I Failed to Write on Medium Every Day for 30 Days: Here’s What I Learned
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As a professor in the creator economy, I recently set an ambitious goal for myself: write on Medium every day for 30 days.
The idea was simple: I wanted to challenge myself to write longer and more in-depth pieces than I normally do.
I’ve taken part in probably 5–6 Ship30 cohorts where writers commit to writing small essays (250–300 words) every day. I find that pretty easy now … and usually I expand my best micro essays into longer Medium posts (or combine them).
I admit … I was a bit bored at the endeavor and also disappointed in Twitter after the Elon Musk débâcles. This has brought me to Medium for more in-depth interactions with readers and other writers.
So I wanted to stretch my limits as a creator and reinvigorate my presence on Medium by committing to writing 30 days in April … during the busiest time of the year for most university professors.
Unfortunately, I failed.
We are coming up to day 30 soon and this is my 12th blog. I can give you all sorts of excuses from dog fights to strep throat … but you know, we all have stuff going on. That’s not anything new.
But while it’s tempting to just feel embarrassed and move on, there’s actually a lot to be learned from my failure.
Writing on Medium is About Pacing
Long form writing requires more breathing space. I did find that drafting a Medium blog, then reworking it the next day worked really well … thus I am about halfway through my goal.
However, life got in the way and I fell behind. I tried to catch up by writing multiple posts in one day, but that took the joy out of it. I learned that writing on Medium is all about pacing and consistency. It’s not about writing as much as you can in one day, but consistently showing up and putting in the effort every day.