I Wrote a Piece Every Day for a Month
Why Did I Do This Challenge?
Starting from the 1st of March, I made a commitment to myself that made me extremely uncomfortable.
For an entire month I created and published content on my blog, Kaleidoscopic Thoughts, every single day. The idea was distilled into three components: Write something, finish it on the day, move onto the next thing tomorrow.
This may not seem like a big leap for some, but as a creative who has struggled to put out content regularly (for almost two years now) this was a giant undertaking.
You see, I was stuck in a rut.
Over the past several years, I’ve suffered from a vicious cycle of perfectionism. It’s something that seemed to weigh me down most days. My headspace was cluttered with hundreds upon thousands of ideas and stories that didn’t amount to anything in the end.
I often found myself questioning whether I was ready enough to tackle a certain project. Sometimes I got caught up in my head thinking that a story always required “more”: it needed to be outlined more, there’s more research to be done, the plot needed to be fleshed out more, or the characters needed more development… and so forth.
It was a relentless ordeal and my creativity always capitulated under this strain of scrutiny.
But the main problem here was that I thought I had to do all these things before I even considered writing the story itself (spoiler alert: that’s not how the process works).
Because of this, I’ve written pieces over many many months (that are usually abandoned as projects “to do when I’m ready”) and I rarely finished anything…
This cycle had to be stopped. I didn’t want to let 2022 be another fleeting year for myself. Especially since the 20th March – the blog’s 2nd year anniversary – was looming closer on the horizon. I felt compelled to undertake this monthly challenge to give Kaleidoscopic Thoughts the attention it deserved.
So, this was a way to force myself to progress in my writing journey.
What Was I Hoping To Achieve By The End Of The Challenge?
For me this challenge is about proving to myself that I can write and create published content, without first looking through it with the lens of perfectionism. Well, most of the time.
Perfectionism is a curse: it intoxicated me into thinking I was striving for better. But in reality, there is too much criticism going on in my head and it stifles my ability to make decisions.
Contrary to this, whenever I do anything creative without imposing restrictions on the quality of the outcome, the process becomes fun as hell. It’s a liberating experience to embrace the power of fucking up - to be honest, who cares if anything is a failure? We put too much negative emphasis on failure (I certainly do this all the time!). Success has always been celebrated publicly, but the failures that took to get there are tucked away in the back of our minds (see article for Day 22).
Why should it matter if you burn your omelette for breakfast that morning? Why should it matter if your workout is subpar/non-existent today? Why should it matter if a passerby greets you with “How are you doing?” and you awkwardly say “Hi” because you don’t know how to socialise anymore? Why should it matter if you suck at your hobby that you’ve just started doing?
As much as we all like to show up consistently and with 100% effort all the time… that’s also physically, mentally (and not to mention emotionally) impossible.
We’re all human after all.
While we’re talking about being human, perfectionism itself has its flaws as well (makes sense since it’s a human construct). Nothing can be deemed “perfect” in this world, since it’s a subjective experience and therefore a completely unattainable goal to have. What you may love, someone else will hate. So why please everyone? If I keep seeking out quality under this scope, I’ll get nowhere pretty fast.
Hence why I want to expel the perfectionist nature out of me for as long as possible.
However, it’s not always easy to overcome perfectionism - you first have to understand its roots.
Where could those analytical bouts of overthinking possibly come from?
Ah, mental health. Here comes the dreaded anxiety. Its invasive nature catalyses rampant streams of thought in my head while I’m in bed trying to sleep. Immediately, I run through scenarios on how to make a story better, constantly putting myself on a schedule (to finish projects), thinking up new avenues of research to explore, and eventually I have an endless list of tasks to accomplish along with a self-imposed deadline…
Honestly, whenever I do eventually share a draft of a story with someone, perfectionism also makes me bad at taking criticism. Even if it’s a slight remark about grammar, I think I’ve somehow failed already.
Therefore, I did this challenge in the hopes of becoming a better writer after the end of this period, rather than thinking that I have to be a better writer before I can publish anything else worthy on this blog.
Major Concerns I Had…
Needless to say, the bells of anxiety rang loudly in my mind as I considered such an undertaking. How does one silence their own inner ego? As usual, so many concerns (read “insecurities”) had to be addressed in my head before I went into this challenge, and I’m going to name a few of them down below:
No one will read what I’ve written
Why did this bother me? Well, because I’ve poured a lot of hard work, effort and time on a creative project and it has nothing to show for itself if there is no one there to read it. Especially if I’m creating content every day for a month - that’s 31 pieces of content that may somewhat mean nothing/amount to little value at the end of the day.
No one will like the kind of stories that I write
Again, very subjective: I’ve no idea what people relate to, and it’s far more likely that it’ll maybe connect to someone on some level. Although certain darker themes might be thought provoking or evocative and may put readers off.
My writing may be subpar compared to other writers out there
Here, I can see my inner ego talking. Perfectionism is clearly running rampant. It lives rent-free throughout my head. It’s certainly true that my writing style and voice may not be to everyone’s liking…
But if I were to reread what I’d written above again and again, it would be easy to find the overarching theme here. These thoughts can easily be distilled into one single fear: “What if I’m not good enough?”
I needed to remember that even if I think a piece is a hot pile of garbage, it might resonate on a deeper level with someone else.
How Did I Do This Challenge?
So the idea was simple enough: I will write & publish daily.
But just for clarity (if any fellow creatives are interested and want an insight into the madness), here were some guidelines that I set out for myself about the content I created this month:
It can be an existing project that I’ve left undisturbed for far too long
In other words: I’d be breathing life into old bones
It can be about something entirely new
Something that has happened during my day
There are no word/page limits here
Even if I just wrote a line a day, that was more than enough
It doesn’t always have to be a story piece: the content here can fall into any of the blog categories enlisted [Prose, Article, Review]
The idea was to suck it up and just get on with it: even if it [the piece] is a great idea, I don’t want to even think about “perfecting it” (I’ve spent the past several years with that mindset and that has borne no fruitful results).
What Did I Gain From This Experience?
Now that the 31 Days of Content Challenge is drawing to a close, I learned a great deal about myself and my writing craft.
For instance, I began to expand and refine my creative process; giving myself permission to experiment with storytelling this month. This was a liberating feeling to explore different forms of literature and other genres. In hindsight, some pieces were a startling discovery for me. I certainly didn’t expect to write any form of poetry - it’s not something I usually dabble in. But on particular days, it felt intuitive for me to pursue it, so I kept the creative channel open. This permission helped me remember how to have fun with creativity all over again.
On the other side of the coin, the creative process is like a river – its ebbs and flows. On some days, only a trickle poured out. So I had to rely on self-discipline to keep consistent with the endeavour of this monthly challenge. I realised an important lesson: you can’t control how creativity flows every day, but you can dictate how you approach it.
As predicted, it was tremendously difficult to detach myself from the inner voice of perfectionism. Naturally, I insisted on tapering my expectations: the essence of a story would always be more enticing than the words I wrote. It has always been a balancing act trying to convey what I picture in my head. But as time progressed in the challenge, I found myself learning how to pick the correct phrasing or word to describe the feeling and imagery associated with the piece.
However, this didn’t always work as well as I planned. That’s why it is invaluable to rely on a "sounding board": someone I could trust for unfiltered feedback, especially during the times when self-doubt crept in. More often than not, my scathing criticism was unwarranted - my sounding board helped me realise that I achieved exactly what I wanted to convey in a certain piece. So for any fellow creatives out there, I implore you to garner feedback from others (I know how daunting it may be) – you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the warm reception to your work!
Now that I had a safety net to encourage me to relinquish perfectionism, I kept dedicating myself to the fray of writing every day. The idea of giving myself permission to create some terrible content is… unsettling. No doubt anyone would feel uncomfortable with such an idea – how can one do such a thing, when they only want to present the best versions of themselves online? Admittedly, this became inevitably harder as I received praise from loved ones about my writing style and voice. Later in the month, I felt compelled to maintain this reputation (so to speak) and consistently create pieces worthy of such esteemed appreciation.
Although I attempted to live up to these expectations, I also reminded myself why I had started this challenge in the first place. It was about letting go of these pressures and allowing my creativity to flourish. So, whenever an idea popped into my head on any day, I refused to delay [the idea] and began working on it immediately. Rather than embellishing it first, sometimes it's better to go with the flow and see what I end up creating by the end of it. Afterwards, I rarely found myself drawn back to developing the story further (even though I knew I could make any of these pieces much better, given enough time).
With enough practice over the course of the month, I ended up realising that a written piece I considered “just fine” is far greater than it would ever be as an idea distilling in a drawer of my mind. So maybe striving for fine isn’t as bad as everyone makes it to be!
Despite my unwavering determination during this challenge, I still struggled considerably. There were more days than I can count, where it was difficult to even sit down and write… Starting is always the hardest part in anything that I do. But there was an impending midnight deadline looming over me, and I was wary of it throughout the day. When there’s such an obligation, it can get distressing at times. Therefore, I learned early on that I should set myself up for success.
Sometimes I would sit down and start writing gibberish on a “warm-up” document for roughly ten to fifteen minutes. Usually that would suffice so I wouldn’t get burdened by perfectionist tendencies or mental strain. This low-level effort proved quite rewarding during difficult moments of the challenge. Following on from that – if things still weren’t going according to plan – I’d write a single sentence that was my “line a day”. This often encouraged me to keep going further with a writing session and always led to me writing a longer piece.
A fascinating thing I realised about writing is that I don't have to sit down and write for hours at a time. While some may think it’s good practice to stare idly at their screen and pray for some sort of spark to ignite their creative juices, I for one believe that chunking sessions throughout the day is far more beneficial. I gave myself breaks between short sessions, but always made it a habit to return to work. It is a remarkable thing, as I soon realised that my mind would enter “default network mode” and would tinker away at the piece of writing I was working on whilst I did chores and errands. By doing menial tasks such as these, it allowed my mind to think and actually overcome an imposed obstacle in my path of writing that day.
Then when the day was coming to a close, I accepted that a project was ready “enough” and allowed it to be published. Then, without remorse, I moved onto the next thing the following day. Not an easy feat to do, by the way!
Eventually as the days of March flew by, the inevitable “burn out” came to greet me. In many ways I was forced to acknowledge the "burn out” and tend to it as best as I could, given the fact that I knew I couldn’t stop doing the challenge. The accountability had already been made public. I made a promise to show up and do the work every day, so I knew that I would stick to it. But in between those moments of getting the piece finished earlier during the day and published later in the evenings, I gave myself time for recovery; it was of paramount importance to have fun and relax whenever I could make time for it.
Sometimes, I’d try to do the piece as the first thing in my morning (if possible) so the pressure wouldn’t accumulate throughout the course of the day. While it may feel like a chore to write at times, it’s certainly not because I didn’t enjoy the process anymore. In fact it was the opposite: whenever I entered into a flow state, I’d always leave the chair feeling refreshed and satisfied. The writing process has always been rewarding for me, regardless of how strenuous it can get at times.
Overall, this has been perhaps a fraction of the wisdom I’ve gained from accomplishing this drastic undertaking. By a mile, it’s certainly one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life so far. While at times the journey to the finish line was cumbersome, I’m glad that I carried myself to the destination.
This monthly challenge evoked a monumental shift in my perspective. It made me realise that I’m more capable than I give myself credit for. It’s given me the confidence to breathe life into ideas that I’ve tinkered away at for the past couple of years. But never had the courage and tenacity to see them through. Well, I can wholeheartedly say that won’t be the case any longer.
I can’t imagine not writing every day now.
After all, even though I’ve struggled a lot with the writing process over the years I’m still incredibly passionate about this craft and I want to do this vocation for the rest of my life.
However, that is not to say that I was on this writing journey alone.
I couldn’t possibly deny the tremendous love and support I have received throughout this challenge. I will be forever grateful and humble for my partner Ruxy, my family and close friends who’ve been cheering for me on the side lines. They all supported me during those difficult moments when I wanted to yield and leave the day bereft of a published piece. They all allowed me the time and space to work, especially when I resisted the urge to show up and write.
Finally, thank you to those who’ve taken the time to read any of the pieces I published this month. I am truly humbled and appreciate anyone who reads my works. Whenever I receive any praise from readership, it grants me motivation to keep honing my craft.
So there we have it. The challenge is over.
From now on, I’ll be switching to a weekly schedule of publishing content. Where I’ll most likely publish 1-2 pieces a week going forward. This feels like a more sustainable approach in the long-term, as I know that I can’t commit to publishing every day. It also means that I can work on longer pieces of prose and give them the proper attention they deserve.
To the dear reader, thank you for going on this journey with me. I hope you’ll stay along to see what I have in store for the blog coming soon.
Have a great day!
On Day 31, a piece reflecting on the 31 Days of Content Challenge that I undertook in March 2022.