what I've learned from 100 days of writing online

and why you should stop putting things off in your life

On the 1st of June 2024, I published my first article on Substack.

That was 100 days ago.

Trust me when I say, I had no idea what I was doing. But nobody was watching, and I had no expectations to live up to. So I just made a start.

I felt the discomfort of starting something new. When you wake up in the morning feeling vulnerable, insecure, and a bit scared - it’s a good sign.

You’re pushing yourself to do new things.

It means you are growing.

Starting this newsletter was the best decision I’ve made in my 27 years.

Why?

I finally feel like I am working towards something for myself.

In my life, I’ve always tried to please the people around me. I’ve done what’s expected of me. But I’ve had enough of it. I’m doing something for myself.

I will never give up on this project.

Many times in my life, I’ve given up on something. On reflection, it’s a sign that I probably didn’t want it in the first place.

what I was able to achieve in these 100 days

I’d like to share a few results on how the newsletter has grown. I am sharing this because if I can do it, anyone can. Trust me…

In total, I’ve spent approximately 350 hours on this project. This includes research, planning, writing, editing, and interacting with people.

That boils down to 15, 24-hour days. Or 44 working days.

If you’re not willing to put the effort in, your life will suck.

When I first started publishing 3 months ago, I set out with a few intentions:

Writing Goals: 
- 100 subscribers by the end of the year
- Make €1 online (something that I have never done)
- Publish 1 article per week

Results After 100 Day: 
- 131 subscribers
- 446 followers
- €12.26 in monthly subscription payments
- 20 articles published

I have accomplished nothing in the grand scheme of things. €12 will get you two coffees at a Starbucks in London.

And numbers are only numbers.

But I feel like I am getting somewhere. I am making progress in my life because I made a decision.

Plus, in the evenings I am finally no longer bored.

Below are some lessons learned that I hope can help you on your journey.

do it even when you don’t know how

I had zero experience in writing. The furthest I’d got was writing a birthday card for my mum.

Starting a newsletter showed me I can do anything I set my mind to. Many people don’t make a start because they think they’re not skilled enough.

But nobody starts off an expert.

Expertise is gained through years of practice, perseverance, and patience.

Those who reached a level of expertise most people are unable to reach got there because they put the work in. They practiced relentlessly, and sacrificed thousands of hours to their craft.

Just make a start on something that you’ve been putting off.

You don’t need to have the entire route mapped out, all you need is the first clue.

You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. — Martin Luther King Jr.

put the work in

Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. — Winston Churchill

If you’re stuck somewhere you don’t want to be, it’s because you haven’t taken any time to figure out where you want to go.

Know the direction you want to walk in. Start walking towards it. Be determined, consistent, and disciplined.

Everyone wants an easy life.

But nothing worth having is going to be easy.

Take the example of building muscle.

Nobody who wants to build muscle and done all the right things was unable to achieve their goal.

It’s impossible not to put on muscle if you are:

• getting enough sleep

• eating enough food and protein

• training consistently

• drinking enough water.

There is no way you can fail.

So, have you set a goal for yourself? Are you putting in enough effort? You know the answer to this yourself. Do not lie to make yourself feel better.

The more reps you put in, the more opportunities you have to hit the target.

So, if you know what you want to do - please make a start. For too long I’ve put things off because I thought I didn’t have the skill to do it. You will very quickly learn that nothing is as bad as it seems.

focus

It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world — Og Mandino

Now, I’m still working on this one. I haven’t yet mastered it.

However, jobs should start hiring for ‘an ability to focus’ as a key skill.

Focus is becoming a scarce skill.

And humans are not achieving anything because of an inability to focus. You may be unable to focus because you’re just not interested - that’s a different story for which I guide you to the book The Art of Impossible by Steven Kotler (I think I’ve mentioned it about 10 times already).

When you lose focus and get distracted, it can take you a very long time to regain focus. Even then, your maximum level of focus is diminished each time you get distracted. You’ll never reach that peak point of focus again for the rest of the day.

When I’m writing, I sometimes lack ideas. But I’ve realised I need to sit there, and just be. Don’t think too hard, and let things flow.

Surpass the initial feeling of feeling frozen.

The ice cubes will start melting.

Trust that you will unfreeze.

Once it melts, things flow naturally.

The solution will gradually filter its way through to you.

You will achieve absolutely nothing if you can’t focus.

long-term vision over short-term satisfaction

Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most — Abraham Lincoln

Daniel Kahneman describes two distinct modes of thinking.

According to Kahneman, humans spend up to 95% of their time in System 1 thinking. So, life is spent in automatic, instead of controlled thought processes.

Which makes sense.

Your habits are habitual. You don’t think about them. You just do them.

And everyone wants to feel good now. We want to make sure that the current version of ourselves is happy.

But when you chase short-term satisfaction, your future-self can suffer tremendously.

That’s why so many people are fat.

I’m hungry now. I want sugar. I’m going to eat 10 donuts.

And the sugar compounds the problem of obesity.

Only immediate cravings are fulfilled.

But what does your future-self crave? Obesity?

Each one of your actions now is based on the question: ‘What’s going to make me feel better 5 minutes from now?‘.

It’s why people continue doing things which destroy their bodies and minds: drinking, smoking, eating excessively, eating bad foods, doom scrolling, procrastination, watching TV for hours on end.

Few people operate in System 2 because it’s very hard.

You’re not going to get anywhere in life if you continually allow your short-term desires to determine your actions.

Will what you do 5 mintues from now benefit you 2 years down the line? That may sound extreme, but you’re making decisions everyday. It compounds.

The last 3 months of my life have taught me that I will have to say no to people, social events, and habits that System 1 Stefano would usually say yes to.

The best time to start was yesterday, the second best time is today.

Stop postponing yourself.

What are you planning to achieve in the next 100 days?

By then, I hope you have taken action to become a better version of yourself.

~ Stefano