Elise Liu
3y ago
poet, storyteller, pragmatist, technologist, internet safety nerd. she/her. formerly product @Clubhouse, @Facebook, @HumanInterest. fellow at @integrity_inst. hopeful
A few weeks ago, I paid $500 for a cohort-based commitment mechanism (and some classes) on how to write 300 words a day, every day, for a month, from a rather gimmicky program I found on the internet. How did this highly-skeptical, occasionally-published, prizewinning Harvard graduate come to that decision?
In a word: because while I can write, I don't write.
The large language model included in my Pro account on Typeshare says that my atomic essay on procrastination should suggest that I should:
1. Set realistic standards and understand that perfection is not attainable
2. Break tasks into smaller steps to make them more manageable
3. Prioritize progress over perfection
4. Practice self-compassion and embrace imperfections
So my home is full of affirmations, my Tumblr of half-complete poems, and I bless my imperfect work daily. Still, I have never managed to beat my own monsters here, falling off my #100endings commitment well before it was done, and never starting them in the first place.
I feel a bit about this problem what some people must feel about the weight loss guidance "Just eat less." In case: here are some more strategies I've tried:
Eliminate distractions through boredom
Set up an ideal distraction-free (snack-free) work space
Shared and visible accountability with friends
Bullet journals and apps with colorful rewards for success
Performance-enhancing nootropics
So why not take another page from the weight loss industry?
Pay for commitment mechanisms
Note: I have never won a DietBet.
Anyway, in the next 30 days I'll be writing micro-essays on some things that I'm noodling about right now. In the spirit of authenticity and transparency and embracing imperfections, I don't quite know what they are, but I do know some of the outlines I've been avoiding completing for months (or years) now are on such topics as:
When ambition is good
Why your CEO is wrong
The opposite of meta and the nature of irreducible problems
What HS debate taught me about corporations
How to stay epistemically humble
Queerness as culture
All pain is psychosomatic
Don't drink oat milk
Other than the last one, they are incomplete and their headline titles are probably bad. Follow me for more hot takes on some cold bevs!
#ship30for30