Tips for Daily Writing Success

Since I started The Data Daily I've written ~300 days (nearly every Mon-Fri since May 2023). People have asked me how I keep going or if I will stop sometime. I have no plans to stop. Here’s how I keep going. And four core steps so you can develop your own writing muscle. 1. Idea Capture The biggest fear people have when thinking about writing is not knowing what to write about. It’s a false fear. You have so many ideas – you just don’t capture them. Any idea you had earlier in the week, earlier in the day, or even a few minutes ago will evaporate when you stare at a blank page. You have to have a low friction and extremely easy method for capturing ideas. For me, that looks like two key things: A Notion doc called “The Data Daily – Ideas” and a paper journal. When I’m at my computer, ideas go into the Notion doc. But ideas hit me all the time away from my desk (in the shower, mowing the lawn, playing Lego, etc). So my journal floats around the house so it’s available quickly to jot something down. 2. Set a timer Writing is hard. Like exercise, it requires work and it’s exhausting. Just like you wouldn’t set out for a two-hour run on your first day of marathon training, don’t sit down to write for a couple of hours. Set a timer. Start with 10 minutes. Pick up a topic from your idea list. Write until the time goes off. Then stop. It doesn’t matter if you are done with the idea. The timer says you are done so stop. After a couple of weeks, you can up the time to 15 minutes. 3. Regular Practice Consistency is more important than length of time. Starting with a short amount of time will make it easier for you to fit it into your schedule at an ideal time for you. For me, writing has to be the first thing in my work day. Starting at 8 am, I sit down and start writing. If I skip that time window, it’s 50/50 whether I will get any writing down that day at all. I’ll make it easy for you. Block out 8:00-8:10 am (or whenever you start your work day) every Mon, Wed and Fri. Don’t look at email. Don’t check social media. Don’t look at your phone. Set your time and begin. 4. Publish Writing is fundamentally about helping me clarify my thinking. But, the only way to get better at writing and thinking is to publish. This is the scary part. Put my words in front of other people, let them respond, ask questions, express confusion, or feel excitement. Find a place to publish. You may not want to publish right away. That’s fine. Take a week or two of writing with publishing. But then you have to get your words away from your computer and in front of a reader. There are so many ways to publish. Social media, blogs, newsletters, or emails, and several platforms are available for each of those. Don’t overthink it. Pick one. And publish. Publishing is the hard part. Picking a name, platform, or format is just noise right now. And when you start publishing, dm me and tell me about it. ---- Want to join my daily list? The Data Daily

I write every day for 90 straight minutes. But this would be impossible without this simple 3-minute habit: I don't: • Wake up • Open a blank doc • And start typing If I did, the dreaded blinking cursor on the blank page would crush me. So here's my secret: My morning writing sessions start the night before. Every night before I go to bed, I take out a journal, set a 3-minute timer, and do the following 3 steps: • Write down 1 idea that's top of mind to write about • Brain dump 10 bullet points on that idea without judgment • Close my journal and go to bed Just like that, tomorrow's writing process has begun. And this nightly brain dump makes the next day's writing effortless for 3 reasons: 1. Brain dumping eliminates friction. Waking up to a brain-dumped list of bullets means I never stare at a blank page in the morning – which means it's easy to get started. I can gain momentum quickly, dropping straight into flow. 2. Brain dumping allows my subconscious to work overnight. Maybe it's a bit "woo woo," but I always wake up with a better grasp of the idea I went to bed thinking about. My brain makes connections overnight, leading to unique insights I never would have thought of while awake. 3. Brain dumping clears my head before bed. Often times, I'll brain dump on more than just the idea I want to write about the next day. I take anything that's on my mind and dump it onto the page – which leads to relaxed & restful sleep. Boom – that's it. Brain dumping is the simple 3-minute habit I do every night before bed that makes writing the next day effortless. Give it a try and let me know how it goes for you!

Most people overcomplicate the process of becoming a great writer. Here’s the truth: it’s not about talent or inspiration. It’s about consistent action over time. Mastery comes down to 7 key steps: • Learn the craft deeply • Choose your medium • Write daily • Seek expert feedback • Share your work publicly • Iterate based on feedback • Stay committed for years Having helped thousands of writers and authors, here’s how it works. 🧵 1. Learn the craft deeply Before you can write well, you need to study what works. • Read books, articles, essays, and scripts. • Watch great speeches, stories, or courses. • Break them down: What’s the structure? What makes them resonate? Education is the foundation. Build it. 2. Choose your medium There are countless ways to write: • Books • Articles • Courses • Blogs/Long Form Tweets • Scripts • Newsletters Start with one. Go deep. Mastering one form will teach you lessons that translate across others. 3. Write daily This is non-negotiable. Writing is a skill, and skills grow through repetition. Even 30 minutes a day adds up. Some days it will feel good. Other days it won’t. But volume creates momentum, and momentum builds mastery. 4. Seek expert feedback Writing in isolation limits your growth. Find people who are better than you. Ask them for critiques—not praise. This is how you identify blind spots and refine your voice. 5. Share your work publicly Put your writing out into the world. Not to go viral, but to: • Build confidence • Test what resonates • Attract an audience Publishing makes writing real. It keeps you accountable to yourself and your readers. 6. Iterate based on feedback Every writer faces rejection or criticism. The key isn’t to avoid it—it’s to learn from it. Notice what clicks. Adjust your tone, structure, or topics. Iteration isn’t failure. It’s how you grow. 7. Stay committed for years This is where most people give up. They try for weeks or months, expecting quick wins. But great writing takes time. It’s the cumulative effect of years of practice and persistence. Stick with it, and you’ll stand out. Why this works Writing isn’t just about putting words on a page. It’s about: • Learning to clarify your thoughts. • Discovering your unique voice. • Building trust with an audience. The process transforms you as much as your readers. Start today The world doesn’t need perfect writing—it needs your writing. Start messy. Stay consistent. Adjust as you go. The question isn’t whether you’ll succeed. It’s whether you’ll stick with it long enough to get there.

I’ve written 1,000,000+ words online. These 7 rules have helped me succeed. 1. Embrace the terrible first draft Expect your first draft to be bad and you won’t feel disappointed when it is. - Write fast - Use the first word that comes to mind - Don’t edit while you write As Ernest Hemingway said: “The first draft of anything is $h*t.” 2. Let your subconscious write for you Walk away from your writing when you get stuck or frustrated. Your subconscious will go to work figuring out how to untangle your mess. I often ask my subconscious for an answer before bed, and I usually “discover” the answer I was looking for the next day. 3. Wait at least 24 hours before editing Time and space are a writer’s best friend. If you can, wait a full day before coming back to edit. If you can’t, try to switch an unrelated task for a few hours before editing. 4. Read your work aloud Take this to another level and read it aloud like you’re giving a speech. Look for the places where you: - Stumble - Get lost - Feel confused If you feel those things, so will your reader. 5. Ask the critical question “If I remove this word (or sentence) will the whole thing fall apart?” Yes: Leave it in No: Cut it out You’ll be surprised how much you can cut. 6. Don’t judge until you’re finished Writing is a discovery process. Your first draft is no indication of your final draft. Give yourself grace while you’re writing and let the words come naturally. 7. Steal from the best “You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life.” - Austin Kleon All the best writers borrow heavily from their influences and inspirations. Don’t be afraid to mix-and-match ideas, topics, POV. Rewrite, refute, or recreate them to suit your tastes. This is the heart of creativity.

I’m the primary author on the main outcome paper for a NIH-funded trial. Below are 3 tips to help move manuscripts along and maintain your writing productivity: 📝Don’t wait for inspiration. Waiting for inspiration usually means delays - sometimes major delays. Today is the best time to start. 📝Write everyday. I try to write small bits every single day. Even if it’s a few sentences or a paragraph. Keep the document open on your desktop. Use the 20 minutes you have between Zoom meetings to write instead of checking email or reading news. 📝Keep yourself accountable. Working on a complex trial paper means team writing. I emailed the next person in the chain that I’d be sending them a draft in a couple days. That keeps team members in the timeline loop but also keeps me accountable.

I posted every day on Linkedin for 365 days. And I’m actually surprised by what I learned. A year ago today, I challenged myself: Post daily for a year with three goals in mind:  ▪ Share what’s on my mind—and offer something useful to others.  ▪ Let people get to know me as I grow my business.  ▪ Sharpen my writing skills. I second-guessed myself. I overthought every sentence. I worried what other people thought. Spoiler alert: Those feelings don’t go away. You just get better at handling them. There were a lot of pivots along the way. Finding my voice online felt like joining a new company—I knew my stuff, but I didn’t know the norms, the tone, and the audience. Eventually, like any new job, you start to find your rhythm. You test your style. You meet your people. And slowly, you find the way back to yourself. A year of posting led to a year of learning. Here are 5 of my favorite learnings from this past year: 1️⃣ Clarity comes from writing, not thinking No matter how clear an idea felt in my head, writing revealed the gaps—in my thinking, in my assumptions, and in my perspective. Writing daily helped me crystallize vague ideas into useful insights. My pen, not my mind, became the tool for clarity. 2️⃣ I became my own teacher Every post forced me to reflect, simplify, and explain something I’ve struggled with. I wrote the kind of advice I needed—and in doing so, it helped reinforce that advice for myself. 3️⃣ Creativity needs space I thought I wasn’t creative. Turns out, I didn’t have the space to create. My daily schedule was always packed, and my environment wasn’t conducive to creativity. Writing daily gave me breathing room—and creativity started showing up again. 4️⃣ Distractions are expensive Saying yes to every request pulled me off course, 1 degree at a time. That 'yes' may not have cost me money, but it cost you time—time to get back on course. Saying 'no' became a way to stay aligned toward my goal. 5️⃣Treat change like a tiny experiment Each time I made a big change, I clung to them for too long because I thought it had to work. When I started treating each change as a tiny experiment, I learned faster, adapted quicker, and stayed closer to the path I wanted. A year's worth of learning is exciting. But two years is enticing. I’m not sure where this next year will take me, but I’m in it for the ride. And the best part about it? The ride just started. I’ll keep sharing stories and insights about my experiences. Take what resonates. Test it out in your own life. If you give it an earnest effort, I’ll bet you’ll find a bit of clarity of your own. Here's to another year's worth of writing, learning, and creating. 🔌 Follow Rafael Villaruz to get daily insights and tips to make your work-life better. 

If you struggle to post on LinkedIn regularly, try this 👇 . I was asked yesterday about my process to creating daily content. It's super simple. 1) I have a set time to write each day. 5amET is when I get up. It's 60-90 minutes before anyone else in my house. It's my time. I used to work out then. Now I do that after dropping our son at school. Wake up. Brush teeth. Pour coffee. Open laptop. It's 5:23am as I type this. I'll schedule it for 8:30am. 2) I go to my "Inspiration" folder. In Gmail, I have a folder where I send myself things that I'm interested in exploring. - Other posts I read where I'd like to share my POV - Insights from daily conversations with friends, colleagues and clients - Expanding on comments I leave on other LinkedIn posts That last one is where the lion's share of my content originates. It's in keeping with my belief that we already know what we want... Leaving a comment is no different. Writer's block - meh. Your muse is everywhere. You just need to be open to finding it. Some of the people who've been muses for me this week have been: Alana Tart - her blending of mindset insights focused on high achievers is right up my alley. Moreover, her constant invitations to get curious and open up a dialogue with yourself really land for me. Nat Berman - I've been following Nat's work for years. He is direct and unapologetically himself. What's more, his message comes from a place of blending education, inspiration and entertainment. Every time I read his work, my brain opens a door to a new topic to explore. And then there are the t-shirts :-). Alana Sparrow - Topics. Storytelling. Aesthetics. I feel like I'm front and center at a Masterclass on how to brand while BEing me. Paying close attention to how she shares has been priceless for me. A huge, heartfelt "thank you" to all three of you for how you show up, daily. And, if you get value from what I've been sharing, you owe it to yourself to check these spectacular human beings out too. As we wrap... Make the time. Know the muse is out there. Believe you already know what you want to say. I do. --------- 👉 I'm curious. Whose work inspires you?

The biggest faulty belief stopping people from writing: (This keeps aspiring writers stuck for years) Waiting for the “perfect” conditions. I've been writing online for 10+ years. And I can tell you now, if you think the ideal time will magically appear in your day, then you're going to be waiting forever. Instead, create your own Sacred Hours. These are blocked-off chunks of time dedicated to writing: • No distractions • No other responsibilities • Nothing else to check up on Just you and the writing. So how do you find your Sacred Hours? There are two key questions you need to answer: • What time of day am I most productive? • What time of day can I be least responsive? Your Sacred Hours lay in the intersection between these two times. Block this time in your calendar. They are a meeting with yourself. And the first rule to building a daily writing habit is that you *never* cancel on yourself. Find your Sacred Hours and protect them at all costs.

Most coaches tell me that posting on LinkedIn feels like standing on stage before hair & makeup. But those who push through that discomfort unlock something powerful. With consistent posting, you attract your ideal clients, build authority in your niche, and discover your unique voice. That last part matters most. Writing in public forces you to find your voice. I've posted daily for 1010 days. Here's exactly what I'd do if I started over: 1. Find a writing cohort for newbies. 2. Join it. 3. Commit fully. No half measures. 4. Connect with fellow cohort members. 5. Form a 2-3 person accountability group. 6. Engage with each other's posts. 7. Expect my writing to be utter crap at first. 8. Use templates. Never start with a blank page. 9. Save a swipe file of posts that resonate. 10. After 30 days, analyze what works. 11. Double down on those posts. 12. Keep experimenting. Test new angles. 13. Write about client transformation in 30 different ways. 14. If my accountability group falls apart, find a new one. 15. Celebrate milestones: 30, 60, 100 days of posting. 16. By day 100, I'll have a habit. 17. Join a different writing community to level up. 18. Repeat steps 3-17. The one thing I'd absolutely do differently? I'd focus just as much on engagement as writing: • Comment on other coaches' posts. • Connect with those who engage with mine. • Share valuable posts with my network. • Tag people on posts they'd find helpful. That was my exact journey. I joined four writing communities, sharpened my skills, and stayed consistent. For context: • English is my second language. • Back then I worked full-time in IT project management and managed to squeeze in an hour a day, because I wanted to. This is possible. Choose the steps that work for you. Skip the ones that don't. But don't fail to start because it feels uncomfortable. Don't stop because you're not seeing immediate results. Only quit if it truly doesn't align with your goals. Save and repost if you find it useful. P.S. Ship30for30 live cohort got me started on my writing journey. The next cohort starts Monday July 14. If you want start writing online, see comments for signup link (w/ discount). ~ ~ ~ 👋 Hi, I’m Angeline. I help professional speakers and coaches turn audience into leads with automated follow-up emails.