How To Survive 12 Months On Medium

I’ve just done it, so can you

April 2021 is the 12 month marker for me on Medium. Prior to the turn of the year in 2020, a project like this seemed out of the question. My time was too consumed by trying to strike the work/life balance, that I hoped would also put me on the path to paying down the mortgage and slowing down, however this meant working harder for less of a quality gain.

On reflection, with knowing what I know now, this was a selfish and short-sighted position to take, not really taking into account what worked for my wife and children and not coming from a centre of principal.

I was put on a training course by my company which has really helped me to manage my time better, which has led to my take up of writing on Medium.

I’ve now been writing on Medium for 12 months with money being a secondary win to the initial reasoning, which is true satisfaction in a hobby. Prior to April 2020 I had been thoroughly enjoying reading on Medium and I took the plunge to pay for it. Then once it’s paid for, why not write?

During the pandemic I was able to re-focus how I go about my working life, making sure that when I am on my employer’s time, I’m producing work that is pushing myself and the business in a positive direction and can seemingly manage my time better within working hours. I have developed a better perspective of what time should be spent with the kids and also made the time for this.

Here are some ideas as to how this is possible and my recommendations based on what I’ve learned over the last year:

Plan and Project

Albeit, it wasn’t all put down on paper, I did nonetheless, make a plan:

Release a certain number of stories per month, post in certain places per month, measure success after 12 months, continue to stage 2. Etc.

This, in my opinion, is one of the most important things you can do and it’s one of the reasons I am still writing now.

I’ve not made a lot of money from year one, however I have created a platform, a template and a basis to grow and expand on my current work, which would not have been possible without some planning.

When you form a plan you create a deadline and therefore, a commitment. Keeping commitments to yourself should be as important as your commitment to others, as a matter of discipline.

Form a habit

The importance of this point truly shouldn’t be underestimated.

If you are not aware of the work already, I would highly recommend the work of Dr Rangan Chatterjee. He wrote a book called “Feel Better In 5”, which initially looks at physical health, recommending that if you begin by committing 5 minutes per day to exercise or an activity, it makes for a much easier commitment than a more extensive amount of time, with minimal excuses attached.

This habit has worked wonders for me over the last 12 months in all walks of my life. A few examples:

I always take:

• a walk on my lunch break, at least 5 mins
• do 30 push up, 30 sit ups while I make a cup of coffee, 5 minutes
• spend anywhere between 5 minutes and an hour or two on medium each night, however as a minimum, I always spend 5 minutes.

It’s amazing how 5 minutes per day snowballs in time. You eventually hit a flow and a motion. I now feel guilty if I don’t achieve the three matters above.

If you’d have asked me about the importance of a habit 12 months ago, then you would have had a whole different answer.

Experiment with different niches

It’s a common theme on this platform to advise others that if they want to be successful, then they need to find a theme and stick to it.

Whilst there is merit in this concept, when I started here, I had no idea what I wanted to write about. I knew that I just wanted to start writing.

It is only now that niches and patterns are starting to form in my work.

If it doesn’t feel right or doesn’t interest you, don’t force yourself just because you have pigeon-holed your work. This is a one way ticket to procrastination.

Talk to other writers

This has been a fascinating point for me. Talking to others is a great way of finding reassurance. It shows that you are not fighting alone and there are others along for the ride.

I would highly recommend to budding writers that you check out the Medium Facebook pages.

I’m very thankful to the likes of Christopher Kokoski Rahul Anand, Courtney Burry, Aliyan Shaikh, and Nathan 8. All of you, amongst many others, always make an effort to read and comment on my work. Creating a community and working together like this will keep us all afloat, when needed.

Communication keeps readership up, keeps ideas buzzing and keeps creative juices flowing.

Read

I’ve learnt so much over the last year from reading. This particular matter, in my opinion, goes without saying, as a high recommendation with whatever you do in your life.

My best advice is to consume as much information as you can.

The combination of certain self help books, Medium shorts, daily news updates, and fictional novels ,have really helped me to develop my skill sets, focus my work load, separate emotive work from factual work and improve my overall functional ability.

I’m currently reading all of these daily:

• Medium and news articles
• On The Road, Jack Kerouac- (at least a chapter a night)
• Who Moved My Cheese by Dr Spencer Johnson

I would recommend that you make time for this.

Do it for the right reasons

Don’t do it to make money, at least not initially. I can guarantee that in doing so, your enthusiasm will wain.

I did that the first few months. I was buying into all of the top stories from the top writers, all dangling quotes along the lines of:

Volume is key

Write every day for success

How I gave up working 9–5

Blah blah blah

Maybe there is truth in their success stories but I would urge you to ask yourself, is that why you are here?

In conclusion

If you want to do this and make a habit out of it. You have to commit your time and I also truly believe that you have to be willing to give up your time.

In order to do so you have to enjoy it.

Sometimes, when I’m tired, or I’ve had a long day at the office, this is tough. However once you break through the initial stress, the initial lack of motivation, it is well worth it.

I have referenced this point before in one of my earlier articles about writers block:

Just keep swimming.

In addition to writing on Medium, I also write music. My album, “The Road To Nowhere” is available on all platforms.