Hello, it’s me again in your inbox! To those who are new, I write about operations, remote work and fundraising, all startup stuff. But every now and then, I feel like writing something more personal, so here we go. Let's talk about writing.
Writing has been the single best habit I have developed from a very young age.
My father always kept a journal. I saw him writing at the end of the work day, on his computer. We did not have internet at home back then, so I know now it was a form of expressing himself, not a form of publication.
So I took his example. As soon as I learned to write, I started writing things down. I wrote everything from how I feel, what happened to me at school, who my best friends were.
There are two benefits of writing for me. My mind is spoiled by short attention span and often a complete mess. Writing what I think has helped to bring clarity in times of confusion. Second, it’s the act of rereading. It’s almost always a little cringy, but also powerful. You connect with your younger self in a level of detail your busy mind has long since archived.
The only odd thing is that my happiest periods have very few written records. If someone would read them after I am gone, they’d think I lived a gloomy life. But it’s not true. I just wrote as a form of therapy.
I took a personal spin on this, but writing has been instrumental in my career too. Documenting surprises, capturing lessons, and even over-analyzing, it’s all part of the process. As a knowledge worker, putting things in writing is immensely helpful. It’s how I make sense of what I learn.
Our memories are flawed, altered, finite. Writing is not. That’s why companies like Stripe obsess over documentation. A strong writing culture brings clarity, creates a permanent record, and sets you apart, both as an individual and as an organization. I suggest reading into it.
So, if you’ve never written for yourself, if you feel confused, lost and unsure, I really suggest you try it. Prompt yourself with a simple question I often start with: “what is the thing I am thinking most about? Why is it important to me today?”
There is something calming in the blank page on your screen or that smell of a fresh Moleskine. Well, and if you don’t like it, you can always burn after reading.
I have published over 20 newsletters this year, and I really appreciate your readership 🧡 I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please take a moment to fill in this brief 3-question survey: