I wrote every day for 270 days. It was a waste of time
Like many writers, I adore Seth Godin’s writing. He has shown up daily for over 10 years, which is astounding.
I wanted a piece.
I committed to writing a blog post every single day for 1 year. I started writing short, punchy Seth Godin-style posts. After 270 posts — I got crickets. Then I missed a day.
No big deal, I started my streak again. I got five more days in and missed two days. Then I quit.
This was about 5 years ago, and I can see now that the project was, in fact, a complete waste of time.
Don’t consistently work on the wrong things
Be consistent. That’s the advice you see given again and again. Keep showing up. Commit.
It’s bad advice. I committed and showed up every day for nine months, but my attitude was all wrong.
I wasn’t consistent with the topics I covered. I wasn’t consistent with the quality of writing. And I wasn’t consistently trying to improve. Just showing up isn’t enough.
Yes, if you want to improve at something, you need to consistently show up to practice. But you also have to know how to improve. I wasn’t trying to be a better editor, I wasn’t trying to come up with better ideas, I wasn’t trying to make my writing punchier. I was just writing.
And writing every day just for the sake of it is a waste of time. If it’s just for fun, knock yourself out, but I expected to grow an audience by shouting random thoughts into the void.
Know why you’re showing up
I was a donkey following a carrot down a single road without stopping to think about where I was going. I never realized I was walking around in circles.
Because I was blogging every day to try and build an audience. But not really because I wasn’t trying very hard. I was also doing it for the practice. But only sort of because there was no conscious decision to improve. And frankly, I was doing it for the status of having blogged every day. I didn’t get that either because no one was reading.
I had no success criteria that would mean I felt like I’d done a good job. And so I never felt like I was achieving success with the project. Decide what it’s for and how to measure it, then commit to doing it.
Blindly showing up just because you think you should show up is a waste of time. Decide why you’re showing up and use that to guide you. And no matter why, always keep improvement in mind. How can I do better tomorrow. With that as your guiding star, you won’t go wrong.
If you build it, no one will come
I thought if I just showed up and banged out 150 words on whatever thought came to mind, then people would find me. If you build it, they will come. Right?
Wrong.
Shouting into the void won’t get you anywhere, no matter how much you do it. If you’re going to publish regularly, you need to decide three things.
Who are you writing for
Where do they hang out
How you can surprise and delight them
I’m not saying choose a specific niche and only write within that. I’m saying define the type of person you want to write for. Creators, entrepreneurs, people with mental health issues, women of color, cat owners. I didn’t do this. I was writing for whoever wanted to read it. That’s… That’s nothing.
If you’re writing and your audience spends its time on TikTok, you’re going to be in trouble. I made an even worse mistake. I wrote for people who wanted to read my work. These people didn’t exist because I had no following. Find your people and put yourself in front of them.
Then, you can show up every day while striving to surprise and delight. Your readers should feel seen, informed, educated, entertained, or at the very least like they’re better off than before they read your article.
Once you’ve lined up these, then it’s worth being consistent.
I wasted my time
My 270 days were a waste because I didn’t use them to become better. I didn’t use them to delight a group of people I wanted to help. I didn’t even really use it to expand my own thinking. I used it as busy work that made me feel good.
Be consistent. But only after you know why you’re doing it, and who you’re doing it for. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time.
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