In an attempt to reclaim my brain from feeds and algorithms and existential dread I’ve decided to start a writing habit. The goal being to reclaim some balance when every day brings fresh horrors. Let’s see what James Clear has to say about goals.
"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."
— James ClearWell ok then. Let’s dig into the system.
Writing for Me
I got this from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and it’s been surprisingly helpful for a) reducing daily anxiety and b) forcing me to get whatever is in my head onto the paper where I can see it with some objectivity. It’s called morning pages. The gist is 3 pages of pure stream of conscious writing every morning. No sharing, no review, no reflection, just straight up brain dumping for ~30 minutes. It’s not about the words but it is about the motion. I don’t do it every day but I do notice a difference in clarity afterwards.
Writing for you
Part of this practice is posting the ideas I think are worth sharing. Which is both a content & design problem.
Content
I use calmwriter.app which is a beautifully minimal writing experience made by the supremely talented Ben Krogh. I try and knock a draft out in a single session or two to preserve momentum.
Design
My current solution is a three family font system.
- Instrument Serif for headlines
- Bricolage Grotesque for subheads & emphasis
- EB Garamond for body copy
That’s it. That’s the post. If you made it this far I hope you found something of use and maybe I’ll see you next time.
Special thanks to my wonderful (human) editor who I love very much.