Thread by @austinschless

0/
100+ atomic essays in less than 30 days

Here's how I did it...

I have had a bunch of people ask me...
1. How have you written so much?
2. How do you come up with ideas?
3. How do you write so much in so little time?

In this thread, I'll answer those questions
👇🧵

1/
How have you written so much?

I dropped all constraints.

Anything that was prohibiting me from getting words on the page, I dropped.

1. Planned to write about a topic? I didn't want to write about it? DROPPED

2. Spending too much time w my notetaking system? DROPPED

2/
How do you come up with ideas?

It comes down to a few things:
1. resources
2. conversations.
👇

3/
Ideas from resources

Most of my ideas come from things I have consumed

Here's the trick, CONSUME LESS:

1. Be conscious of what you consume.
2. Too much consumption clouds your brain.
3. Focus on resources you are interested in
4. Leverage resources until your dry of ideas

4/
Ideas from conversations

There is nothing more invigorating for me than talking to someone about what they are building. I love it.

The best part is that I come out of these conversations with a LITANY of ideas.

5/
The most IMPORTANT part of coming up with ideas...

You can consume a ton

You can have a ton of conversations

Coming up with ideas is only as good as your ability to capture them.

Capture ideas by developing a notetaking system that works for you.

Here's how👇

6/
Your notetaking system doesn't have to be crazy, but it has to be something that works.

For me, it's a Moleskine notebook and the Drafts app on my phone.

One trick with notetaking apps?
👇

7/
The purpose of a notetaking app is to

CAPTURE YOUR IDEAS, NOT YOUR ATTENTION

Once you find yourself spending too much time in a notetaking app, cut it.

8/
Another effective way to come up with ideas is to create a flywheel.

A flywheel is a framework to help you understand

1. Where ideas come from
2. How to capture them
3. How to write about them
4. How to distribute them

Here's a peek into mine

https://twitter.com/austinschless/status/1333409394508357634?s=20

9/
Bottom line, coming up with ideas is about finding a system that works for you.

Check out this tweet for a peek inside the systems of some of the most prolific creators on Twitter
👇

https://twitter.com/ryangum/status/1351544072461295616?s=20

10/
How do you write so much in so little time?

Open the faucet and let it all flow out. Your mind is going to wander, but that is okay.

If you end up with 2000 words across 15 different subjects, that is a win. Just get it all out.
👇

11/
Don't constrain yourself.

It's OKAY to begin writing about entrepreneurship and finish talking about the future of work.

There is a reason why your brain jumps from idea to idea.

It means you're really creative.

Creativity is a superpower.
👇

12/
Lots of creative people feel they need to FOCUS their creativity.

No, you don't.

13/
Focusing on one thing is hard.

When we try to focus and our minds wander, we get stressed out.

Being creative is that you have the power to connect, unlike ideas.

You have the power to write about one thing and end up somewhere completely different.

Don't restrain it!

14/
Bottom line, if you are looking to generate more ideas and write more...

1. Fewer constraints
2. Capture your ideas
3. Let your mind wander

The rest will take care of itself. Just keep on writing.

15/
For more ideas on
1. How to write more
2. How to come up with more ideas
3. How to stump writer's block

Check out my #ship30for30 meta-thread

https://twitter.com/austinschless/status/1346098164084994055?s=20