2 Years of Weekly Writing
2nd anniversary of my writing journey.
Background
This post celebrates my completion of 2 years of non-stop writing weekly articles on Medium. When I started this experiment, I didn’t think I would have the stamina, discipline, or content to do it even for a full year, let alone 2 full years! In my 1st year anniversary article, I wrote about how my cognitive function strengthened and became more agile because of the enforced discipline of weekly writing. And how I “saw” story opportunities everywhere and in every conversation. In my 2nd year journey, I discovered new stuff.
And so I dedicate my 104th article to what I’ve learnt and experienced in my 2nd year of continuous writing.
(I write a weekly series of articles where I call out bad thinking and bad practices in data analytics / data science which you can find here.)
Calling Card
Not too long ago, I was invited by my client as an observer to a discussion they were having with their cloud vendor. I remember walking into the room, and the representative from the cloud vendor leapt up, shook my hand and said, “I’m a fan of your writings!” That broke all the ice and initial unfamiliarity, and we became fresh friends thereafter. That incident replayed a few times in different permutations, further reinforcing that my writing became a sort of “calling card” for me.
New Friends
Without a doubt, one of the best outcomes of my writing journey are the interesting new friends I have made across the world, some of whom are from disciplines outside my immediate sphere. I chalked this down to the diverse nature of my writings, which has allowed me to intersect with other communities. Here is a subset:
- Tim Wilson, who helms the Analytics Power Hour with Val Kroll and Moe Kiss. The Analytics Power Hour is a podcast on all things data and analytics; it was founded in 2015. I was invited onto the show because of my article on the Problem with Benchmarking (article #37). I was invited back again because of another one of my article Pivoting to Data Products (article #72). Tim and Val are esteemed members of the data analytics community of Ohio, and I got to peer into their world through this connection.
- Santiago Tacoronte runs the YouTube channel and podcast ProductiviTree which covers all things related to improving professional and personal productivity. I was invited onto his show because of my article Computational Thinking is Under-Appreciated (article #74). Santiago is based in Switzerland.
- Joseph Santana runs the YouTube channel and podcast ERG PowerTalk which is dedicated to moving the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) conversation towards financial outcomes and impact by enhancing the leadership skills of Employee Resource Group (ERG) and Business Resource Group (BRG) leaders. I was invited onto his podcast because of my article The Problem with DEI (article #38). I was further invited as a guest speaker on his annual DEI conference. Joe is based in New York.
New Opportunities
My writing has definitely made me a better data analyst; helping me to connect the dots. I’ve explored new ideas and challenged old ones. These topics sometimes open new windows of opportunities. My article Seat at the Table (article #22) led to the creation of a unique leadership development programme for a long-standing client. My multiple articles on HR Analytics got me invitations to be a guest speaker at conferences, and to guest lecture for a couple of academic programmes.
Conclusion
I put in 4 hours to produce a 4-minute piece. I block each Saturday to write, and I publish my articles at around Sunday noon (Singapore time). That strict discipline may seem constraining to many, but the fixed cycle of creativity is actually quite liberating for me. (There’s a whole theory around how habits “liberate” by freeing up unnecessary cognitive load vs constraining perceived “freedom”.) I have already inspired a couple of good friends to embark on their own writing journey, and I hope this anniversary post will inspire more.
