It seems a little counter intuitive.

How can taking 15–30 minutes to write in a journal make you more productive during the day? Wouldn’t you be better off working for that time to get more done?

Studies say, no. You’re actually more productive and effective if you start your day with journaling.

I know, I’ve found that to be true in my own life. I fill up two large (8"x10") journal pages each morning. It takes me about half an hour. And by the time I’m done, I’m clear, focused, and excited to begin my day.

Here are the five…

Whew. I made it. By the grace of God and the skin of my teeth, I made it. Articles #30 and #31 were published, respectively, at 11:45 pm and 11:50pm on April 30.

So why did I immediately sit down to write a results article on May 1? Didn’t I want to take a well-earned rest before diving back into the daily grind?

Over the course of this challenge, I learned that consistent quantity matters. I am not going to lose the momentum I worked so hard to gain by slacking off, just because the month is over.

In the…

At the beginning of April, I set myself a challenge. I would publish 30 articles in 30 days. It was so successful, I promptly gave myself a May challenge.

In my original article, I promised that I’d recap all of the lessons I learned — about the Medium platform, and about myself as a writer. Hopefully these lessons will help you, as well.

April was my second month as a writer on the platform, so I was still figuring out a lot of the nuances. Here are the 5 biggest things I figured out.

1️⃣Newbie-friendly publications can launch your visibility

The publication ILLUMINATION is extremely newbie-friendly…

I recently finished my 30-day challenge for April: 30 articles in 30 days. The results were fantastic:

🔹 3x income
🔹 3.7x number of followers
🔹 2.65x number of views
🔹 3.70x number of reads

When I saw Catherine Mancini’s post on her May challenge, I thought, “Heck yeah! Let’s do it again!”

Keeping in mind that April was only my second month writing for Medium, I think the 30-in-30 challenge was ideal for helping to establish a discipline. I learned how to divide my writing between my personal publication and other publications. I found my voice.

My needs for…

A mystical agent of reality change. And math nerd.

The hardest part of writing an introduction is not what to say, it’s what to leave out.

In order to create a compelling narrative, there must be a through-line, a direction in which one travels, facing adversity and achieving against all odds. Yet life is rarely like that. It’s messy, chaotic, and random; filled with things that seemed like good ideas at the time.

So here’s a through-line, talking about what brought me to start posting on Medium. A look behind the curtain.

Drowning and lucid dreaming

When I was young — about 8 —…

It was the 1960s. Travel was mainly by bus or train, with airplanes an exotic luxury.

Members of my aunt’s family that she hadn’t seen in years called her to let her know that they’d be flying into New York City, where she lived. They had a 4-hour layover at the airport. Would she like to come meet them for a late lunch?

“I can’t. I’m doing my laundry that day,” she answered.

Fifty years later, this story is still retold in my family.

That is an example of rigid scheduling taken to the extreme.

You may have not-so-extreme examples…

At the time, I was still struggling with deflecting compliments. (It's a girl thing.) I was specifically trying NOT to say, "It's nothing special." Even though that was my first reaction. I hadn't yet gotten to the point where I could honestly say, "Thank you," and mean it. Teenaged girls are pretty messed up. I suspect teenagers in general are pretty messed up, but I can only personally confirm the life of a teenaged girl. We're desperate to be noticed, and then horrified to stand out from our peers in any way. Fortunately, we can grow out of that stage. Not that everyone does -- but they can.

Sometimes, things need immediate responses:

The smoke alarm goes off.

The car ahead of you slams on their brakes.

Someone at the table starts choking.

But most of the time, things benefit from a little pause and reflection before rushing into a response.

In our current always-on society, we want to comment immediately. Be the first one to like. Have the first response.

But it is better, sometimes, to take a moment to think.

Order your thoughts.

Ask, will this response help the person I’m responding to? Will it help the people who hear or see it?

Or will it…