How writing changed my perspective on difficulty

I’m a decisive person. 

I am also a quitter, especially a fast kind. In a world where speed/urgency is praised, move fast, break things, Mark Zuckerberg’s motto, my quick decision-making approach seems like an ideal skill set to have for life.  

Every project I start comes with a clear plan: what needs to be done, how long it’ll take, and when it’ll be finished. But my blog? Lingering for ten years with no end in sight…

A decade ago, I launched “Life Outside of Design Studio” with grand aspirations of promoting my architecture business. 

After countless rejections from publications, I decided to create my own platform where rejection was off the table – or so I thought.

What I didn’t anticipate was the sheer difficulty of writing. 

It’s not just about stringing words together; it’s about crafting ideas, formatting with eye-catching images, mastering the art of SEO, etc.

With these many tasks along with my day jobs: running an architecture office and teaching on the side, writing task gets pushed to the periphery often.

With inconsistent writing schedules compounded with a small number of readers and view numbers for the blog, my initial enthusiasm for becoming the creator of viral blog posts evaporated quickly.

It was clear that my project was not going to take me to the viral sensation blogger world: time to reassess and move on to a new project, right?

My usual approach to moving onto a new project stalled…in fact, it has been “stalling” for over a decade. Every year at the WordPress blog renewal time, I am faced with should I renew or not dilemma.

For some reason, I could not press the CANCEL button. Why?

Why am I pushing myself to do a project that is difficult, time-consuming, and not even rewarding (small number of readers, views)?

Why am I not being the decisive quitter who would have pulled the plug on an unsuccessful project?

Turns out there are some practical, personal and even philosophical reasons behind all those years of hesitations.

Everything requires writing skills

As an architect, I’m all about visuals.

But it wasn’t until I dove headfirst into the blogging world that I realized the true power of words.

In design competitions, where images reign supreme, I discovered that words are the unsung heroes. 

Despite my knack for quick sketches, writing proved to be a slow and often frustrating process. But with each stumble, I found myself gaining not just writing skills, but also clarity of thought.

The famous saying, “design work should speak for itself,” rings true in the architecture world. But as I slogged through blogging, I realized that words are just as essential in conveying ideas. 

Visuals may catch the eye, but it’s the written descriptions that breathe life into the designs, providing context and depth.

And though writing may not come as naturally to me as sketching, I’ve come to appreciate its unique challenges and rewards.

For working on architecture design competitions where you only get to explain the project by providing mostly visual images, understanding of design ideas gets lost if there are only beautiful rendering images.  

Writing and Designing work are both creative work.  

However, I find the work to be vastly different in my experience; one to much easier and therefore quicker (design), and the other one is difficult and very, very slow(writing).

With the handicap of not being able to execute the writing work faster, I recognize my tendency to procrastinate in front of writing tasks over the years. Hence the inconsistency of producing weekly blog posts!

Even with this handicap, I am recognizing the (very) incremental improvement in my writing over the years.  

As I am getting better at communicating through writing, there is another improvement I was making which I did not anticipate at the beginning of my blogging journey: thinking.

Writing to untangle thoughts

Many years ago, I learned the importance of clarity, especially the thinking kind from well-known podcaster, Tim Ferris. 

It was definitely one of those aha moments I experienced. He stated that he writes to think clearly.  

Wait a minute…to write to think clearly??? 

I thought the writing was done afterward…after thinking through the ideas, and having clear positions/opinions on writing topics and only after then writing began. I had to rewind to hear the comments again. Could he be right?  

The premise was that the act of writing (pen on paper or typing on screen) pushes one to think and select the words which become sentences. Through this process, writers go through the questions/assumptions/ ideas in their heads and ultimately decide on what to put down on paper or screen.

It is sort of like the chicken/egg situation. Which came first, writing or thinking?  

Or, maybe the question is an unnecessary one. 

In order to think about an idea – even when you don’t have all the answers- one needs to start writing. Only through starting the process, do more ideas come in.

I must admit my design work goes through the same exact process.

In the beginning, I have a blank sketchbook dilemma like writer’s block. I have no idea what to draw on a pristine blank sketchbook.  

Even though, I questioned the writing while thinking approach, I was ready to try something new in my difficult, inconsistent blogging history.

One of the great examples of my blogging routine is how outlines spark (thinking) the writing process, but they are not the final result (writing). I decided to give more time to outlining and also using pen/paper rather than typing.

During the writing process, I started with many questions which did not exactly lead to answers:

• Am I right in believing the idea?
• Is there anything else to consider in this idea? 
• Any supporting or rejecting sub-ideas for my main idea?  
• Should I change my thesis?
• What other ideas to consider?

Going through these questions (more like doubts) is an uncomfortable process, especially for someone like me who likes to make quick decisions. However, it is in this uncomfortable stage of the writing process, that I can start seeing the fuzziness lifting slowly.  

Clarity is the currency everyone is after and writing helps you get to it…even if the process is an arduous one.

The confidence boost of taking on Challenges

Recently I experienced such a confidence boost while complaining about working on a project for two weeks. It was a writing assignment as part of the work submission to a potential client; a research paper on sustainable building materials.

The problem was that I had never written a research paper before. Sure, I write emails, blog posts, or even meeting minutes or even selecting sustainable building materials for certain projects, but writing a research paper? Aren’t those for experts?

Well, first thing first. Time to type in the “how to write a research paper” in Google.

As expected, there were tons of how-to information. After hours of scrolling down the screen taking notes along the way, and reviewing those notes, I was still left with “Can I actually do this type of writing” hesitation.

I had many doubts.

• Do I have enough knowledge about the research topic?
• Can I write something that can provide value to people reading the paper?
• Can I finish the paper by the deadline given? (considering how slow I write)

There were many doubtful moments along the writing process as I expected when I took on the project. However, one thing I did not anticipate was my happiness level when I finished the writing assignment.  

I was overjoyed with the excitement of tackling something new and finishing it.

I am still waiting to hear the feedback on the research paper I submitted a month ago. While “hoping” for the external validation of a “well done” comment, one thing is certain: my internal validation has been met.  

Regardless of the outcome of how the writing is received, taking on the difficult work and finishing it was a huge reward in itself.

Confidence only shows up through difficult work.

Without going through the difficulties, I would not have experienced the genuine “I can do anything” feelings which led to happiness land. 

Of course, the problem with confidence and happiness is that they show up afterward, not before going through the difficult work.  

Final Thought

Looking back, I realize why I stuck with blogging despite the setbacks.

After years of facing gazillion writing blocks, and many hours of procrastinating along the way, I subconsciously knew the importance of writing, even if I was not able to articulate it consciously.

As everyone would agree, good writing skills are essential in professional life.  

However, what I did not anticipate was the positive feelings that can come from difficult work – writing (or more accurately, improvement of it). Turns out it is the essential component in boosting my confidence level not only for my professional life but also for my personal one.

I wonder what other “difficult” projects to tackle, maybe a marathon running.

Or maybe not:-)