Publishing what I write motivates me to write more. This seems to work in terms of motivation whether I get any response on what I’ve published or not. Perhaps it’s just enough to know that, by publishing, someone else can read it.

Publishing also provides a sense of accountability, even if I haven’t made any actual commitment to how often I’ll publish things, even if no one is checking in or chiding me when I don’t publish. (And let’s be clear: No one is chiding me if I go days or weeks or months without publishing a blog post or whatever). But again, the motivation, in terms of a sense of accountability, is there even though the accountability is largely imaginary.

Publishing what I write gives me a sense of involvement beyond myself, even if there’s not any feedback. It’s helpful. Even if no one is responding or noticing, making that bit of commitment and then wanting to maintain consistency for an audience (real or imagined) is somehow very motivational for me. It’s the “for an audience” part that does it, really. I don’t need to know anything about the audience. In fact, I prefer not to think too deeply about an audience (see On Audience Capture | Jamie Thingelstad, Audience capture has the potential to impact me). It’s more this idea of public accountability—that by publishing I’ve established a certain pattern of being someone who publishes, and I want to stay consistent.