Hacker News Reader

Comment by spodek | Hacker News Reader

My biggest motivation, now nearing three years without missing a day writing usually 500 to 2,000 words daily, which applies to exercise and a million other habits you don't want to lose, is

If you miss one day you can miss two, if you miss two it's all over.

(which I wrote up here -- http://joshuaspodek.com/a-model-for-consistency)

Words to live by if you want consistency and discipline in your life.

I'm also coming up on two years without missing a single day of exercising, for which the same philosophy motivates me -- http://joshuaspodek.com/burpees-the-one-year-review

EDIT: Another lesson I learned: That the route to quality generally comes from quantity -- http://joshuaspodek.com/route-quality-quantity.

View on HN

Consistency isn't everything. If you're consistently doing ineffective things it can be as bad as inconsistently doing very effective things. Doing nothing but burpees twice a day a year might make you feel like you've accomplished something, but it's not going to be nearly as effective as a varied, intense workout regiment with specific goals.

As a journalist/geek, the best thing my first editor (a beautiful writer) did for me was forcing me to write two or more news stories every (week)day for the 18 months I worked at that paper. Every day he (or another editor) edited my copy and gave me feedback. The writing was exhausting and the editing was invaluable. +1 for feedback.

As an aspiring writer I am inexplicably envious of you for having someone to edit your writing every day for such a long period.

You very lucky person.

Doing burpees twice a day a year is better than not doing any exercise at all. True, it's best to have a goal, and to push yourself, but sometimes just building the habit is the first and hardest step.

Indeed. The best exercise schedule/diet/anything is the one you will actually do.

Plus, if you want to get good at doing burpees, I bet you'd get pretty good after a year.

Doing nothing but burpees twice a day a year might make you feel like you've accomplished something, but it's not going to be nearly as effective as a varied, intense workout regiment with specific goals.

This is why I end up doing neither burpees twice a day nor a varied, intense workout regiment with specified goals.

> If you miss one day you can miss two, if you miss two it's all over.

This is oh-so wrong. Haven't you heard of people working inconsistently? Haven't you heard of activities that just won't come to your hand?

If you are a real poet or writer, you might very well be completely dry and it will be quite impossible for you to write a single word on one page for months, even years! And then maybe the source of inspiration will get some water again, usually because of the winds, and you will throw your master opus in a month, and die happy.

So, ok, go on with your writing-as-other-lift-weight but please keep in mind that some other people might have another idea of what writing is.

Is it impossible that writing, even if not towards the current goal you are working towards, has some benefit? I mean, even for real writers and poets, not just the rest of the unwashed masses?

A real poet or writer may not use everything (s)he writes for months but they still write (bad first drafts or just work that they'll never use). Also, for a real poet or writer, that is their job. So they HAVE to write, even if they miss a day or two. For someone who writes for hobby and wants to get good at it, it helps to have a plan like this in place. Hitler would have been an artist if he had the self-discipline to create something - anything- everyday.

If writing/exercising/insert-any-habit-here works for you by doing inconsistently, good for you. It works for the OP when he does it consistently. To each his own.

"You're there now doing the thing on paper. You're not killing the goose, you're just producing an egg. So I don't worry about inspiration, or anything like that. It's a matter of just sitting down and working. I have never had the problem of a writing block. I've heard about it. I've felt reluctant to write on some days, for whole weeks, or sometimes even longer. I'd much rather go fishing. for example. or go sharpen pencils, or go swimming, or what not. But, later, coming back and reading what I have produced, I am unable to detect the difference between what came easily and when I had to sit down and say, 'Well, now it's writing time and now I'll write.' There's no difference on paper between the two."

--Frank Herbert (author of Dune)

Well okay, Frank Herbert did not have the writing block. Against how many writers who have?

From the passage, it seems that Frank Herbert did have writer's block and chose to write anyway.

???

"I have never had the problem of a writing block."

He means that what other people call "writing block" is just a label that bubbles up from within to describe not feeling it. Not feeling like writing. He prefers to label it, "I'd much rather go fishing." And with that belief, he writes anyway. Even expecting it to be rubbish. And then is surprised to look back and see it's comparable to those days on which he didn't have "writing block".

Well I can fairly believe other writers which have a nearly physical block and can't write a single word without trashing it immediately to the bin.

There's an old musicians' saying: If you don't practice for one day, you notice. If you don't practice for two, other musicians notice. Three days and everybody notices.

Of course, reality likes to get in the way. Injury has a way of screwing up exercise plans. Don't just bull through warning signs in the name of consistency.

> If you miss one day you can miss two, if you miss two it's all over.

I'm using Lift[0] to keep up. It:

- helps you keep on with the current running streak

- makes you want to increase the counter anyway should you ever break a streak

- displays progress by days stacked per week, which makes even low weeks not break the 'week' streak. [1]

- reminds you casually yet in a motivating way to continue (reminders are configurable per activity)

- the social part is completely optional and virtually disappears if you don't use it, yet is readily there should you want to use it.

[0]: https://lift.do/

[1]: https://lift.do/users/0140aefbac4ece8b509d/2054

+1 for Lift. I gave a Quantified Self talk a few months ago about my first full year using it. http://wanderingstan.com/2013-10-16/video-what-ive-learned-i...

Good point about the social part: I drift in and out of using it, but it certainly helps when I need to get back on track.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com