Inconsistent consistency still works

Okay so here’s the thing about being consistent: you can be inconsistent about it and it still works.

Like this:

You can write for 20 minutes today and 1 hour tomorrow and then not at all for 3 days and then for 10 minutes (grumpily) and then for an whole hour again the next day and then you can pretend to write for 20-30 minutes while just staring at the same paragraph the day after and you can keep kind of going in that fashion and it will add up to consistency over time.

You can chip away at something for a little bit and then a lot and then not at all and then come back at it again and you can have all sorts of loops and twirls and pauses and ups and downs and uncertainties and holds and sprints and slogs and it will still add up to a pattern of consistency.

For me, this is a really helpful concept.

Progress happens at many speeds.

What looks like inconsistent action in the short-term looks (and is) surprisingly consistent and effective in the long-term.

There are periods of both high and low productivity. They feel extreme right next to each other: A good day! Yes! I win! Ah! Oh no, such a bad day! I lose!

But the extremes flatten out when the graph stretches over a longer period. It doesn’t look like falling off a cliff. It looks like moving over softly rolling hills.

What matters is that 1) there’s some movement and 2) it’s mostly going in the same direction. Even if you’re doing the 2 steps forward, 1 1/2 steps back shuffle, you’re still shuffling forward. What’s the rush? Dancing is fun.