Writing to think

I've been thinking a lot about why I write here, and what I get out of it, and I’ve realised it’s a handful of things.

I write to think. Writing anything down from scribbled notes to full client reports is a thinking process rather than the result of thought. It’s a way of sifting information to find what’s important. It also forces me to bring structure to my thinking and see if there's actually anything there or just a load of waffle!

I also write to look back on and see my own growth. I’ve written about the lack of things like appraisals when you are your own boss, so having something that I’ve produced to look back on and see who I was, what me views were and where I've changed is really useful. It’s also a great feeling to re-read older writing and find value in it.

I use Field Notes notebooks for all sorts of random jottings, and I really like their line “I’m not writing it down to remember it later, I’m writing it down to remember it now” (something that’s absolutely true of my note-taking). There’s something in that sentiment when it comes to writing here too. Each thing I write is a little mark I make to remind me of something right now, at the time of writing. If I (or anyone else) never read it again, that’s not a problem. It's done its job as a little, timely celebration of a thought.