One creator I really enjoy on YouTube is Ali Abdaal. He is a doctor turned creator and author, and he has some great advice and information on productivity, time management, and building the life you want. He wrote a book called Feel Good Productivity (which I haven’t read yet, but I will) and I’m subscribed to his newsletter. This morning, he sent out his Life Notes newsletter and he answered a question he’s been asked a few times: What surprised him the most about the whole book-writing and selling journey?
I know there aren’t many of us here who are writing or creating for the purpose of publishing or making money. However, I think the advice in his newsletter can be applied to pretty much any aspect of life. I enjoyed reading his advice and thought I’d share it here, too, for anyone who might benefit from hearing it.
There’s no external link to share so you can read the entire email, so I will share his bullet points and advice and leave links to his stuff online.
(1) I was surprised by how much the Voice in my Head got in the way
The first draft was such a painful slog to write. I was second-guessing and third-guessing myself at practically every sentence. After writing a paragraph and hitting , I’d pause, and the Voice in my Head (VimH) would say urgh will anyone actually like reading this, I don’t even like reading this, what am I even trying to say, it’s not like I have any credibility to say any of this anyway, maybe I need to read even more studies to back this point up even more, plus am I even sure this is the only way to make this point? Am I sure this point is even correct? I mean, I think it’s helpful, but what if someone is in situation X, Y or Z where they could argue that this point wouldn’t apply? You know, I’m really not qualified to write this book, maybe if I was Elon Musk or something I could write a book about productivity, but what the hell do I know…
and over and over again practically every paragraph.
Over the years of writing the book, as I gained confidence that the research was, in fact, sound, VimH would ease-up a bit, but never quite go away.
I read a lot of advice out there that encourages writers to “ignore the inner critic”, especially in the first draft stage, and I was surprised by how easy it was to nod along and say “yep I agree” but how hard it was to actually take the advice.
(2) I was surprised by how little resemblance there was between my first draft and the final draft
I knew this feeling intimately as it relates to YouTube videos - the filming process is a total shit-show, with lots of cursing, pausing, frustration, angst etc. But the final product (once it’s been edited by our wonderful team) always comes out looking much more polished.
But it surprised me just how true it was of the writing process too. While the first draft was awful, after a couple of rounds of editing, it was starting to sound reasonably good, and clear, and much more interesting than what I’d put down initially. I’d get the pages back from our editor and go from thinking “urgh I hate this” to “whoah this is actually quite good!”
This recognition should hopefully make writing book #2 easier, because (in theory) it’ll be easier to ignore VimH and ignore the fact that the first draft will suck, knowing that that’s what the editing process is for
I’ll keep you updated as to how that actually goes.
(3) I was surprised by how much more progress I made during sprints of intensity than during periods of consistency
Everyone says “the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time” or “consistency is important” etc. I’m sure I’ve even said those things many times when asked for advice about various things.
But… I found that during the writing process, I’d make way more progress when I’d have an entire week to just focus on the book and do absolutely nothing else work-related. This was in comparison to the many weeks where I’d carve out 4 hours in the morning to do book stuff, and the rest of the day to work on videos, courses and other business stuff.
In theory, the consistency approach should’ve worked better. All the research around focus etc seems to say that “4 hours per day is about the upper limit of how much you can focus”. And maybe that’s true… but when you take into account the coffee, the toilet breaks, the opening and reopening of the fridge, and every other thing that gets in the way of writing, I’d end up having to spend 8-10 hours of the day fully immersed in the book to make 4 hours of meaningful writing progress.
I do know plenty of writers who manage to get a lot done by doing a little bit each day. And I aspire to be like them. But for the next book, I’m not going to worry about that too much, and instead I’m going to lean into what I know works for me - operating in quick bursts of intensity rather than long drawn-out periods of consistency.
(4) I was surprised by how much better my writing was when I found ways to enjoy the process
This probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise, given that it’s literally the premise of the book.
Here’s one of the most popular Kindle highlights that capture this idea:
“when we’re in a positive mood, we tend to consider a broader range of actions, be more open to new experiences, and better integrate the information we receive. In other words, feeling good boosts our creativity – and our productivity.”
But even though I was writing about this stuff, I’d always be a little surprised when it actually held true in the moment. The periods of time where I was most proud of the writing I’d done tended to be the ones where I was out of my own head, and “flowing” without thinking too hard about it, my Study with Me Spotify playlist in the background, people around me doing their own thing. My fingers would be dancing over the keyboard, the word-counter racking up the words in a satisfying fashion. Those were the most enjoyable periods of writing, and where I was happiest with what was coming out of me.
Ali Abdaal Online
- https://www.youtube.com/aliabdaal
- https://aliabdaal.com/
- https://www.youtube.com/@DeepDivewithAliAbdaal/featured
- https://www.instagram.com/aliabdaal
Also, just as a side note because I feel like I need to mention it, I don’t have any sort of working relationship with Ali Abdaal. I just like what he does and felt like sharing I know, disclaimers are weird, but being a creator on YouTube has made me hyper aware of how the FTC handles promoted content and whatnot so I just wanted to put it out there 
BryWisteria blog when? lol No pressure, of course! But I know that anything you write is always done with such care and devotion - it’s always a pleasure to read!
