This post was guest blogged by Alex Shalman, who put together the Happiness Project with 34 A-list bloggers, and writes about practical personal development, communication, and relationships.
Some people wonder how my small blog has been able to break the 1000 RSS mark and get thousands of people visiting, commenting, and taking part in the community in the month of February. Some realize that quality counts, but taking 20 posts per month, to 50 per month, and now keeping up with a 1 a day posting schedule has something to do with it.
The Secret to Writing Prolifically
So what’s my secret to writing so much? Using the principles I outlined in Life Design Experiment, I was effectively able to create an environment and morning routine which allowed me to write from 6am-8am every morning. Everyday for a month I would wake up at 6am, hop onto my computer, and write without any interruptions until 8am.
It would take me anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to write a post. That’s 1-4 posts each and every day in the month of February. In this way I was able to write more posts that day than most people, and before most people got to work. The rest of my day could effectively be distraction free, as I was able to concentrate on work, school, or the relationships in my life, without the guilt of thinking “I should be writing!â€
Do Not Let ANYTHING Stop You
Just to show you how much of a stickler I was to this rule, I even kept this system up in the beginning of the month during my trip to Panama. Sure I could have said I’ll start after the trip, but that wouldn’t have forged my ability to do everything I say I am going to do. The first morning of the trip the plane was lifting off at 6am, but I still wrote. Another morning we were coming back very late from the huge Carnival, and had to pull over on the side of the road to sleep – we were way too far away from our apartment. I woke up in the back of the car at 6am, in a strange country I’ve never been in before, got out, sat on a rock, and wrote articles in my moleskin.
The point is, my 6am-8am writing habit was a rule that was set in stone and nothing short of a natural disaster was going to stop me. There is of course a bonus to using this system, and since I have your attention already, I’ll use this opportunity to let you in on the bonus.
The Bonus
I told myself I would only do this for the month of February, just to see how I feel about it, and re-evaluate at the end of the month. Well the month is over, the re-evaluation is complete, and I’m definitely happy with the progress. Now I know that I can take on any new habit, try it out, and keep it if I like.
On top of the writing habit, I added an exercise habit that I do right afterwards. Any idea how great doing cardio every single day is for your body, your focus, creativity, longevity, vitality and happiness? It’s the full package. We are a series of habits, so it’s time to replace the bad ones with good ones!