[DAY 105 OF THE DEEP END PROJECT]
When people find out I’ve been writing publicly everyday for over 100 days now, they have a lot of questions.
Okay, a lot may be an exaggeration but they have a few questions. They are definitely intrigued and even impressed, which works great for me because I’m a recovering people pleaser.
Some of them are also very surprised that I’ve been able to do it for 100+ days.
“Omg that’s a lot of writing”, they say
But it really isn’t. And, I can assure you all of you have done it and are doing it.
You call it “Social Media Content”
There’s just a few key differences.
I’m publishing whatever I write to my Blog instead of my Instagram (it also gets posted on Facebook)
There’s no strategy involved. I write what I want to write.
And my writing may be a little bit longer than a regular social media post (on most days)
That is all.
Anyone can do this. You can do it for 120 days, you can even do it for 365 days (I won’t recommend it, but you can!)
In fact, I challenged my Facebook Group members to join me for the last 30 days.
Those who did have now been doing it for 15 days and noticing a surge in their creativity, mindfulness, engagement and quality of interactions.
Point being, anyone can do this.
So let’s get to the questions then. These are important because if you too embark on your own Deep End Project and I really hope you do, you may want to think about these questions to increase your chances of being successful at it.
Q1 – Do you write them on your own or a team member writes it for you?
A – I write them myself and there’s a reason for it. I didn’t know this when I started the project, but I know it now. The Deep End Project is not simply a “writing” or “content creation” project. It’s ‘Answering The Call To Courage’ project. There was and is only one purpose of it – Deepest Self Expression. It wouldn’t have been possible if it was done through someone else.
This isn’t a business strategy. It can be but for me it hasn’t been that way. It was me finding the courage to write about topics I felt shame, vulnerability and a fear of being judged about.
It has been a process of unbecoming for me. To shed the layers of other people’s thoughts and feelings and be purely me. One of my friends said “this is like your public journal.” Yes, it is exactly that!
Q2 – Do you plan what you are going to write about?
A – Yes and No. I always have a list of topics I want to write about. They are all over, my notebook, my notes app, google docs. But when it comes to writing, I hardly ever write from that list. I start with “What do I really want to talk about today?”
I’ve noticed any idea that I add to the list loses the charm for me, for some reason. It stays there forgotten.
In short, I only write about stuff that I get excited to write about.
Q3 – How do you get so many ideas?
A – One word – shower.
I get all my ideas in the shower. I’m not kidding.
Did you know that when you do any activity that has synchronous movements like driving, vacuuming, washing dishes, swimming, walking, painting or taking a shower activates the creative part of your brain?
Steven Spielberg has been known to take long drives while working on his movies.
For me, my most creative ideas always come during a shower. Now I’ve made an intention to get ideas about my daily writing there.
When I get really stuck or blocked, I take my inspiration from 3 things – Tosha Silver’s book, Outrageous Openness, Seth Godin’s – Practice, Shipping Creative Work and Seth’s Blog.
I look at these three as my Oracle. I just open it up, land on a page and get my ideas from there.
Sometimes, I just start riffing on a blank document. I start throwing some words around. After about half a page, I either want to finish off what I started or delete it and start over.
Q4 – What time do you write?
A – The time it will get done.
There are various schools of thoughts when it comes to developing a daily writing habit. Some people say, do it first thing in the morning. Some say, block off time after your most important task of the day.
I say “do it when it will get done”
What’s that time for you? Morning, evening , afternoon, right before bed?
People get lost in creating a schedule and finding the right time. The most important thing is that it should get done, not the time it is done.
Q5 – How does this grow your business?
A – This is my least favorite question to answer. Honestly I get very irritated when I’m asked this question.
Honestly, when did we become a society where everything has to be about our business or capital gains?
Growing up, women in my family – my mom, my aunts and my grandmother used to get together in the fall, round up the kids and we’d all peel 50 lbs of potatoes, cut them into thin slices, coat them with spices and dry them in the sun. To make potato chips!
Next we all helped in making pickles of all different kinds; mango, chillies, lemon etc.
We did it because a) we all loved food and b) we all loved food.
Period.
The answer to this question is – I don’t know. I do it because I love writing.
Do something that you love to do not because it will grow your business but because you love it!
I’m curious, do you have any questions about my 120 Day Deep End Writing Project? Put them below, I’d love to answer them.