Writing is hard.
I would like to write more. I want to write to help process my thoughts. I want to improve how I communicate through writing. I am a private person, and I want to write to make myself more public. These reasons are valid and good — but there is one big reason why they don’t matter.
Starting anything new creates expectations. If I start writing more I expect myself to keep it up. This expectation requires a commitment of time — if I expect myself to write more than literally once I have to carve out time in my day to do it. My days are not going to magically open up because I want them to. Of course this means I need to remove something else — maybe I stay up a little late, or get up earlier. Maybe I write at lunch rather than read. Maybe I stop looking at Twitter so much. No matter what it is, something has to change.
Thing is, not changing is so much easier than changing. So I’m going to come at this issue slowly. I’ll write this post and then be done for a bit. I won’t expect to write something every day, every week, or even every month. I’ll write when I need to write or when I feel like writing. Could be something personal or technical, something emotional or mundane. I’ve considered writing up my book notes, à la Derek Sivers. No matter what it is, I’m not going to expect much out of myself — only a little.
chriswinand 