About 2 years ago I had a 1on1 with our graphical designer who nonchalantly mentioned that she just started a “two pages project” as if I was supposed to know that reference. I urged her to explain what that was. It referred to a routine of writing 2 pages of text daily without getting concerned about the content or quality. It can be whatever as long as you just write 2 pages. The idea, for her, was to learn not to fear the pen, but there are surely plenty of benefits to writing beyond that – even if it’s only done privately without publishing.
I have journalled on-and-off for most of my life, but not with that exact premise of writing anything for a fixed amount. It piqued my curiosity and I started the next day.
I considered some changes to her method though, because I don’t write on paper. I love writing on paper, but the logistics of archiving, losing or deciding to keep or throw away notes that eventually seep into every nook and cranny has been a PITA before. By default, I always write on digital media.
But how do I measure 2 pages on the computer? Turns out, that as I write in vim with text width of 80, about 60 rows is enough to fit 2 pages by some standards.
The writing project helps jotting down personal affairs and arranging my thoughts. It helps to unpack “the voices”. Often, when I’ve not written in a while I feel like I need to warm up by writing whatever garbage – it’s like the equivalent of testing a pen on a piece of scrap paper to get the ink running. The 2 pages help with dealing with mental blockages like unclogging a sewage pipe. I’ll do that for a while to get to the good stuff, the main game, the actual thoughts that count.
When planning a routinely thing to do everyday, or at least almost everyday, I’ve come around to – through trial and error – making the process as simple and unambitious as possible while still feeling there’s something to it. A robust system is one that works even when half committed. There’s always room to amp the ante if it gets boring or starts feeling redundant, but starting too heavy and too fast has been the best way to kill all motivation. Sometimes I’ll have pauses, but it’s good to have mercy on yourself and get back to it eventually.
I’ve kept at it for these 2 years and still going. It still feels nice to start a morning with a coffee and writing a bit of this-and-that.