My 10-Year-Old Simple Writing System That Has Kept Me Consistent For Over 12 Years
My system sometimes writes for me + LinkedIn experiment
Last week I shared how challenging it is to be consistent as a writer especially when your life is dynamic.
Even with so many breaks in publishing my work, my writing stopped. I was typing in airport lounges while waiting for food and whenever I could find some time alone.
The only thing that has kept me going all these years has to be my Writing System.
This is the system that has helped me publish
Today I am sharing that with you. I hope it helps you curate or create a writing system that you can count on to keep you going.
Create a System You Can Count On
Disclaimer: Creating a system doesn’t happen overnight.
It took me 4 to 5 years to understand the trigger points that made me get into the writing zone. I will talk about them at the end of this newsletter.
Every step of this system was included after learning what works and what doesn’t. I kid you not this system prevented me from having an existential crisis 😅
And saved me from:
Deciding what to write
Deciding when to write
And how to write
It integrated various steps of the process into my lifestyle, allowing me to focus solely on the most important part — writing.
Here’s how each step brings my creative juices out and tricks me into getting into the writing groove.
Step 1: Collection
While most online writers spend a significant amount in finalizing their next topic, writers with systems already have multiple ideas in their pipeline.
Ever since I started collecting ideas and prompts, half of my problem as a writer has been resolved. Now when I scroll through social media or read something that makes me think, it automatically goes on my Apple Notes or my writing journal. This saves me from the dilemma of WHAT to write when I sit down to write.
Collecting ideas and prompts saves me from the dilemma of WHAT to write when I sit down to write.
Having a plethora of ideas can sometimes make it difficult to choose which one to prioritize but it’s a better problem than waiting for inspiration or an idea to stick with you.
Gather diverse ideas from various sources and experiences.
Step 2: Ideation
Our mind is the most magnificent machine. Having an idea written brings all the thoughts related to it and creates a beautiful mini-world.
Once the topic is written, my brain does its magic and brings me all the data it has on the topic. It gets annoying sometimes because these thoughts keep coming when trying to sleep in most cases.
Research conducted with over 40,000 participants demonstrated that merely posing the question, “What are your intentions regarding acquiring a new car within the next 6 months?” resulted in a remarkable 35% increase in purchase rates. It’s very similar to how we acquire all our knowledge about a topic we wish to write.
Brainstorm and refine your collected ideas
Exploring different angles and perspectives.
This is the ideation stage where you allow all kinds of ideas to flow
Step 3: Creation
The jumbled thoughts and threads that we collected in step 2 are going to come in handy in the most important step of this system.
In the creation step, develop your chosen idea into a coherent and structured piece of content by
Creating blueprint
Evolving the idea into a power-packed piece of content
Adding the right visuals
When you have the idea, the bigger picture of what you want to convey, creating a piece feels like playing the Jigsaw Puzzle.
Step 4: Polishing
Edit and revise your content for clarity, coherence, and style. Review your content for grammar, spelling, and style errors. Consider using professional editing tools like ProWritingAid or Hemingway Editor.
Seek feedback from peers, writing groups, or trusted individuals who can provide constructive criticism.
To catch awkward phrasing and improve the flow, read your content aloud. This can help you identify issues that might go unnoticed when reading silently.
Whenever I finish a piece, I automatically open it on my phone for a final round of edits.
Step 5: Publication
Share your finished work on the appropriate platform, considering the target audience and media format.
To trick your mind into writing consistently, you need to establish a system that works for you. This could be setting specific writing goals, creating a daily routine, or using productivity techniques like the Pomodoro method. The author of The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg, suggests
“You want to find a small cognitive behavioural habit loop that you can change.”
Select the most suitable platform for your content. This could be your blog, a guest post on another website, a social media platform, or a content publishing platform like Medium.
Prioritize search engine optimization (SEO) by incorporating relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and alt text for images to increase the visibility of your content.
Having a writing system helps in running the machine without worrying about what to do next. It allows every step to occur on autopilot.
Here are a few triggers I have observed over the years that get me started..I call them Thinking Triggers. And here’s the part I promised at the beginning of this piece.
Find Your Thinking Triggers
Our brains can get alerted to specific keywords and visuals which differs for everyone.
Everyone has a thinking pattern they’re unaware of. It took me a decade to learn mine. As a designer, my brain gets super active when I am looking at extraordinary visuals and old paintings.
It creates various connections in my head that I can’t comprehend, but it feels like taking an NZT-48 pill from Limitless.
These Think Triggers bring back all the folders of info I have on them. Looking at appealing visuals while I was away from writing got me thinking about certain topics and started the chain reaction. The more I thought about it, the more I accumulated my previous thoughts on the topic which gave me clarity, and with clarity comes seamless writing.
Clear Thinking = Clear Writing
Finding the right visual put all my thoughts into a clear flow chart.
Knowing your thinking style can greatly influence your writing process.
If you tend to think of ideas, brainstorming, and outlining might be your best friends.
Visual thinkers, on the contrary, can benefit from sketching or creating mind maps to organize their thoughts.
Journaling is another common method used by artists and creators to document their ideas and productize their thinking.
When you organize your thoughts and categorize them, you unknowingly create a blueprint for a potential blog post.
This is the writing system that has made me produce 3000+ original pieces online and I hope it helps you find your triggers to build a writing system of your own. If you have questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll try my best to serve you :)
Last Week’s Finds
Lesson of the week
I was curious to check if LinkedIn carousels work better than photos 😂 So, last week I published a design that I worked on for 2 weeks on and off. I was very confident about it since it was on the topic of Content Packaging which not many people talk about. I also posted my photo with some content prior to that. The results were quite shocking
A properly designed carousel received 619 impressions
A photo of mine with a write-up about work-life balance received 1913 impressions.
If you ask me which one gives more value, it’s definitely the carousel but I am tired of questioning myself why my carousel tanked. It’s very disappointing.
I am running more experiments on LinkedIn and will keep sharing the lessons I learn.
Book of the week
This was a busy weekend, I did not read anything other than some social media posts 🥲
Video of the week
Legend Kobe Bryant talking about how failure doesn’t exist on his radar is something we all need to introduce into our system.
Quote of the week
"If you are ever tempted to look for outside approval, realize that you have compromised your integrity. If you need a witness, be your own." -Epictetus
This quote helped me get over my disappointment about LinkedIn stats 😅
Song of the week
I feel this song from “The Little Mermaid" — exactly what’s happening with most of us. Howard Ashman was a genius. He’s written my favorite Disney songs.
Creation of the week
I made a reel on my AI avatars.
I have been working on my 9-day fasting piece which is taking longer than I thought.
I hope you enjoyed this email as much as I enjoyed writing it :)
Do spread the word by sharing it with your friends and have fun.
Until next time.
Love and light
Shreya