Yesterday I started a conversation about what makes a habit stick past a 30-day challenge, so I asked 6 long-time shippers through DMs and spaces for their insights on continuing daily publishing for this long.

Special thanks to these great shippers for their help and inspiration 👏:

• Ev Chapman @evielync

• Bob Merckel @bobzyeruncle

• Andy (Anders) Sporring @AndersSporring

• Derek Moore @DerekMoore23

• Rubén García @rubengp

Here are the common traits they all share:

1. Daily writing became a source of joy
   "I'm more in love with the process & practice of creating than the actual outcome." - Ev
   "Putting things out into the interwebs every day is becoming a pleasurable habit." - Bob
   "Habit of writing became a source of peace" - Rubén
   "I guess it's the creator in me, and the fact that I love writing and the process of writing." - Andy

2. They all have backup essays for bad days.
   "I publish out of my overflow, so it never seems hard" - Ev
   "Have three essays in reserve" - Andy
   "Plan for your worst-case scenario. Life will get in." - Rubén.

3. They have a daily writing habit.
   "I'm a former musician, so I'm used to being consistent in my violin practice." - Andy.
   "Re-making it a daily habit over the last six months has been remarkable. Even if that's just one tweet at a time." - Bob
   "I haven't stopped writing a single day since that August 14" - Rubén.

4. They don't put pressure for quality content.
   "We put so much stuff out; we never know what will hit. I never know" - Derek.
   "I write 2 hours every morning, even if the stuff isn't going to be used." - Andy.
   "Publishing is not the end product; it's just the beginning of exposing your idea in public." - Ev

5. They have systems for note-taking and writing.
   "You don't want to be slaving 3 hours over the computer screen" - Derek
   "So capture anything that resonates with you in an external trusted system." - Rubén
   "Carry a notebook; Dictate ideas to Siri; Use digital notebook & shortcuts" - Ev