Imagine eliminating every publishing decision, bar this:
“For the next 52 weeks, I’m going to write one 500-word essay.”
Give yourself a 15% tolerance on the word count, but commit to writing and publishing just one idea each week. If you find yourself writing up to 1,000 words, you’ve strayed into two or three ideas, so you take two out and save them for the following weeks.
You collect thoughts. Anytime a client asks a question, or a challenge arises during an engagement, you add it to your list of topics to write about. Take audio notes as ideas arise – you never start Monday having to figure out what to write this week.
Each morning, as Austin Kleon says, you “apply ass to chair,” set a 30-minute timer, and write on the one idea for no more or less. The next day, you do the same, though maybe you’re fine-tuning and tweaking what you wrote the previous day. It’s a layering process.
Throughout the week, you read, watch, and listen around your subject, or adjacent subjects, collecting inspiration and creative inputs to support the writing.
And you publish nothing else.
I say write, but it could be video or audio, too. Pick what’s right for you and your market, though I’d always write first, regardless of final delivery.
With that limit, you set a target that’s manageable to achieve around your workday, and within those boundaries, you’ll develop a habit of writing with precision. You’ll perfect the art of stripping an idea back to its fundamentals.
Send it to your email list and clients.
If it’s good, they’ll share it, and you'll attract more people through word of mouth. If it’s not, keep going. You’ll get better, then they’ll share it.
You’ll have written 52 ideas and 26,000 words in one year.
The smart line here would be to say, “That’s a book.”
It’s not.
But it is the beginning of a book.
I sent my editor the first draft of my manuscript last Friday. The book, A Path to Authority, is currently at 27,000 words. Many ideas in it started as essays that resonated with readers. I collected those, expanded on them, added supporting ideas, and built the connective tissue between each.
Aside from that, you’ll have a considered answer for each question you typically get from a client.
You’ll become a better writer and, therefore, a better thinker.
People you don’t know will start to reply, telling you what they liked and why.
And I guarantee that, provided you’re writing in pursuit of a compelling focusing question, and you play this game long enough, you’ll start attracting opportunities you didn't know existed and relationships you didn’t think possible.
All on the back of 500 words per week.