30 Lessons Learned From Writing for 30 Straight Days.

Clarity and understanding are what I needed. Lifelong lessons are what I got.

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Before jumping in, let’s discuss why I set this goal for myself in the first place.

Jeff Bradford lays it out perfectly in his Forbes article, “Why writing ability is the most important skill in business (and how to acquire it).”

Here’s the thing, I’ve experienced a lot of personal turmoil in my journey, maybe you can relate. I needed a sense of clarity and understanding in a way that will benefit my personal brand as well as the brand I am building.

I was spinning my wheels.

I figured this: Everything is writing.

• Marketing
• Advertising
• Copywriting
• Social Media Content
• Etc

And the best of the best do it, so why wouldn’t I give it a try?

Plus, my writing has been a gamechanger for double-dipping my content across multiple platforms.

Seems like a great bang-for-my-buck skill to acquire.

Turns out, I was right.

In August 2020, I created what I like to call “my non-negotiables”.

Any non-negotiable is something that is, well, non-negotiable. No matter what, it will be completed every day for 30 straight days.

ZERO excuses.

Just as Dan says in the above tweet, “Consistency over motivation”. I knew there would be times when making excuses would be the easy thing to do. But I was committed to relying on consistency, not motivation.

Doesn’t matter how

• Tired
• Pissed off
• Mentally exhausted

You are.

It will get done.

Before doing so, I had no experience writing.

Telling stories in an educational manner wasn’t something I had practiced… ever.

To be honest, the last article I had written was a scientific manuscript for my Master’s thesis (3+ years ago). Basically, my writing experience was zero.

But that’s exactly why I had the urge to make it happen.

August 2020 Non-Negotiables

I shifted my mindset for my daily tasks. My mindset went from things I’d like to get done to things I will get done.

My non-negotiables for August were:

1. Write 500+ words ad ay
2. Write 10+ blog posts a day
3. Schedule 10+ tweets a day
4. Intentional Movement for 30 minutes a day

The first 2 were inspired by Ayodeji Awosika and his guide “How to Make Money on Medium: The Ultimate Guide”

The last 2 were for other personal goals I have.

30 Lessons Learned From 30 straight Days of Writing

1. It sounded easy. It wasn’t.
2. Not every day will be perfect.
3. Some days you’ll write 3k word, others you’ll hit 501 — Both are equally as important.
4. I have more to write than I thought.
5. The more you write the more you can write.
6. 1 week into it I was already adjusting for my errors.
7. You don’t need to be a scientist to tell a story.
8. I’m a better writer than I thought.
9. I have a lifetime of progress to be made.
10. Learn to write, write to learn.
11. My best writing happens first thing in the morning.
12. Some articles will be horrible.
13. You’ll go to sleep happier when you feel accomplished.
14. Building momentum is harder than maintaining it.
15. You have more to offer than you think you do.
16. To write quality content you must consume quality content.
17. There are many ways to tell the same story.
18. Brain fart? Bring out the pen and paper.
19. How you sleep at night will have a large impact on your writing.
20. If you can write for 30 straight days, why can’t you write for 100, 200, etc?
21. Real momentum is gained on the weekends.
22. Be willing to write when you LEAST want to.
23. Creativity is key. Not to writing, to life.
24. “I am a writer” > “I’m just doing some writing”
25. Everything you do is a story. Learn how to tell it & sell it.
26. Small daily progress goes a long way.
27. Writing is an amazing way to express your creative self.
28. The more you write, the more you understand.
29. Anything done for 30 straight days has the power to change your life. Internally & externally.
30. The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. (AKA: There is so much to learn and write about!)
31. Bonus: No matter what, stick to your message. Someone out there needs to hear it.

Here’s the thing, committing to practicing any new skill for 30 straight days is hard as hell.

But on the other side, you’ll be better because of it.

The only way to make it happen is to make sure your goals are a happy-medium.

What do I mean by “happy-medium”?

Well, they should be difficult enough to push you forward but simple enough to achieve them even when you least way to, because those days will come.

I’ll be the first to say if I would have set the goal to write 2k words a day I would have failed almost immediately.

But 500? That was doable.

Moreover, there were multiple days when I got in a groove and cleared 3k words in a single day. That’s big-time for me! All because my non-negotiables were realistic & achievable.

In case you haven’t realized yet, this article isn’t about writing.

It’s about committing to the tasks you know you need to commit to.

“You always have two choices: your commitment versus your fear.” — Sammy Davis Jr

Sure, maybe it’s writing, but maybe it’s guitar, exercise, phone calls, web design, etc.

The truth of the matter is there is something holding you back and the only reason is you’re not fulling committed; You’re committed every other day and not on the weekends.

This is how you remain in a standstill… or in other words, stuck.

You’re semi-committed.

Which means you’re not committed at all.

Commit every day.

Call to Action

Whatever skill it was that popped up into your mind while reading this, commit to it.

Make your non-negotiable realistic and achievable. You can do this by asking yourself: How long will it take to complete this?

Your sweet-spot is 30 minutes-1.5 hours.

Begin tracking it for 30 consecutive days and do not miss a day.

After you’ve completed this, send me an email (me@dallenreber.com) and let me know what you learned!

I’m excited for you,

Dallen

P.S. Check out my site for free tools to help you along your journey.