Writing, Thinking, and Acting
If writing is thinking, what does it say when we can't create space for it in our work?
Today’s dilemma is focused on the art of writing and how to create the space for it in practice. By writing, I’m including traditional pen and paper, jotting notes, digital authorship, and scripting audio and video.
There’s abundant evidence to show how writing things — especially with pen and paper — leads to new ways of thinking, improved retention of information, and attention to what is being recorded. That’s why regular writing practice is advised as part of knowledge work. And yet, it’s often done only for instrumental purposes in constrained contexts.
This is the world of board reports, funder updates and departmental memos. When the stakes are high, or the pressures are external, the motivational structure shifts. Writing becomes a task, an objective, or an outcome rather than an opportunity to learn and explore ideas. This relies on extrinsic motivators, which, as evidence shows, are poor drivers of sustained behaviour tied to learning. Learning activities that are driven by intrinsic motivation — that self-propelled interest in the activity — are more sustainable over time.
From a leadership and management point of view, this is a good investment. If your team is motivated to learn independently, they will be better prepared for what comes than if you’re only responding to threats and learning under pressure.
Writing Culture and Practice By Design
Some of the issues tied to writing in organizations are perceptual. If you see writing as something only done for instrumental reasons, you’re more likely to set your teams up to write at specific periods. Writing, like many arts, is like a muscle. It isn’t easy to do when you’ve not done it for a while. A barrier to writing is often the blank page and screen. Yet, journalists — who often have to produce stories daily — face this by writing every day. They know that by writing, the coherence will eventually come.
Yet, the fear of writing — getting it right — can lead people to put writing off. It also makes writing more stressful when the stakes are high. Writing for a blog — even a non-published blog — can allow people to write and practice.
Writing is a practice; it’s not a destination. Viewing it as such means creating space within work to write regularly and consistently and with the opportunity to reflect on it. Here are some ways to do it.
Blog. Internal or publicly-facing blogs are great, free-form ways to create writing opportunities. Developing a format for the blog or topic focus can be a way to create a structure for people more intimidated by a blank page. Whether it is published widely or shared internally, blogs can help.
Journals. Reflective practice journals can be another way to build ‘writing muscle’ and encourage staff to reflect upon their work, identify patterns, and express thoughts and emotions tied to their practice.
Writers Clubs. Small writer’s groups or clubs within an organization can be a way to focus efforts on shared content and provide opportunities for writers to get feedback, moral support, and assistance in developing their craft.
Commonplace Books. Mark Dykeman’s entertaining and informative Substack newsletter covers the art of writing (and more). He’s written about the role of the commonplace book: a notebook for thinking, gathering ideas, and connecting insights. I always have one with me to capture everything from observations to reflections to short sketches.
Morning Pages. The method advocated by Julia Cameron is simple: sit and write every morning for an uninterrupted period every day. Notebooks like those made by Before Breakfast were made with this in mind. This builds up the habit of writing no matter what topic comes to mind.
Short Notes. Whether it is recording thoughts using tools like Otter or writing in quick notes, tools like Napkin, Obsidian, or Evernote are suitable for those looking to jot down ideas without elaboration. These tools are suitable for planting seeds of ideas and connecting them, although less so for in-depth writing. But for some, this is what starts the process. These are also great for quick-hit writing in transit or when time and space don’t allow depth writing.
All of these approaches can build the practice of writing and shape the way of thinking about things that are written about. Creating space within our days — before, after, and during work hours — with these tools and activities to shape the writing practice.
Once we do this, the products we write will be easier to develop and (likely) better in quality. Along the way, your team will have learned a lot, too.