so much more than getting a membership. It's also a training plan that fits you, maybe a change of social circle that helps you to be consistent, a change of diet, etc.
I often started new things just to notice weeks to months in that they don't require the work I expected.
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/morrissey/jimjimfalls.html
" If you're gonna jump then jump Don't think about it If you're gonna run home and cry Then don't waste my time If you're gonna kill yourself Then to save face Just kill yourself"
The prominence of resolutions around the day count's rollover point isn't directly due to that rollover, but is due to the collective stop-start of our usual routines.
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[1] I know it isn't for everyone, service sector workers in particular, but I suspect it is for the majority here.
[2] Again, for most but not all. I know a few people on shift patterns that involve three or four days off in a row every 7/8/14 rather than following the more common 5-on-2-off rotation.
Making changes during the year and new year's resolutions.
Sometimes one works, sometimes the other.
I started a private journal six months ago and tried to write every day. Then I stopped two months ago. I journaled today because it is the last day of the year, and felt much better after a five minute personal brain dump. It is very different writing for oneself! I hope that I do personal journaling more consistently next year because the process is very centering. As individuals we have a lot of stuff that other people either shouldn’t hear or wouldn’t want to hear. Personal journaling into /dev/null seems appropriate.
Bingo.
The reason: I find myself getting frustrated at the ever elongating list of things I might like to do/develop/improve in all my walks of life, and the fact that I try to do so many of the things on that list means I never seent to do (or even properly start) any one thing particularly well.
I miss the focus I had at certain points earlier in life when time seemed less at a premium and I would just spend a complete weekend tinkering on a personal project and on feel guilty about missing anything else. I miss the focus I had ahead of my first marathon, that allowed me to find the many blocks of time needed to more-or-less follow a decent training plan, particularly now as I want to return to my pre-covid-and-long-recovery levels of "fitness & not being overweight".
Of course I'm bending the resolution right now as part of it is to spend less time commenting in discussion threads and more time concentrating on my own stuff (little tech projects, fixing my home up a bit, getting out for runs and bits of cross-training, wasting time with friends instead of online, etc.).
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Of course there might be many who embark on a resolution to write less, who you don't see talking about it because not posting about it is one of the first steps to achieving it!
They only post updates/reflections on their progress towards this goal in the author's notes on the biweekly chapter releases, so I'm not sure how you could follow along, if that's what you're looking for. I guess you could just follow the releases and only read the notes. Or you could try catching up haha.
I think I use writing as an excuse to procrastinate, so this coming year my goal is to release useful products rather than blog posts.
For example, in my own journaling today, I’ve written 646 words. So clearly the goal is not “impossible to achieve”, as you’ve claimed.
This author’s specific goal is 500 words a day. There is nothing vague about
that!
For example, in my own journaling today, I’ve written 646 words. So clearly
the goal is not “impossible to achieve”, as you’ve claimed.
>It's extremely vague. It's like saying, "I wish to turn a screwdriver five hundred times today." It's reasonable to ask, "For what purpose are you turning the screwdriver?" ... what terminal goal are you trying to achieve with this journal? And why is necessary for you to write > 500 per day to achieve that goal?
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You can argue that his methods don't seem right for you... but you can hardly argue that his methods aren't right for him (and perhaps others).
I disagree. One can also want to write more as an end itself, simply to
become a better writer.
The number of lay-ups you do each day as a measure of basketball.
The number of miles run as the measure of my ability to finish a marathon.
As you write, you'd become better at getting ideas out of your head. Regardless of the grammar/vocabulary. You would be better at the act.
It can be a process where one learns by trying to explain it to someone else (the reader) so it helps to find holes in your argument or thinking.
It’s a tool used daily to communicate - arguably the greatest invention of mankind.
There are plenty of reasons to write.
The problem is that I’m not getting much better at unprompted creative
work. Observing problems and solving them, coming up with ideas and
executing… those opportunities come few and far between in the university
classroom.
> But I’ve decided it’s time to take my creative development into my own hands and I’m starting with writing.
He's starting with writing. He didn't say that writing is the only way to be more creative. Just that the author has decided to start with writing. Because you gotta start somewhere and he already has a blog.