At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, writing has changed my life. I often talk about the importance of reading, but writing is as important. When you’re reading, you’re passively consuming. When you’re writing, you’re actively engaging with the content. Ideally, what you do involves a combination of the two. The problem with writing is that it’s one of the hardest activities you can do, so it’s difficult to know where to start. Here are two simple steps to start writing regardless of who you are and what you do for a living.
Journal
“Paper has more patience than people.”
Anne Frank
Whenever I struggle with something, I’ve noticed that writing about it often lessens the emotional pain. Also, writing about a problem helps you organize your ideas and develop a possible solution. I’d go as far as to say that most problems we face regularly can be solved with pen, paper, and some unstructured time. On that note, Warren Buffet once said: “Some of the things I think I think, I find don’t make any sense when I start trying to write them down. You ought to be able to explain why you’re taking the job you’re taking, why you’re making the investment you’re making, or whatever it may be. And if you can’t stand applying pencil to paper, you’d better think it through some more.”
Transcribe
“As soon as I read a wise sentence anywhere, I feel at once the desire of appropriation.”
Emerson
I’ve written at length about my notecard system which I still use regularly. That said, your system of “appropriation”, as Emerson calls it, doesn’t have to be the same. Some authors, like Austin Kleon, enjoy transcribing quotes and ideas that resonate in a notebook. There’s something magical when you come across someone else’s idea that, taken out of context, helps you solve your problems. Developing a system of ideas that resonate is incredibly valuable. You can use ideas from different disciplines and apply them to whatever it is that you’re struggling.
There you have it. It may not sound like much, but if you make one of those two writing strategies a habit, it’ll transform your life. Both journaling and transcribing quotes can help you make sense of the world around you. As a consequence, some of the notebooks I end up with are some of my most precious possessions. I hope what you end up with offers something similar.