One hundred days ago, I challenged my beliefs and decided to get out of my comfort zone to chase some dreams, which are to connect, help and inspire others better.

I always knew that I had communication issues:

• I can't express myself clearly
• I get anxious when meeting new people or being part of large groups (5+ people)
• I prefer to stay silent, as no one cares what I have to say.

I avoided these situations and focused on my work and thoughts.

Although I love connecting with myself and enjoying my time alone, I also would like to be more socially active and feel better in the company of other people.

To achieve this, improving the quality of my expression is a must.

Compromise

The only way of improving is by doing. So I decided to write and publish regularly:

• 1 Tweet/Day
• 1 Article/Week

Since then, I've written more than 100 tweets and 14 articles.

And I'm using this one to share how the journey has been so far.

Background

As mentioned, I'm not the model of a social network user. I used a Twitter account to read the news and access content someone else shared. But I'd never sent any tweets.

I also created a Facebook account many years ago, but I only used it once a year to thank the people who wished me a Happy Birthday.

To highlight some of my disadvantages:

• No writing experience
• Introvert & low social skills
• Non-Native in English
• 5-to-9 job

But, being fair, I also had some advantages that I could leverage:

• Experiences from a successful career as IT consultant
• Patience
• Willingness to learn

This was my toolbox, and it was only my responsibility to do something good with it.

I started to write and publish. And as expected, I encountered many issues along the way.

Struggles

Do you remember any new activity on which you were good from day 1? That's right. Neither do I.

So writing wouldn't be any different.

The main difficulties I've encountered so far were:

• Spending too much time on each piece of content. This is an issue for 2 reasons. The first one is that I spend time creating the content, but then I'm tired or don't have enough time to review and analyze it from the readers' perspective. The second reason is that this limits my time for other activities (developing, learning, engaging, and growing).
• Engaging is hard. There is no point in being part of a social network if we don't participate in the community. On top of that, if I don't engage, my content doesn't have exposure, and I don't receive feedback. This slows down the iteration and consequent improvement in quality.
• I'm wordy. Whenever I'm starting an article, I'm afraid it will be "too short." But then I end up with 2.000 words. There are many avoidable details or better and shorter ways to express the same. I can only catch and tweak these cases during the review and also by accumulating more experience.
• Lack of time. Having a 9-5 job leaves little time for dedicating to writing and learning. I'm often tired after my shift, so I usually get up earlier to write for 45 minutes before breakfast.

The list continues, and I can't attack every aspect at once. So I needed a strategy.

Strategy

As I can't keep many plates spinning, I'm focussing on one thing at a time:

1. Creating a writing habit
2. Improving content quality
3. Work on growing and exposure
4. Develop products and services
5. Iterate

After these 100 days, I confidently affirm that I created this habit. It's still hard, but it is part of my life. The more I improve my writing, the easier keeping this habit will be.

The secret to achieving this was beyond goodwill and persistence. The secret is to be aware of the minor improvements that writing is already generated in my life.

Gains

You are in trouble if you want to be in better shape, and your only input is the number on the scale. Many other indicators will let you know you are doing well.

The same happens in this journey. I can't just focus on the low numbers of followers or subscribers. That would frustrate me and pull me down.

They are part of the metrics but not the only ones.

Other metrics are harder to identify but first to appear.

We need to improve our work quality before thinking of a bigger audience. The second one is a consequence of the first one.

So my gains so far are:

• Improving my writing at work
• Better organizing my thoughts
• Awareness when I'm deviating from the subject

This is an excellent start. Of course, I still have much to improve, but seeing benefits is fundamental to keep going.

Lessons Learned

If I were to start all over again and consider this if you are beginning, I'd repeat some of the things I did and try to avoid some mistakes. This is a summary of how I'd do it:

• Start with a single Platform / Social Network. In my case, I started with a short-form and a long-form. This was not too bad, but I could have first dedicated some time to the short-form (Twitter).
• Low frequency. Mainly for the long-form. 1 Article every 2 weeks would be more appropriate. However, it should be stipulated and not left to when "I have some time."
• Learn the basics of writing. Dedicate time to analyze the content (yours and others') and identify how to improve.
• Go step by step and avoid trying to do everything at once. It would be overwhelming enough to burn out.
• Be permissive with the drafts and dedicate more time to the reviews.
• Don't expect any fast return. Be prepared to write into the void for some time.
• Start in my native language? This is something I can't decide about. The language is a significant source of difficulties for me, but in the end, I think it would be harder to become solid in my language and start all over again in English.

Results

But in the end, how is this journey reflected in numbers?

Even though it is not my main priority, it's fair to mention that the outcome in terms of audience and engagement is meager.

I honestly expected that they would be better even during this learning curve. But as I started with low expectations, I am prepared to write into the void for 5 or 6 months.

When will these numbers improve? When the quality of my content improves.

Balance

Considering the time I invested and the return, you may think this journey doesn't make sense.

Butlly does. The reason is that I built a foundation and have a direction to move.

If I had to stop this practice for any reason, I would still be able to continue it in the future. And I can also keep improving my expression and writing abilities in my day-to-day life because I already obtained a new perspective on assessing my communication.

The consistency achieved in the past 100 days is My Victory today. I hope to celebrate different metrics in the future, but I'll make sure to enjoy the way that will take me there.

If you are starting or thinking about a similar journey, my best advice is to do it. It will be tough, but good things are coming.