Summary

An individual reflects on the insights and routine developed from writing daily for 61 days, emphasizing the importance of consistency, adaptability, and engagement with the writing community.

Abstract

The author shares their journey of writing online every day for over two months, detailing the challenges and rewards of maintaining this habit amidst family life and a global pandemic. They discuss the impact of interruptions, the necessity of balancing writing with family responsibilities, and the resilience required to overcome periods of rejection and low productivity. The writer also highlights the value of connecting with other writers and offers a glimpse into their daily routine, which includes early mornings, exercise, reading, and dedicated writing time. The article concludes with the author's personal growth and increased income from writing, encouraging others to take up the challenge of serious writing by finding time in their schedules and avoiding excuses.

Opinions

Writing daily has become a sustainable habit for the author, despite not reaching the 66-day mark often cited for habit formation.
Family is prioritized, and the author adapts their writing schedule to accommodate family activities and responsibilities.
The author acknowledges that even with a new habit, there will be days when writing is difficult or when work is not well-received.
Engaging with other writers is seen as crucial for success, especially for new writers trying to establish themselves.
The author believes in challenging oneself and having fun in the process, as this makes life more enjoyable and rewarding.
Consistency in writing has led to a steady increase in the author's income, reinforcing the benefits of the daily writing habit.
The author encourages aspiring serious writers to commit time to writing and to stop making excuses for not pursuing their dreams.

I Wrote for 61 Days Straight

Here’s what I learned and my routine for you to copy

I just finished 61 days of writing online. Two months ago, I thought about writing every day for a week and wasn’t sure if I would be able to do this. So I gave it a try. After the first week, I finished and then added another week, and then another. Eventually, this new habit became part of my normal routine. Though I have not met the 66 days to create a habit as Malcolm Gladwell believes, my 61 days have created a new habit for me.

Some days writing is easy. Other days I have brief interruptions in my routine, but who doesn’t? I still find a way to get my article finished for the day.

On a few days, I’ve been able to write a second article. This only happened a few times during the 61 days. I’m not Superman.

When You Have a Family, Family Comes First

As summer is about to end, I have two kids running around the house, a boy and a girl. Then my wife is also working from home because of the coronavirus. So my schedule has to be flexible and adjust when needed.

My son plays high school football, so his routine has varied this summer. There are some days when he works out virtually on Zoom. He worked out in the garage, my office, and in the backyard. Then there were other days he needed a ride to his school as the team practiced on the field. On some of these days, I would write my article on my phone as I stayed with him at practice.

During other times, my wife and I tried to keep our kids engaged by reading and writing. They can’t spend their entire summer playing video games or creating TikTok videos. So I would multitask writing, keeping my kids busy, or making their lunch.

You’ll Still Have Your Bad Days as a Writer

For a while, I was doing pretty well writing and getting my articles published by different groups. Well, this didn’t last long. You might say I went into a baseball batter’s slump as I was getting article after article rejected. Sometimes it hurts but you have to bounce back up and keep writing.

Now in August, I’m hoping to get out of this slump. We’ll see how it goes.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Chat With Other Writers

I think to be a successful writer, you have to connect with other writers. If you’re already a successful writer with years of writing, then you’ll be fine. You can write several articles a day and people will still read your work.

When you’re a new writer, no one knows who you are. You’re just another writer out of the millions that are out there. So you have to put in the work and engage with other writers. Read their work and drop a comment or two. You can’t be a Lone Ranger when it comes to writing. As an online writer, you need to build your own little circle of writing friends.

My Routine for You to Copy

When things are normal, I’m usually an early bird and wake up at 4.07 a.m. every morning and go to the gym. Since I’m not going to the gym now I sleep in a little later to about 4.30 a.m. or 5 a.m. and start my day. Even without the gym, I’m still an early bird.

After getting dressed and doing personal hygiene, I start by reading some scriptures in the Bible and then my magazines. I have a rotation of three magazines I subscribe to, SUCCESS, Forbes, and Kiplingers. I used to be a long time subscriber to Money magazine but with everything going digital, they ended their subscription last year.

Since I canceled my gym membership, I started on my own daily workout routine with 100 push-ups and some abdominal exercises. Trust me, I don’t do all 100 push-ups at once but do sets of 10 to 40 depending on how I feel until I reach 100 push-ups. In between sets, I’ll switch to an ab exercise.

Following this, I read through my email for any important messages. Then I’ll check CNN Money, USA Today Money, and then some cryptocurrency updates.

I am always tempted to check how my numbers look from the day before on Medium and take a quick look to see which articles are my top performers. Then I’ll share my articles online hoping to get some more reads from other writers.

Following this, I’ll respond to messages on my article. Previously I was doing this in the evening, but the number of messages I get was starting to get overwhelming. So I now have to respond to my messages in two sessions a day, morning and evening.

Depending on how I feel, if I don’t check the messages first, I’ll start writing my next article. I like to get my article written in the morning and then this leaves me time to review and add pictures later in the day. I don’t always get my article finished by noon but that’s a little goal I try to work toward.

The Results of Writing for 61 Days

Over the past five months, since I started taking writing seriously, my income went up every single month from the previous month. My initial goal was to double my income from the past month which I did every month until July. In July, I earned a little more money than June but it was nowhere near doubling what I made. I’m still working to double my income every month.

Overall, this has been fun and challenging for me. If you don’t know, I like to challenge myself. Life can be boring at times, so you have to have fun with what you’re doing. If it’s not fun, then you should probably do something else. Life is too short to not have fun in life. Also, I enjoy the challenges I create for myself.

Do You Want to Be a Serious Writer?

Within a few days, I can officially say I have met Malcolm Gladwell’s 66 days to create a new habit. Then by the end of the month, I can say I have written for 92 days straight.

If you want to write more than what you’re doing now, find the time in your schedule and block out that time. You have 24 hours a day so I’m sure you can squeeze in an hour or two somewhere in your day. If you really want to be serious, I know you’ll find the time.

You have to stop creating excuses for yourself. Excuses will get you nowhere in life and keep you further from your dreams. Use the time you have and start writing.

Are you ready to get serious as a writer?