Writing 500 words daily is easier to commit to than to actually get done.

I managed an okay post of ~2500 words over 6 days but since then, there has been a gap. Some of the “reasons” behind this gap (as well as earlier excuses for not writing):

  1. I do not have a specific topic on which I want to write
    • Created a list of topics which I could readily pick up from
    • Ended up not consulting the topic list or lost interest in most of them
  2. I will write later in the day when I have more “mental space” to get to it
    • “Later in the day” almost always means “not today”
    • Writing down 500 words should not take more than ~30-45 mins
    • If you have not had 45 mins to spare at the scheduled time for almost a week, may be it’s time to reschedule the writing slot. But stick to the schedule if you want to get it done.
  3. I will write later once I have thought more about the topic
    • Improvement can keep one happening to an original piece once created.
    • Get something started and out there. First 500 words would be a blurb anyway.
    • The next 1500 words will come out gushing
    • Trimming the total 200 words back to ~1000 words would also need some time.
  4. There are other things more important than writing that I should be doing right now.
    • Similar to excuse #2. If it’s the immediate lack of time, rethink your schedule.
    • Otherwise it’s okay to accept that writing is not a priority right now and move on.
      No need to keep beating yourself up for not following up on a half-hearted commitment.

These ~300 words took me ~20 minutes. And I consider it to be a successful attempt to write for the day.