20 Lessons from Writing & Publishing Every Day for 60 Days on Medium
60 days behind me…305 more days to go…
60 days ago, I took this crazy challenge to write every day for 365 days. I underestimated how challenging this is and I did not know how I was going to make it happen.
Getting to the 30-day mark was a great milestone for me.
Now, I’ve hit another great milestone and I’m quickly finding that it is not getting any easier.
But the learning continues…and the journey is still ongoing.
Here are my key lessons.
1. I can sustain a good habit for 60 days
When I reached the 30-day milestone a while ago, I was elated as I’ve never sustained a good habit for this long. Making it to the 60-day mark is an absolute miracle.
Now I have confidence that this is doable. So, I’m looking forward to the 100-day mark!
2. A fresh perspective as I look at my past failures
When it comes to committing to a habit for a long time, I’ve never really had success in the past. And I’ve tried many things such as:
Registering for online courses that I never completed.
Signing up for a 30-day challenge and giving up halfway.
My new year resolution to hit the gym every day that only lasted for one week.
Commitment to wake up each day at 5:00 AM that soon became 5:30 AM, then 6:00 AM and later 7:00 AM.
And on and on and on.
Now, I’m beginning to look at these with a different lens. I’m diving deep to find out why I gave up so quickly on these. And I’m learning a few things:
- I faced the same mental roadblocks with my writing just as I did with these events that I gave up on. And when I did, particularly on the bad days, I missed a day, then 2 days, and eventually lost the momentum to continue. For some reason, I pushed past these mental roadblocks with my writing and just continued writing daily. There is a higher commitment level with the writing.
- Keeping momentum is key. It certainly has been with the writing so far. Having the mental toughness to push past bad days to just show up and write has played a key role in keeping the momentum going.
- I also think the accountability from the community and my followers on the different platforms I write on also plays a critical role. The fact that people are waiting to read from me every day is a sufficient reason for me to show up daily.
3. I do enjoy writing
There is power in expressing myself this way. And I find it interesting to pour out my mind on a piece of paper or on a white computer screen.
I’ve discovered that there is a remarkable difference between typing on the computer and writing in a notebook.
Ideas seem to flow much faster as I write in a notebook. My notebook I’ve had for months is now full as I journal and write daily.
4. It can be painful
Without a doubt, writing can be challenging some days. Particularly on days when you have other critical commitments. I’ve been experimenting with different writing schedules and I’m yet to find something that is perfect.
For me, I feel the most pain with writing if it is the last thing I do at the end of a busy workday. Recently, I read an article that discussed the importance of breaking your writing into different buckets — ideas, writing, editing. And scheduling different times during the week for these. I will give this a try in the coming days.
5. I’ve improved my writing
Writing is a craft that you must learn. There is no better way to learn than to practice. And there is no better way to practice than to write every day.
I can tell the difference in my writing progression as I compare my recent articles to my articles in my first week on the platform.
I’ve learned to use lots of white spaces. To shorten my sentences and to use a more active voice.
I’ve learned to write at a Grade 4 to 8 level to make it easier for readers to read and digest my stories.
6. I’ve learned to read every day
I read a couple of articles on Medium every day. Medium is a fantastic resource.
So many great writers to learn from and so many interesting articles to read that I can hardly keep up. It is addictive.
Besides reading on Medium, I also read books more than I’ve done in the past.
As I read every day, I’m inspired by new ideas. I learn and improve my writing craft as I model what the great writers on the platform are doing.
7. Ideas are everywhere
One of the major concerns I had starting this challenge was how to come up with what to write daily.
I’ve now discovered that ideas are everywhere. As I go for a walk or run, as I listen to the news and world events, I get ideas on what to write.
As I’m in discussions with friends and colleagues, I get ideas on topics to write.
The number of draft articles I have continues to grow each day.
8. I’ve learned to write to express, not to impress
I’m so thankful for Medium for giving me a platform to express myself. Writing to express makes it so easy to wake up each day to write.
I’m passionate about what I share and I’m on a mission to change lives with what I’m writing about.
9. It is passion first, reward last
It is tempting to start writing with the goal to make a killing. If this is your primary goal you will soon discover it takes a lot of work. And you will likely give up after a few days or weeks.
I’ve learned to believe that reward will be certain as I focus on getting better on my craft and building my tribe.
I now know that writing is its own reward so this is enough reason for me to continue writing.
10. I continue to build new connections with awesome writers
If you’re serious about writing, Medium is a great platform as it provides opportunities to connect with other great writers.
I’ve been following and learning from writers like Benjamin Hardy, Tom Kuegler, and Niklas Göke. I’ve joined their mailing list and have taken both their free and paid writing courses.
I continue to learn from these and other awesome writers on this platform daily.
11. The momentum gained from writing on Medium helped me finish my first book
My first book is now finished and should be available on Amazon in a day or two.
The momentum gained from writing on Medium daily provided a strong drive to finish the book.
While it is not a perfect book, I know that my next book will be much better with the experience I’ve gained writing on this platform.
12. Perfection in writing is desirable, but I write in spite of it
I’ve learned to hit the “Publish” button even when I know my story still needs work. Many times, I spend hours trying to fix a sentence, rewrite an idea, and to make other structural changes.
It is great to have a perfect piece. But, I’ve learned to be more and more comfortable hitting the “Publish” button even when I know there is still room for improvement in my story.
Now, my motto is imperfect action.
13. I’ve developed a good morning routine
I now protect my morning to work on my big goals. And writing fits in here.
Each day, I wake up and read my bible, journal, and pray.
I read a few Medium articles, read other books, write and work on my other important goals.
My routine requires me to write down my goals each day — my 90-day and my 30-day goals as well as my top 3 daily tasks.
I find that if I don’t do these before noon each day, I may struggle the rest of the day to complete important things that drive me towards my long-term goals.
14. People are noticing
More and more people are checking me out on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook as I post my articles on these platforms.
I’m getting calls from people I’ve not heard from in years. I’m even getting new clients for my business.
As small and insignificant as this may seem, people are noticing and it appears they are taking interest in my stories.
15. I’m slowly building brand awareness
Writing helps with brand awareness. Slowly, I’m now known for what I write about.
To help speed up this brand awareness, I’ve now started a publication — Plan To Retire Well on the Medium platform.
At the moment, it is an idea worth exploring.
As I get more experience and build more connections on the platform, I will know if this is a venture that is worth building.
16. I’m learning to show up every day, no matter the cost
I can resist quitting.
Several times, I’ve attempted to talk myself out of this challenge. But I still show up each day.
There are good days and there are tough days.
I’m learning to come up with strategies to handle each day and I’m now playing with a few ideas as I learn from others.
On the good days, it’s easy to keep writing.
On the bad days, I dig into my old articles for something I can repurpose.
The goal is to show up every day.
17. Views, claps, and stats are cool but they mean less
When I started writing, I did not know what views, and claps meant.
But as I started reading articles on Medium and started learning more about the platform, I began to obsess about these stats.
While these are nice to have, they mean less. Improving my writing and building a tribe means a lot more to me.
18. The little change keeps coming in
I was excited when I made my first $1 on this platform.
It gave me confidence.
It gave me momentum.
I never considered writing as a career or a side hustle in the past. At the moment, I still don’t.
For now, the tiny little change continues to grow each month. Obviously, this pales in comparison to the amount of time invested in writing.
But I know that it’s a big mistake to look at writing using a “Return on Investment” lens, particularly when I’m not considering it as my primary business.
As I noted earlier, it’s passion first, and reward much later.
19. I’m building an asset base that will serve me for many years
I’m realizing each day that my collection of articles is a strong asset base that has potential to earn me income in so many ways in the future. These articles can be repurposed into:
- Many books I can sell on Amazon that will generate passive income for many years
- Future articles that can be sold
- YouTube and Facebook Videos that can potentially generate income
- Other articles that can generate a list of buyers for my products and services
- Other potential revenue sources
20. I look forward to my future self
I now see writing as an investment in my future self.
As I look forward to the next 305 days, I can only see an improved version of my current self.
This alone is super motivating.
I can hardly wait.
In Closing
I hope you find encouragement in my story to keep writing and to keep stretching yourself.
Invest in your passion.
Invest in your writing.
Invest in your self-development.
And reap the rewards much later.
P.S. For 5 days starting on July 6, I will be sharing all I’ve learned about personal finance. I will show you how you can move from a place of uncertainty in a time such as this to a place of confidence and certainty with your finances.
This will be a different learning experience as you will have the opportunity to ask questions, work on implementing what you learn each day, and actually get some great results at the end of the 5 days.
Also, I will give you my brand new book, TAX-EFFICIENT WEALTH as a thank you for joining.
Join the Challenge here and get a FREE eBook version of my new book!