The second step of building your daily writing habit is setting your constraints.
Creativity thrives with intentional constraints.
Where writers go wrong is they task themselves with sitting in front of a blank page and "making magic happen" on a whim.
But we all know that's a recipe for failure. Instead, Ship 30 for 30 is designed with a handful of constraints in mind so that you don't experience the feeling of having "too many options," and instead can just focus on writing & publishing a 250-word Atomic Essay, on a single idea, every day for 30 days.
Here are the constraints we recommend:
- Time: You have 30-60 minutes to write. This will take longer in the beginning, but you will get faster! Then, 5-10 minutes MAX to edit. (A quick glance for grammar and punctuation is about all you should be focusing on.)
- Topic: This is 100% up to you, and we'll walk you through how to set your topic constraints.
- Length: Your Atomic Essay should be no more than 300 words. This forces you to think clearly, concisely, and deliver your point effectively.
- Platform: You will publish every day for 30 days to Twitter and your Typeshare Social Blog (more on that tomorrow!)
- Cadence: This one is easy. You will write and publish every day for 30 days.
- Environment: This is about writing in the same place, at the same time, every day.
The recommended constraints are tight for a reason. They stop you from overthinking, over editing, and falling out of practice.
They force you to SHIP, which is the goal of Ship 30 for 30.
If you stick to these constraints, Ship 30 for 30 will be a ton of fun (and you will have covered an incredible amount of ground by the time you're done).We encourage everyone to craft a "goal" statement for how they will write for the next 30 days.
Instead of setting the goal of "I am going to start writing every day," craft a statement that combines all of your constraints. For example: "I am going to write every day for 60 minutes at 7 AM while sitting at my living room table. I will write 250-word Atomic Essays about productivity and mindfulness, published on Twitter and to my Social Blog."