Summary

The author discusses the struggle of writing consistently and the journey to establish a daily writing habit of ten minutes to improve their craft and overcome writer's block.

Abstract

The author, who has been writing for a year, shares their ongoing struggle with the writing process, expressing that it remains as challenging as when they first started. Despite this, they find motivation in the unpredictable nature of creativity and the intellectual stimulation that writing provides. Drawing inspiration from successful writers like Shaunta Grimes and habit formation experts like James Clear, the author has adopted a daily habit of writing for at least ten minutes, which has proven to be a manageable and effective way to ensure consistent practice. This new routine has not only helped in generating more content but also in developing a steady flow of ideas, countering the writer's tendency for sporadic bursts of inspiration. The author reflects on the transformation in their writing process, suggesting that even a brief daily commitment can lead to significant habit formation and personal growth in writing.

Opinions

The author believes that writing does not inherently become easier over time due to its creative and challenging nature.
Writer's block is seen as a common issue that even experienced writers face.
Writing is perceived as a way to prevent the author from feeling like an "automaton" at their day job.
The author values the unique challenges and unpredictability of each piece they work on.
A daily writing habit is considered crucial for success, with the author quoting James Clear on the importance of daily habits.
The author endorses Shaunta Grimes' advice on setting small, achievable writing goals to build a sustainable writing habit.
The author has found that committing to ten minutes of writing daily often leads to longer, more productive writing sessions.
The ease of the ten-minute writing habit suggests it is a practical and maintainable routine, rather than a fleeting "honeymoon phase."
Writing daily, even without a specific topic or idea, is seen as beneficial for sparking new ideas and improving the writing process.
The author acknowledges that this approach has helped balance their impulsive and all-or-nothing tendencies.
The author is convinced that small, consistent efforts are more effective for long-term success than sporadic, large bursts of activity.

Does Writing Ever Become Easier?

I just might have found a way to become a turtle

I’ve been writing for about a year now. I struggle to write today as much as I struggled back when I first started.

How come? Will it ever get easier?

I wonder if I just don’t have it in me to become a writer who can write effortlessly. I slog through the process. Finishing an article that has coherent structure and complete thoughts often feels like a miracle.

Sometimes it feels like I am regressing when I can’t even seem to make a coherent sentence let alone finish an article. I ask myself how the heck I finished that article I published months ago. It is unsettling. But I choose to be intrigued rather than discouraged.

I suspect this has something to do with the inherent quality of the creative process. Perhaps this is why even the most seasoned writers experience writer’s block from time to time. But this challenging aspect of writing is also what motivates me to keep experimenting.

Writing has saved me from becoming an automaton at my day job. My brain is constantly challenged to search for interesting ideas and put them into useful stories. Every piece I work on has its own unique challenges and trajectory.

That is probably why writing doesn’t ever seem to get easier for me. At least, that is what I think is my main problem. Luckily, this is one that I welcome wholeheartedly. There is no chance for writing to become boring as long as it remains unpredictable.

I am now on my way to establish a new daily habit to make writing easier.

Success is the product of daily habits — not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.

— James Clear

Write for ten-minutes everyday

Until two weeks ago I only wrote when I felt like writing. I never knew when I was going to write. It sort of happened when it happened. I liked the spontaneity, but my writing was too sporadic to become a solid habit.

Successful writer Shaunta Grimes is a fierce advocate for building daily writing habits and establishing teeny tiny goals. She writes,

“My ten-minutes-a-day tiny goal was the difference between zero and one. Most days, I write far more than ten minutes. Some of those days, I surprise myself. I don’t want to start, but once I do I get on a roll and words just flow.”

I decided to write everyday and be happy if I manage to write just for ten minutes.

What I learned so far is that ten minutes usually becomes thirty minutes or more. The most important thing is to sit down and start writing. I haven’t been at this long enough to say much except that I am certain it will become a habit of a lifetime. I can already tell.

Why does it work?

This has been unbelievably easy to do. Could I still be in the honeymoon phase?

I don’t think so.

When an activity doesn’t require a whole lot of willpower and motivation, it has a better chance of becoming a habit if practiced daily. I found that writing for ten minutes everyday is super doable because it doesn’t require much energy and effort. Surely, anyone can find ten minutes in their lives to practice something that is meaningful for them.

Shaunta writes,

“My best advice for choosing your tiny goal is to pick one that’s easier to keep than it is to break. For me, that’s ten minutes a day. If you find yourself routinely not writing for ten minutes a day, make it smaller. Even if you have to go all the way down to one minute or even one sentence a day.”

Ten minutes a day is all it takes to build life-changing habits one habit at a time.

Many habit experts back this up including Leo Babauta and James Clear.

But what if there is nothing to write about?

Before my ten-minute-a-day writing ritual, I only wrote when ideas came to me. But writing everyday isn’t about ideas. It’s about the process itself.

When I don’t have anything to write about for an audience, I write about my day, a memory, random things, etc., not with the intention to share but to just write. As long as we think and breathe, there is always something to write about.

In my brief experience with this new habit, the process of writing itself sometimes spurs ideas that I eventually work into articles like this one. This was a pleasant surprise to me as I often, in the past, waited for an idea to come before I started writing.

Additionally, this has done wonders for equalizing my tendency to be impulsive and my all-or-nothing personality. You see, I have always been the hare and never the turtle.

Small and steady beats big and sporadic, any time.

I’ve decided it’s never too late to heed the old fable.

I’ve been at this new habit for a mere two weeks. Already, writing feels different even if not necessarily easier than it used to be. I am convinced that this ten-minute-a-day ritual will help me to become the kind of writer I wish to become.

If it helps me, the stubborn hare, it will help anyone.