why i write

as i start thinking ahead to 2017 (it’s barely 60 days away), i’ve begun reflecting on how i’ve been spending my time in 2016 (because life’s too short to not learn as fast as possible. so what have i been doing and why?

one thing i’ve definitely been doing is writing. it’s been an important part of this year for me and so i’ve been thinking about it a lot.

the more i think about it the more reasons i find that i’m doing it, so here’s what i have so far.

working out loud

inspiration: harold jarche via curtis ogden. wrote about that earlier this year over here.

to share thoughts with others quickly and repeatably

as i’ve started my productivity coaching practice, i’ve learned that having specific thoughts packaged neatly makes for easy sharing of information to people i’m working with. i can process a thought once and then share it over and over.

to create ripples

a few days ago i finished the mary karr episode of on being. right before the end of the episode there’s krista reads a snippet from karr’s book called the art of memoir.

“none of us can ever knowthe value of our lives or how our separate and silent scribbling may add to the amenity of the world if only by how radically it changes us.”

she basically said that writing (1) changes her during the process of putting the thoughts down and (2) has impact in the world because sharing how you perceive and experience the world can make tiny changes in how other people think about the world and that can have serious implications on their thinking, which influences their actions.

for the memories

in the first episode of harry potter and the sacred text season 2 (one of my favorite new podcasts), my friend, casper, reflects on his last living grandparent dying. he mentioned that each time someone dies, all their memories are lost forever (well, i guess those that aren’t currently already living in someone else’s head). he then said that as he thinks about his experiences that only he knows about, if he writes them down, they’ll be around even after he isn’t. and in reference to a particular passage of harry potter that they’re discussing, he said that writing is a good way to make sure that things you experienced weren’t a dream.

anyway, i’m sure there are more reasons that will come up as i think through this more. maybe i’ll keep updating this post; maybe not.