100 Day Challenge 10% Update
What I've learned so far from endeavoring to write for 100 weekdays straight
Inspired by Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s book Tiny Experiments, I’ve pledged to write for 100 weekdays straight.
I love writing.
I don’t know if I’m particularly skilled at it.
But I love it, and I’m not sure if it matters if I’m any good or not.
Writing helps me think. I’m a verbal processor at heart. I can’t make sense of the ideas that swirl around in my head without trying to develop the right words for what’s in my brain and on my heart. I’ve found that there’s not a huge audience for ALL the random things that occupy my thoughts at any given time. So writing allows me to work through the ideas, values and feelings I have and share them when I can.
What I’ve learned through 10 days
Today marks my 10th day of writing each weekday. Here are my observations so far:
Writing as a daily practice will be a part of my life going forward. Pairing a solid reading habit with a good writing habit (in place of journaling, which doesn’t work super well for me) has proven to be very good for my mental health.
Posting daily will not be a thing for me after my pledge is complete. I’ve found that I am not able to fully form my ideas in one day’s time. I need the ability to step away from my thoughts, let them simmer on the back burner for a while, and then come back to them to feel effective.
Research is a skill I want to cultivate. I’ve found myself wanting to dig deeper into certain topics to give my pieces more depth. A recent podcast interview featuring Daniel Pink provided lots of inspiration and insight.
I’m discovering the voice I most connect to when writing. I’ve never been very musical, but I’ve always been attracted to the rhythm of words and ideas (I also have to look up how to spell rhythm every time I type it). I haven’t fully developed this yet, and I’m still experimenting greatly. But these recent books have been great learning for me:
The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth
Several Short Sentences about Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg
Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Neal Allen & Anne Lamott
100 days is way longer than I realized. I felt like I’ve been writing for a while, so it was sobering when I realized I’m only 10% of the way toward my goal!
I care way too much about the metrics. Shortly after this scheduled post goes live, I’m sure I’ll check to see if anyone has read it. I’ll get giddy if you do me the honor of hitting the like button, leaving a comment, or sending me a message about something I’ve written. I think this comes from a combination of my day job in marketing and that deep-seated desire to be liked. 🤪 But I’m finding it unhelpful in promoting my actual practical practice of writing for me. So, it’s at least something I need to keep aware of.
Writing is hard work. My posts are short. My thoughts aren’t all that well thought out. I do it for fun, and it is still difficult. I have nothing but respect for the great writers who wrestle with the craft to bring beauty and insight into the world for us. #Respect
I expected to have more things to repost to LinkedIn. I thought I would end up writing several things that are related to my work or to leadership. I figured I could easily just cross-post these pieces to LinkedIn to stay active over there. Turns out, this hasn’t been as easy as I thought!
I’ll share more insights from my journey as I go through it.
If you’ve done me the honor of reading, providing feedback, or leaving me a note, it’s appreciated way more than you know.