The last 30 days have been challenging, cathartic, and transformative. There were days I stayed up until 1AM to finish writing my story for the day. There were days when writing felt like pushing through a heavy concrete door and the story was not flowing. There were also days when words effortlessly danced with the tappings of my fingertips on the keyboard. What I know for sure is that these 30 days of writing taught me a few valuable lessons.
Lesson 1: The way to procrastination is to eat your ugliest frog first thing in the morning.
Because writing did not come naturally to me, in order to produce a piece of writing everyday, I had to ruthlessly prioritize my schedule and carve out a good chunk of time so I can write and allow the story to flow. While I had initially experimented with a variety of different schedules, I landed on the routine of writing for 1-2 hours first thing in the morning as the most productive. I learned that my brain is the sharpest in the morning between 9-11AM because it’s uncluttered by all the noise and distractions from the outside world. I have since carved this time as my “golden hours”. So prop to Brian Tracy’s advice, “eat your ugliest frog first”.
Lesson 2: The ABCs of making a habit stick is through Accountability, Big vision, and tiny Celebrations.
From Atomic Habits by James Clear to Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg and The Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg, I have been fascinated by the power of habit formation and how to make a habit stick. This was an experiment to put theory to test. The most difficult parts of the challenge were the first and last 3 day - overcoming the initial inertia and staying motivated despite the mental fatigue to push to the end. What I learned was that having accountability is key to starting a new habit. I had an accountability partner who really supported me to kick start this challenge. In addition, by sharing my decision on social media, I felt committed to stay on course. Big vision is extremely important in providing the “WHY”. In James Clear’s Atomic Habits, he talked about 3 types of habit change: outcome-based, process-based, and identity-based. Identity-based habits are most effective because it’s based on our values and who we want to become. For this challenge, I had a big vision of becoming an author one day and that vision propelled me to get up every morning to write my story. Lastly, I've added tiny celebrations throughout the 30 days, from using a goal-setting checklist (that gratifying feeling when you can check off an item on the list) to doing a weekly reflection where I acknowledge the highlights and small wins.
Lesson 3: Writing is an alchemical process that deepens one’s relationship with the self.
When I started writing, it became this cathartic and intimate experience of being with my deepest truth. As I transcended through time and space, to the moment when the chapter of my life took place, I could recall vivid sensations, smells, taste, visuals, and feelings I had experienced at the same time. As memories and thoughts transmuted into words and sentences, I experienced this alchemical process of transforming old narratives into wisdom and insights. I touched and felt fragmented pieces of my life stories and made sense of the beautiful patchwork. Writing is a process of self-discovery and personal transformation as I found meaning in the mess and interconnectedness in the fragments.