How Writing Every Day Is Changing My Life

I didn’t expect writing daily to come with so many benefits

Around Christmas time last year, I decided to write every day in 2020.

During my yearly reflection in December 2019, I realized writing (especially writing on Medium) was one of the things I genuinely enjoy, and I promised myself to invest more time and energy into it.

I knew I had to make little changes in my schedule and build some discipline to stick to this new routine, and I knew it would be worth it, but the benefits I experienced surely exceeded my expectations.

It’s meditative

I never meditated much. Even though I tried to implement meditation routines several times, I failed miserably.

However, I am practicing mindfulness through other activities, such as journaling. Through writing down my thoughts, I get a clear head, and I find it easier to let go of fears. Thus, journaling was one of my daily habits in the past six months.

However, since I started writing articles on Medium, I often skipped my journaling routine. I simply didn’t feel the urge to journal because I am writing down my thoughts anyway.

Even if it’s on a keyboard and through well-structured articles, writing helps me to practice mindfulness, and it’s even meditative.

Being in the flow and writing inspiring, motivational content also helps me to stay inspired.

It replaced my morning routine

Before I started writing daily, journaling was an essential part of my morning routine. It helped me to align myself and structure my thoughts.

However, since I am now writing around 5,000 words per day, I don’t need the daily journaling session anymore, and on most days, I even skip my whole morning routine.

I grab my cup of green tea with all my supplements, maybe do some stretching exercises and start typing.

Morning routines can be incredibly powerful and transform your whole life, but for me, writing is the most effective routine right now. It energizes me and gives me a sense of satisfaction.

My productivity is increasing

Doing something every single day isn’t easy. Writing every day requires a good amount of willpower but also an effective time-management.

For many people, writing (especially writing on Medium) is a side-hustle or even a hobby. They can’t invest more than a few hours (or even less) per day.

It’s the same for me. Even though I am a digital entrepreneur, the number of hours I spend on Medium is quite limited. Looking at my past two months, I averagely spent around 2.5 hours per day on Medium. However, this includes my time answering comments and reading stories of other writers.

Due to this limited number of hours, I had to increase my efficiency and my time-management. So far, I am surprised by how much more one can get done if a task is important enough — like, in my case, writing.

“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”

— Jim Rohn

I make quicker decisions

This one is closely related to the previous point, increasing productivity, but it’s important enough to be mentioned separately.

As I am giving my best to fit writing into my daily life, I am making quicker decisions. Instead of spending 15 minutes elaborating on what to eat for dinner, I decide quickly and save my energy as well as my time to write more.

I have a sharp priority: writing every day. By keeping that resolution in mind, I can quickly validate what I spend time on and what I rather skip and avoid.

For example, saying no to situations that wouldn’t bring me closer to my (writing) goals is much easier now. I can decline appointments and inquiries easily because I know I have something more important to do: Writing.

I find inspiration everywhere

When I wrote my first blog post, I was enthusiastic. While writing my fifth piece, however, I was already afraid of running out of topics.

Now that I write every day, I find inspiration everywhere. Running out of ideas is my last concern. I have a Trello board with more writing ideas than I could ever complete typing.

Instead of worrying about if I have something to write about, I am now concerned with which of the dozen ideas to write down first.

When I see infographics on Instagram and Pinterest, I get inspired to write an article. While reading a good book, I get tons of ideas on what to write about. Or sometimes, I just see a little quote, and a whole story evolves out of this glimpse of inspiration.

My writing has a clear intention: Empowering people to live happier, more productive, and fulfilled lives. I want them to understand they can have whatever they want. My posts are about personal growth, self-improvement, and sometimes, about writing or business because I believe writing and being an entrepreneur are both excellent forms of personal development.

As my intention is clear, I don’t struggle to find inspiration. I also don’t know what writer’s block means. Why would I not be able to write if I genuinely desire to help others?

Of course, I am not motivated to give my best and type 5,000 words every day. But I remind myself why I started, and even on the worst days, I force myself to at least write a new headline.

I am communicating more clearly

Admittedly, I was surprised about this one.

Since I started writing every day, I realized how not only my writing but also my talking changed.

For non-fiction writers like me, being precise is important.

Readers want to get the point quickly. That’s an essential writing-rule, but it’s not always easy to follow. At least it wasn’t for me.

However, since I am working on improving my writing, I realized how my personal communication also became more effective.

I don’t want blah-blah anymore. I want concise answers.

If I ask my boyfriend, “Do you want to eat outside tonight?” I don’t want to receive a “Yeah, we can go outside if you want to.”.

I want him to say yes or no.

I am giving much clearer, practical answers myself, and I am slowly getting used to communicating what I genuinely want. Thus I also expect clear, open communication from my partner.

I found out you can injure your hand by typing too much

This one was obviously my most surprising learning.

After writing every day for about 30 days, my right hand started to hurt. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but it frustrated me because I couldn’t type effectively.

After a few days, it got worse, and I went to see the doctor. He told me I don’t have to worry and that it was just overexertion of my hand due to an unusual amount of typing.

I was glad I didn’t have to stop writing, but at the same time, I was annoyed because the pain didn’t stop.

For the next 14 days, I took a pill that helped to suppress the pain, and luckily, it worked out, and I can freely type again.

However, what I learned is that you can even hurt yourself through such an innocent activity like typing words.

Health first. Always.

As a result, I ordered a little pillow, which assists my arm while writing, and I am doing stretching exercises for my hands several times per day.

I know that the amount of words I type per day is not exceptionally much. On average, I type around 5,000 words per day. However, I also spend the rest of my workday working on my laptop, so I use my hands all the time. Thus, it matters whether they hurt or not.

Bottom Line

I failed many times to establish a daily exercising routine, but building and maintaining a daily writing routine was much effortless.

Even though my writing routine takes much more time than exercising, it felt more natural right from the beginning.

I believe there is one rule that truly matters when it comes to building momentum for whatever you want to do: Having a clear, compelling purpose.

I know why I am writing, and I am convinced it’s worth it. For me, that makes a considerable part of the game.

Of course, I don’t feel like writing every day. On some days, I want to screw it. But I remember why I started, and I remind myself of all the positive side-effects I encountered so far. If I have a bad day, I allow myself to do the minimum: Writing a new headline or just drafting a new story.

On some days, getting into the flow and typing words is hard. On some others, I could go on for hours. It’s about balance. It’s okay if I can’t give my best from time to time. We are all humane, and in the end, you need to have fun in order to create good writing. So, don’t force yourself too much. Create boundaries but allow yourself to move freely within your own rules.

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