I have been writing blog posts frequently. I have no idea how many people read it.
Some days ago Radhika posted a blog post called “What am I consuming?”
I saw my website listed there. Almost all other websites are of people who I think highly of. As soon as I saw that she was also consuming my website, I felt a twinge of responsibility. I felt heavy.
If people are reading my work and regarding it highly, I shouldn’t write crap. I felt that I couldn’t write crap posts anymore. I need to write high quality posts which has the potential to help my readers, at least in a small way.
But honestly, is that state of mind good for creating anything?
No.
I entered the mindset of “I need to write only high quality posts”.
What it implies is that I’m thinking how other’s will judge my work. How they will react after reading my posts.
That’s the reactive state of mind on work.
Every good art or creation comes from within, without the reactive state of mind working. You should let your creativity flow without thinking about the external stimuli. If I push too hard to produce high quality stuff, I won’t be able to. It should flow without any pressure.
Don’t work under pressure. If you realize you’re giving yourself lots of pressure, move away from it and let your inner creativity flow.
I’m learning this as I’m going through my 30-day writing challenge. I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but it was inspired by yours.
I’ve been writing posts at 11PM at night, and last night, I lost track of time, so it was 2AM.
I have the pressure of time, and even though I’ve gotten more comments/a few subscribers, I’m no Sebastian Marshall. I hate writing daily.
I can only hope that this 30-day, very stressful commitment will inspire me to actually stick to a weekly schedule. This 30-day challenge has definitely pushed out some ideas I was hiding, and I’m glad I got them out–if only I could get rid of the clutter I’m producing in between.
I’m glad my 30-day writing challenge inspired you to do it. I thought you were inspired by Sebastian Marshall’s writing challenge.
I used to write blog post everyday after I woke up while I was doing the 30-day writing challenge. And if I missed it in the morning, I’d make sure I would complete it in the evening. I didn’t write at night.
After writing blog posts everyday, I thought it would be really easy to post a blog post every week. It did, but I was still facing difficulty. It was because I had returned to my previous state of mind where I’d put off writing for a long time.
While writing everyday, I had writing as my top priority. Later after I stopped writing everyday, that priority shifted and I found it very difficult to even write a blog post once a week.
You really don’t need to get rid of the clutter you’re producing in between. As Sebastian Marshall says:
I’ve written something similar here as well.
I think the key is Tynan’s strategy. Write (or in my case, since I focus on huge posts, do something every day) and then only publish the best.
I simply have to adjust it to my writing style.
I think you are one step closer to figuring out your writing style after taking 30 day writing challenge.
Yes, Tynan’s strategy might be what you’re looking for. You’ll be writing something everyday and posting only the best.