When I was a CEO, I used to write an email to the company every single Friday.
I called it, appropriately enough, “The Friday Email.”
The Friday Email was a review of the week, of sorts. Sometimes it was a chronicle of the week’s events. Sometimes a single event that encapsulated the week. Sometimes a history lesson of the company made relevant for the moment.
Whatever it was, it appeared in your inbox every Friday.
People really liked it. It helped them see themselves in the week.
Importantly, it helped me see myself in the week.
I kept this up for almost 7 years.
I published a book from the first year called, “52 Fridays.” (No more copies left, sorry.)
And I have now migrated The Friday Email into this Sunday email, sort of.
All of this wind-up to tell you this: Write.
Writing is thinking. And writing is capturing.
On the thinking part, writing will help you think through things you’re wrestling with.
On the capturing part, writing will help you place yourself in your busy week.
I’d like to share a couple of ways you can write.
Morning Pages
Wake up, open notebook, write…and dump. That’s right, just go ahead and dump everything in your head onto the page. That’s it. Three pages. No more. No less. Don’t worry about grammar, focus on your thoughts and ideas. This practice comes from the great Julia Cameron. If you do no other thing today — get her book: The Artist’s Way.
3-Pages, Anytime
So, I took this concept of Morning Pages and turned it into a 24-Hour drive-thru, of sorts. I recommend writing 3-Pages when you’re stuck. Or when you’re thinking through a problem. Or before you over-write your PowerPoint slides for your next presentation. In fact, why not try writing three pages first to figure out what you actually want to say?
Bullet Journaling
Bullet Journaling is a creative way to capture your thoughts and life using words, phrases symbols, dots and circles. It allows you to keep track of everything in a more efficient way. Think: less prose, more bullet points.
Diary Writing
“Dear Diary…” That’s right. Old school. Tell it to the page. Every event, every thought, every feeling.
Blogging
Blogging forces you to start noticing. Collecting. And sharing. All of this is covered originally and magnificently by Russell Davies. Start here:
Talk-Writing
I know some folks who don’t like to write, but like to talk. Cool. Consider a talk-to-txt recorder app. It turns your gift of gab into a recording with word-for-word notes. Here’s one.
So there you have it, a few ways to start writing to help with your living.
Oh, before I forget, there’s one more beauty to writing. Sometimes you inspire other people to read.
Thank you for doing so.
Thank you for this! I used to start every assignment with a word doc that began, "Ok, so they want to communicate that..." And then I just blabbd - to myself for as long as I wanted - and invariably, found that I not only understood the assignment better than I thought, but usually ended up with a few headlines, if not campaign ideas. You reminded me of how valuable it is to do so. I've never done thee 3-pages every morning exercise, but hell... it's a new year. Great advice. I love your newsletter.