Why I Write
An Angreal for ideas (letter#2)
Some weeks ago, I saw one of my best friends for the first time since October, and we had a long-overdue exchange of birthday and Christmas gifts.
I am now the owner of a beautiful leather-bound journal with my initials on it.
The timing was serendipitous. Part of the reason I began this project was a desire to write more. But as March zoomed by without a fresh letter to send, I realized this was going to take much more effort than anticipated. I needed a ritual— a strategy.
So I designed one.
Since receiving it, I have sought to take 15 minutes between myself, a pen, and some pages in my journal every day. Occasionally I write reflections, other times there are newsletter ideas, and so on. But for 15 minutes a day, it’s me, a pen, and the paper.
See, I figure ideas are like noses; everyone’s got one and most of them are incredibly unremarkable. Unlike noses, however, you can always generate new ideas. All we need to do is create some structure, have some discipline, and provide space to examine them.
“Poirot," I said. "I have been thinking."
"An admirable exercise my friend. Continue it.”
― Agatha Christie, Peril at End House
15 Minutes
The reason I choose 15 minutes as my baseline for this activity is simple:
First, 15 minutes is a modest and manageable amount of time. It is always possible to find 15 minutes to do some thinking and writing. The goal isn’t to limit me to 15 minutes, but to set an achievable floor.
Second, when creating a habit1, consistency is more important than the length of time. This goes for any habit, not just writing. When establishing a new pattern in your life, make it easy to access and scalable. The length of time you execute the habit will typically increase on its own as it develops.
An Angreal
I figure writing is sorta like an Angreal2, a focus lens.
Except instead of being an amplifier for channeling the One True Source, it can act as a focus and amplifier for thoughts.
Regardless of what the thought is— a business plan, a story concept, or a thought piece, when you transfer it from the boundaries of your mind to paper, it creates distance between you and the idea. This distance makes it easier to separate the junk from the rough gems. It provides an opportunity to strengthen, expand, enhance and/or change them. What this morning was a vague thing rattling around in your head has been transformed into a concept with at least some shading and depth.
If you have ever attempted to meditate, even briefly, you’ve experienced this; how difficult it is to hold on to a single thought; how ephemeral they are. A pen and paper reduces this friction and creates space to explore.
Repetition is the mother of all learning
I think most of this is, if not obvious, at least something we all intuit. But, most of us don’t do it, despite that— else there would be more creators in this world.
In Letter#1 I mentioned how One of the biggest obstacles to long-term success is an unwillingness to look like an idiot in the short term. The second biggest obstacle is likely the repetition, or a lack thereof. Oftentimes when we want to learn a new skill or develop a habit we over-commit and then get discouraged.
Instead, a framework like the above will carry us further, longer. We can all find 15 minutes per day to practice. Whatever the habit is, make it accessible and scalable.
But no matter what, we do have to practice the thing we want to get better at, and the only way to practice is to find time to set aside to do it— it’s just that the consistency matters more than the length of time. That includes writing; or thinking, for that matter.
And to me, that’s the cornerstone of this project right now. Thinking— real rigorous thought, takes a lot of energy, and we intuitively create mental shortcuts to conserve it.
We underestimate how difficult it is to think, how powerfully our thinking is influenced by our social circles— and how much we can stretch what we believe to be plausible to protect our own egos.3
Writing can help us compensate for this, and the above framework is an easy-to-implement strategy for doing so. It not only creates a daily writing habit but creates a space to explore our thoughts and ideas. It provides a personal document on which to go back and reflect— to pick through, down the road. That’s why I do this, that’s why I’m testing these strategic habits, and that’s why I’m here.
If you’d like to learn more about effective Habits I recommend “Atomic Habits” By James Clear
An obscure reference, I realize. Angreal is a device from “The Wheel of Time”. I am currently working my way through book 3, so no spoilers. Also, a must-read series if you enjoy fantasy.
A letter for another time? If you want to get a head start I recommend “How to Think” By Alan Jacobs