Keeping it up.


Some days you don’t want to try to be funny.

The main reason I started a daily blog was to keep my brain ticking over and force myself to be more productive. Like most writers and performers, I have an in-built laziness; while I could spend my time being creative, I’d often sooner not. It’s much easier to just sit and be quiet (with an optional biscuit).

So far the blog has definitely helped. I’ve always worked best with a deadline – and having self-enforced one every day has encouraged more proactivity.

That’s not to say that it isn’t sometimes a pain in the arse. I’ve fired up my laptop on a fair few occasions without a clue of what I should write. I’ll flick through my ideas folder on my mobile (or in the couple of notepads I carry with me) – and sometimes draw a blank.

Any time I get stuck, though, I remember that Richard Herring has kept a daily blog for the best part of eleven years – and suddenly the blank page in front of me doesn’t seem so imposing. At just under six weeks, I’ve barely scratched the surface.

I’m of the opinion that if you want to get good at something, you need to do a little bit every day. At least then, whatever your natural ability, you’ll reach your apex faster than if you were just to do a little bit every now and again.

If nothing else, this blog will act as a personal diary – and in a few years time I’ll be able to look back and remember how I felt in more detail than if I wasn’t to keep it up.

Ask me how I feel in a couple of months, though, and I might have a completely different opinion. I may even decide not to keep it up - or at least not write so regularly.

Whether I do or not, it's when I start discussing my stool samples that you’ll know I’m running on empty.

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