Welcome to day 1,

I’m not sure what I should be writing about today. Ideally, I’d take the time to research something I find interesting and write about what I learned. Now I realize that the 1 hour doesn’t give me much time to do that. The 1 hour is still DANK; I would be procrastinating doing something if I didn’t set a goal and didn’t make it small. If I made the goal to publish information on something I find interesting and want to explain, like Differential Privacy, I would have pushed writing off. I’m not sure I would even outline.

What I want to do now is think about how I want to work within this format moving forwards. I want to write about topics that flow with me, and those tend to be topics I am deeply curious about. However, I want those posts to be clean and thorough rather than spotty and rushed. The quick writing format means that I won’t be able to make the perfect post. So what to do. Let’s think:

One way to approach this is to try and find a publishing/topic strategy that takes advantage of the quick, everyday format.

One strength of this format is the consistency. I can continue to build on previous topics. I can also easily experiment. If I find something I like, I can keep doing it and instantly stop doing anything I don’t like. Each post has to be inherently focused because, even when my brain is at its most scattered, an hour isn’t enough time for me to go on that many tangents. Lastly, I don’t have too much time to overthink. I can practice letting my ideas flow and silencing the criticism in my head. This will also help my ability to express myself online. I’ve tended to shy away from publishing anything on the internet -- it’s a massive, permanent place. Because the stakes are low and I don’t have time to think, it’ll make it easy to not worry too much.

The time I can spend researching is what I worry most about. If I want to jump into a denser topic, I can’t get deep, even if necessary. This kills making a single, long, detailed post. If I want to publish something complex, maybe I can make sure I keep it brief. Another weakness is that I don’t know what I’m doing. This is chill because the point is to practice; it just means that I will need to spend more effort on basics: finding a topic, how to write, how to edit, how to find my voice, how to format, and when in the day am I writing. Another part I am worried about is the public nature. Specifically, it limits what I currently want to share. I don’t want to share anything super personal. The internet is permanent. This might change, but for now, this is not my journal about my life. Instead, it is a journal about what I’m comfortable putting on the internet.

No matter what I do, I want these posts to be thoughtful. I want the words I put out to be more than just meaningless noise; I want them to be my meaningless noise.

I also want to feel more comfortable writing and putting my words into the world. I want to experiment and express my thoughts. I want to feel accomplished and create something I feel proud of (shout out to EA).

So, what are some ways future me can hit these goals and play around with this format?

1. Write a story in pieces. I can find a topic I want to write, outline, mini-research, draft, and re-edit. And for each step, I can publish the step. (i.e., outline, draft, notes from research).

2. Keep it small. Find something I want to talk about and forcibly keep it to a paragraph or two. That way, I can feel good about the info in that paragraph and do it quickly.

3. Let the stream of conciseness go. Don’t think. Just write. See where it takes me.

4. Talk about experiences. I like to consume art. Music, movies, shows, and games are things I think about way too much. I can write down thoughts.

5. World building. I’ve always wanted to build a fantasy/SciFi world. I could do that in small chunks too.

I like the thoughts I’ve gotten out today. I’ve thought about the format and ways to approach it. I’ve also done day 1. Often I just think about doing. Now I’ve double dipped, I’ve thought, and I’ve done. NICE.

Bye, Lucas

p.s. Thanks, Julianne, for being so supportive of this. I randomly thought of the challenge, and you said go for it without hesitation. Today you helped me schedule time to write. Without you, I wouldn’t have been making it to day 1. I know you’ll continue to help me :)

Welcome to day 1,

I’m not sure what I should be writing about today. Ideally, I’d take the time to research something I find interesting and write about what I learned. Now I realize that the 1 hour doesn’t give me much time to do that. The 1 hour is still DANK; I would be procrastinating doing something if I didn’t set a goal and didn’t make it small. If I made the goal to publish information on something I find interesting and want to explain, like Differential Privacy, I would have pushed writing off. I’m not sure I would even outline.

What I want to do now is think about how I want to work within this format moving forwards. I want to write about topics that flow with me, and those tend to be topics I am deeply curious about. However, I want those posts to be clean and thorough rather than spotty and rushed. The quick writing format means that I won’t be able to make the perfect post. So what to do. Let’s think:

One way to approach this is to try and find a publishing/topic strategy that takes advantage of the quick, everyday format.

One strength of this format is the consistency. I can continue to build on previous topics. I can also easily experiment. If I find something I like, I can keep doing it and instantly stop doing anything I don’t like. Each post has to be inherently focused because, even when my brain is at its most scattered, an hour isn’t enough time for me to go on that many tangents. Lastly, I don’t have too much time to overthink. I can practice letting my ideas flow and silencing the criticism in my head. This will also help my ability to express myself online. I’ve tended to shy away from publishing anything on the internet -- it’s a massive, permanent place. Because the stakes are low and I don’t have time to think, it’ll make it easy to not worry too much.

The time I can spend researching is what I worry most about. If I want to jump into a denser topic, I can’t get deep, even if necessary. This kills making a single, long, detailed post. If I want to publish something complex, maybe I can make sure I keep it brief. Another weakness is that I don’t know what I’m doing. This is chill because the point is to practice; it just means that I will need to spend more effort on basics: finding a topic, how to write, how to edit, how to find my voice, how to format, and when in the day am I writing. Another part I am worried about is the public nature. Specifically, it limits what I currently want to share. I don’t want to share anything super personal. The internet is permanent. This might change, but for now, this is not my journal about my life. Instead, it is a journal about what I’m comfortable putting on the internet.

No matter what I do, I want these posts to be thoughtful. I want the words I put out to be more than just meaningless noise; I want them to be my meaningless noise.

I also want to feel more comfortable writing and putting my words into the world. I want to experiment and express my thoughts. I want to feel accomplished and create something I feel proud of (shout out to EA).

So, what are some ways future me can hit these goals and play around with this format?

1. Write a story in pieces. I can find a topic I want to write, outline, mini-research, draft, and re-edit. And for each step, I can publish the step. (i.e., outline, draft, notes from research).

2. Keep it small. Find something I want to talk about and forcibly keep it to a paragraph or two. That way, I can feel good about the info in that paragraph and do it quickly.

3. Let the stream of conciseness go. Don’t think. Just write. See where it takes me.

4. Talk about experiences. I like to consume art. Music, movies, shows, and games are things I think about way too much. I can write down thoughts.

5. World building. I’ve always wanted to build a fantasy/SciFi world. I could do that in small chunks too.

I like the thoughts I’ve gotten out today. I’ve thought about the format and ways to approach it. I’ve also done day 1. Often I just think about doing. Now I’ve double dipped, I’ve thought, and I’ve done. NICE.

Bye, Lucas

p.s. Thanks, Julianne, for being so supportive of this. I randomly thought of the challenge, and you said go for it without hesitation. Today you helped me schedule time to write. Without you, I wouldn’t have been making it to day 1. I know you’ll continue to help me :)