Taking up a challenge that involves writing constantly, can be exhaustive. Your limits are stretched to every extreme possible. Thoughts constantly assuage your mind because of the pressure that develops. In spite of this, how does one ensure constant writing?
This is how I stay on the lookout for content.
Three simple things I do to help me write constantly.
Reading
Reading can be your best wingman. I have greatly benefited from books and articles (both magazines and online newsletters). The drive to read all started with a book that I borrowed from my friend. The book was not my inspiration to write; it was the friend that motivated to read more. The domino effect was set in action.
Reading with a supportive ecosystem can ensure sustainability.
You can know what I read and wish to read from my Goodreads profile.
Some article subscriptions I have opted for are from:
- Flipboard (I can not name a better app that curates articles according to my interests. It is user-friendly and suggests readings as well)
- Brainpickings (Once a week digest with a set of articles. Fair warning, the articles can be intense, your Sunday can turn out to be productive)
- Quora (Great place to know what questions people ask.)
- Harvard Business Review (You get to read eight articles per month for a month for free. The articles and white papers published can give you depth)
- MIT Sloan (You get three free articles per month. Like HBR the articles from this site are worth it)
- Medium Daily Digest (This is also a blogging platform like WordPress. The newsletters are fun. The article links are curated. You get top 3 for a day.)
- Google Alerts (If there are things that you would like to keep a constant look out for, let Google do the job. Set your search words and the frequency of articles. If there is something related to your search word uploaded on the internet and when Google finds out, it sends the link to your inbox.)
- Ryan Holiday (A newsletter that recommends and suggests what books to read)
- Poem – a – day (one poem every day along with who the author is)
- TED (For inspiration, talks. TED-Ed in particular is informative)
In my case, the love of reading got me to start the Inc’read’able India project.
My Audience
As much as reading, networking can be equally effective as well. It should not stop with getting in touch with people. Ask them questions on how the blog can be made better. The better effective way is to let them ask you the questions.
Fun fact for you all, I got inspired to write this article when I got text messages that said, “Hey Arun, how do you manage to write constantly? Where do you get the ideas from?”
Ta daaa, a new article in the making.
Discard the notion of the audience to review your work. An audience can persuade you to write as well. They give content to you in the form of ideas.
Observe
See the room; Watch the room; Observe the room.
When do you think you can extract maximum?
There is more than what they eyes can see. The best example is my journey to Bangalore. I got an article out of it because I observed what happened. With a little philosophical touch, you can convert it to an article.
Sometimes we will forget what we observed. So I take notes in the phone’s ‘Notes’ app, or I send it as an email to myself. 30 minutes is enough to convert an idea into an article. Any 30 minutes, I get my first draft!
There is no secret potion in creating this magic. Simple and effective steps to pursue relentlessly.