I never thought I’d end up being a writer. The only thing I was interested in at school was art, and I barely even had the discipline to sit down and draw. I was kinda lazy. Being an artist never felt like a viable job so I never pursued it and did much with it.
But writing has saved me.
It’s saved me from feeling like a complete loser without any direction. It’s saved me from having no purpose and above all else, it’s saved my mental health.
I started this blog over 6 years ago as a place to talk about my mental health and what I was learning to help it. But I didn’t take my writing seriously until this year. And I can tell you is, consistent writing has changed my life.
Over the past 12 months, I’ve written every single day, something I thought I would never be able to do. But here I am. And it feels kinda weird but also really rewarding.
There is no magic secret to keeping up a writing habit. It’s just a case of showing up, over and over again, no matter how little you write.
The key is to keep showing up, even when you don’t feel like it.
Here is how having a daily writing habit has changed my life.
1. Writing every day is therapeutic
Writing every day is very therapeutic. It allows you to talk freely and discuss the things that are playing on your mind. This is especially important if you don’t feel as if you can talk to anyone in your life about the way you’re feeling.
Writing every day gives you a sense of self-awareness that as far as I can tell, you can’t get anywhere else. Why is this a good thing? You get to know yourself. Once you start writing every day you see patterns in your thoughts.
Writing allows you to get your thoughts out so you’re not stuck inside your own head. It’s the perfect decluttering process.
2. An underrated creative outlet
Most people I speak to tell me they’re not “creative people”. But I don’t buy that. I think everyone is creative in some way. They have to be. They have to be because people aren’t just one thing. They might be good at cooking or arranging parties.
But writing is accessible to everyone. It is a free way to be creative and express yourself that anyone can do and make a habit with just a pen and some paper or a notes app on their phone. With all the mundane responsibilities in life, writing is an easy way to scratch a creative itch.
Writing every day has given me a creative outlet that I can do when I’m sitting on the sofa, on the bus or waiting for a meeting.
3. Writing improves emotional regulation
Writing has improved my relationship with my emotions. Whenever I’m sad, I write. Whenever I’m happy, I write. Whenever I’m angry, I write. Writing every day helps you to regulate your emotions better. You can channel them in a healthy way. All you need to do is let your hands type away freely without worrying about editing until you’re done.
Some of the best things I’ve written over the past 12 months were done when I was angry. And when I’m finished I always feel a sense of relief.
4. It super-charges your communication skills
One of the surprising benefits of consistent writing was how it has improved my communication skills and not just through the writing. For the longest time, I’ve had trouble communicating. Many times I find myself mumbling or talking very fast in conversations. I’m sure it has something to do with anxiety.
However, consistent writing has helped me with this. I find myself thinking more before answering people and being about to listen without feeling the need to jump in. I take my time when talking and ask myself if I have anything valuable to add to a conversation before talking.
5. You become a super learner
Because I write so much about habits, mental health and philosophy, I find myself doing a lot of research and looking for sources. As a result of this, I’ve learned so many valuable insights over the last few years. I would go as far as saying I’ve learned more about self-improvement in the last 12 months of daily writing than I did in my first 5 years of blogging.
And writing makes you want to learn even more as you keep the habit up. When you become obsessed with it, you can’t help but want to learn how to improve your writing every chance you get. That means reading other blogs, watching videos and even taking online courses.
Writing every day almost forces you to become a super learner whether you like it or not!
6. A daily writing habit makes you more productive
Another one of the surprising benefits of writing every day is how much more productive it makes me. For example, it kept me from time-wasting activities like mindlessly scrolling social media and instead writing about reasons to quit social media. It kept me from sitting around on the weekend feeling like I was wasting my time.
It focused my mind on a productive task. Even if no one was reading my writing, it was productive for me.
If you’re looking to be more productive with your time, consider starting a daily writing habit.
7. Consistent writing improves decision-making
The thing about consistently writing about self-improvement is that you become better at self-improvement. Go figure. Writing every day about self-improvement topics has had a dramatically positive effect on my self of personal growth. I feel as if I’m better at making healthy decisions in my day-to-day life.
It becomes much easier to say, “No” to being offered a piece of cake, for example, because I’d be going against everything I write about. Writing actively reinforces my healthy habits.
Writing keeps me grounded in my habits and focuses my mind when I need to choose what I want to do with my time.
8. There’s always something to look forward to
Before I started writing about my mental health, I was lost. I felt as if I had nothing to look forward to, mostly because I wasn’t particularly passionate about anything at all. Now, I always have something to look forward to no matter what day of the week it is.
After work, I get to look forward to writing. I get to make notes throughout the day about the things I want to talk about later. And on the weekends I have my Sunday morning writing ritual which has almost become a sacred part of my week.
Here’s how to start a daily writing habit
As far as I can tell, there’s really no downside to writing consistently so if you want to start a daily writing habit yourself, I’ve come up with some tips based on what I’ve learned over the past 12 months.
It’s worth repeating myself though, the most important thing is to just keep showing up, especially when you don’t feel like writing.
- If you find yourself with days where you don’t feel inspired, don’t worry. That’s normal. Just start writing anyway.
- Write about anything that comes to mind.
- Your best writing will happen when you don’t overthink things.
- Write about what happened during your day.
- Write about something that had a massive impact on your life, good or bad.
- Be open and honest in your writing.
Where you can do your writing
There are many different places you can write. The most obvious one is in a journal. Pick a cheap one on Amazon and just start.
Or, start writing online. You could start a blog like I did, or, you could use a notes app. However, you can also begin writing on Medium, a free blogging platform so you can share your thoughts with other people. Or you could do one better and start a newsletter on Substack, one of my favourite places to write online where you can also share your writing with other people.
Wrapping it all up
Writing really has changed my life. I would recommend everyone to sit down with a black document and just start writing, even if you don’t think you’re creative or you have anything to say. I think we all have a story to tell, a little something that can help other people.
Above all else, have fun with it. Keep showing up and expressing yourself and before you know it, writing will be one of your best healthy habits too.
Start creating better habits today.
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Sean C is a writer, passionate about improving one’s self by maintaining healthy habits and doing the things that make life more meaningful.
