The Routine is Better Than the Result
If you're going to start something...you may as well continue it.
A year ago I wrote about Socky Underpants.
Since then, I have written 364 more times. I have written about Easter and birthdays and dressing up for Halloween and tooth fairies that come to visit and even about how I love my robot vacuum.
At the beginning, I wrote in quiet. I told no one.
I’m no writer. I have zero sense of paragraphs or use of commas and a million other formatting errors. But I wrote again the next day. At about day 30, I told BW because hey, 30 days - yay me! Then a few months passed and BW posted it on her social media and friends and family found me.
I told a few more friends and then made a few more friends here too (which is awesome) and before I knew it I’ve been writing for over year now. If you peruse the archives, the topics don’t really matter and that’s OK because the goal is that there is no goal. The goal is to write more and get read more.
What matters is now it’s known at my house that after the child goes to bed, it’s time for me to write. I made time for it because for me it’s important to document the comings and goings of our life here.
I see value in writing.
Would I rather watch YouTube, or play with my computers some nights? You bet. But, I have prioritized this over everything else once the child is in bed.
And a funny thing happens: Every night I shut the door to her bedroom and then wonder what the heck I will write about . Most nights, I have no idea what to write - but that doesn’t stop me and I continue to pluck away at the keys. Sometimes I delete it all and start over and other times, I write it and say to myself “good enough” and then hit publish.
If you’re starting something: writing or exercise or painting…keep at it! You never know where it will lead.
At least that’s what I tell her.
Me? My diet starts tomorrow. maybe - when the pie is gone we can talk.
Keeping at it despite the odds,
TH and Co.
364 days is no joke, the compound effect of showing up beats optimizing for quality any day of the week. What stood out to me is the shift from writing in quiet to making it known at the house, that's when routines solidify into identity. I've been in a similar position with a habit where nobody knew for months, then once it was public the accountability layer changed everything. The 'what will I write about tonight' uncertainty never fully goes away but that's actualy the practice, showing up regardless.
Forget the diet, keep up with the writing. You seem to enjoy it as much as the pie !