Channeling my Inner Hemingway
As someone in a more technical field, I’ve never considered myself a writer -- in fact far from it. If anyone ever asked me the last time I actually tried to write something meaningful, I would have to dig out my high school English class book review on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” In the last 20 years, the type of writing I’ve engaged in throughout my professional career have ranged from short and sweet bullet point rationale for design specifications, to long flowing prose explaining why one of my reports deserved to be promoted to Staff Product Designer. Definitely targeted at an incredibly specific audience, however unlikely to be engaging or successful based on any writing metric. I’m imagining in my head a scene, a weekend getaway to a lakeside cabin, in the twilight hours before turning in -- a software developer reaches for a copy of my latest design QA notes to read in their favourite armchair, whiskey glass at their side? Hah, doubtful!
If you’ve been kind enough to follow us on our blog, first off we thank you graciously, and with a huge slice of humble pie. As I pen each post with my thoughts and feelings about the turn I’ve taken in my life, I know I’m not great at writing. Maybe lousy would be a more apt descriptor! This practice of getting my thoughts on digital paper is new to me, but I realize how important a part of the journey it is. And even though this blog may not be the end product of what we’re trying to do, I’m committed to keeping this writing ritual going.
Benefits
So why am I so gung ho about making writing a new habit? As I have been writing these posts, I’ve definitely noticed some tangible benefits. And as I dug into some of the research, there’s a lot to gain from building up a habit of writing.
Clarity, Focus, Communication
I am a total scatterbrain at times, and if you’ve interacted with me in person you can see this firsthand -- my monologues come across as a babbling stream of consciousness. The intentional act of writing things down allows me to control that stream, first by focusing on what I want to say. This is literally because I can’t type as fast as my thoughts and I need to be intentional about what I write down. Then as I layer and add structure to my writing, this allows me to create clarity in my thoughts and ultimately the message I’m conveying.
This revision process allows me to refine my communication more effectively. As I write a draft, and reread it, I might decide that my original tone is too passive. I can play around with my words to hone in on a more assertive message. Or perhaps my post is getting to long and I’m losing the plot -- this allows me to strip that back down to the essence of the message I’m trying to get across.
Cognition, Learning, and Memory
Who doesn’t want sharper mental acuity? As I creep up in age I can for sure tell you that my brain fog is growing, I’m getting more forgetful, and I walk around in a zombie state more often than I’d like.
Well there’s good news as all is not lost for me -- writing can help! Research suggests in a classroom setting, writing notes consistently while taking a course is the biggest factor in students engaging and showing comprehension of the classroom material. This makes complete sense to me. It’s been said that the best way to learn a skill or concept is to teach it to someone else. Paraphrasing and writing is akin to teaching yourself the material you just learned!
Memory is obviously positively impacted, where the act of writing it down engages your brain in a way that strengthens the connection to the concept that you’re writing about. This connection makes it easier to recall that information later, through those well greased neural pathways.
And then even more interestingly, handwriting that information is even more effective in improving both learning and memory. The extra processing required for the complex fine-motor movements involved in penmanship helps fire more neural pathways for that information to live in, and because handwriting is slower than typing, if you’re taking notes in class you probably need to crunch the information down and paraphrase faster, leading to better learning outcomes. I love this idea since we’re so primed in our society to go faster and faster, and apparently slowing down (like I’m trying to do with life in general) scores another victory point!
Reflection and Mental Health
Lastly, a regular writing practice can be beneficial to your mental health. Many studies have shown that a journaling practice helps you address complex emotions and situations. One example is a gratitude journal, where you make daily notes on people, things, and experiences that have a positive impact on your life. This allows you to build a positive mindset and mental resilience.
Since writing is inherently persistent, it’s also a great way to be able to look back at thoughts you’ve had in the past to be able to reflect on where you’ve been and how you may have changed your views on a particular topic. This is a basis for how we’re able to grow and progress.
Write On!
OK great, how do you kickstart your own writing habit to reap all these benefits?
Just start!
Howard has an entire post on reaching your goals, and the first thing to do is to get into action mode and take the smallest baby step. Grab a pen and paper and start writing, or fire up that ubiquitous text editor that’s already on your computer. Lower the barriers to getting those first words down and then find ways to keep coming back to it on a regular basis.
Set up your environment
After you’ve got in your first few writing sessions, start optimizing your environment to be more conducive to this deep mental activity. Start feeling out the best times of the day -- I’m a late night writer but you might want to incorporate this in your 5AM club routine. Do you have a space that helps you get into focus and flow? A quiet corner away from loud disruptive noises and visual clutter? Maybe the right music gets your mind going the right way -- when I sit down to write I love some muted instrumental jazz, where the improvised riffs inspire me and can also fade into the background when I’m on a roll. The key here is to experiment, like a runner finding the right pair of shoes with just the right fit and feel. When you’ve found the right ones the miles just seem to melt away. In a similar vein, when you've got the right setup, those words just flow out of your fingers like magic!
Build in Structure
Wait but isn’t this a creative pursuit? Yes! I’ve found structure helps any creative process including design work and now writing. Set intention for whatever you’re writing. Is it a blog post? Then describe the goals of your post, what the audience should get out of it, and then start crafting an outline that serves that. Is it a journal entry? Start to think about the purpose of why you’re journaling and the required cadence that you should commit to it.
Find some Inspiration
I’ve found that once I have an idea, many others also have similar thoughts and it’s good to look around for some inspiration to give your own thoughts a boost. Start keeping notes of these, jot down your key takeaways and important points, and don’t forget to document the source. In a blog post I like referencing similar or supporting articles on the topic I’m writing about, and these notes come in handy when I’m trying to clarify my own position.
Reread and Revise
This is so important, especially for something that may be read by others. Take the time to read what you have, be objective about how well it’s delivering on your original goals, and revise and make edits as necessary. Share early and often with others that could provide valuable feedback. This is a humbling experience at first, but well worth it as it is so easy to get into one track of thinking and not seeing your own blindspots.
Writing the Next Chapter
I’ll be completely honest, long form writing is still really hard for me. It’s not a skill that I’ve relied upon over the years. But like I said, it’s a practice with many benefits and I’m going to try to make it a habit going forward. As we build upon what’s next for us, it will help clarify and focus our own thoughts about what’s next, as well as the entire purpose of doing so. It allows us to document and reflect on our journey and see (hopefully) how we’ve grown over time and learned from our mistakes. And honestly, it’s just a great skill that I’m personally interested in developing. I can’t wait to see how it evolves!
