The Importance of Consistency

It’s been a long time since I posted. 8 months to be exact. A lot of things have changed in my life. Since my last post, I earned my undergraduate diploma, accepted an admission to medical school, and uprooted my whole life from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Toronto, Ontario.

Let’s just say this: MEDICAL SCHOOL IS TIME CONSUMING. That, in combination with adjusting to my new life in Toronto has been the perfect excuse not to write.

I needed to adjust to the demands of medical school. I needed to explore this new city. I needed to make new friends. What I didn’t feel the need to do was find the time to write. It was bad enough having to sit at the desk for hours every day studying. How was I supposed to sit down for another few to get words down?

But things started to slow down. I had a minute, or minutes to think. I realized it wasn’t a matter of time, it was a matter of sitting down and doing it. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Half an hour? Whatever I could spare.

Since realizing this, I’ve been sitting down and doing just that. Putting words to paper. Sometimes I have time and I punch out a whole chapter. Other times I barely manage to finish a paragraph. But what is the thing in common between a whole chapter and a paragraph?

PROGRESS.

This brings me to the importance of consistency. Force yourself to sit down and write. It doesn’t have to be a lot, it just has to be something. Write something everyday and you will make progress. Eventually, you won’t need to force yourself to sit down. You’ll do it automatically, and you’ll be happy to. That makes a difference to your progress as well. Remember: 500 words a day is a novel in 6-8 months.

Don’t get me wrong. Writing isn’t easy. Be consistent and you’ll put words to paper. Sometimes it will be shit. Sometimes it will be magic. Either way, when it’s finished, you’re going to go over it again, and again, and again. Don’t worry about that. Stop wasting time. Find your consistency. I did, and I’ve written nearly 9,000 words in the past 2 weeks. 9,000 words on a medical student schedule, ramping up to finals.

No excuses. Get. It. Done. Even if it’s only a little bit at a time.