Why I Write 500 Words Every Day — and Why You Should Too
Here’s the thing: most of us walk around like renters in our own heads. Thoughts tumble around like socks in a dryer — loud, messy, and rarely paired up. Writing is how I organize that chaos. It’s therapy without the invoice, strategy without the whiteboard. Every day, I commit to 500 words. Not for clicks, likes, or applause, but for the person who matters most in my life: me.
Writing isn’t just about publishing or pontificating. It’s about reflection, clarity, and, let’s be honest, survival. When I write, I untangle the knot of ideas, fears, and dreams lurking in the shadows of my mind. The process is selfish in the best possible way. It’s an act of self-care disguised as discipline, a workout for the soul. And like any good workout, it doesn’t feel great while you’re doing it, but afterward? You’re damn glad you showed up.
Now, 500 words might sound like a lot, but let me break it down for you. That’s roughly two pages or one extended rant about why AI isn’t coming for your job (yet). It’s long enough to dig deep, short enough to fit between your second coffee and first Zoom meeting. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s practice.
The real magic of writing, though, isn’t in the words themselves — it’s in what they do to you.
When you write every day, something shifts. First, you start to listen to yourself. The noise of the outside world fades, and you uncover what you actually think. Writing forces honesty. You can’t lie to the page the way you lie to yourself. Over time, patterns emerge. You notice the stories you keep telling yourself — the good, the bad, the utterly absurd.
And here’s the kicker: writing changes you. Not in some woo-woo “manifest your dreams” kind of way, but in a gritty, boots-on-the-ground kind of way. You become more intentional, more articulate, more aware. You start to see the threads connecting your thoughts, your actions, your aspirations. Writing is how you close the gap between who you are and who you want to be.
But let’s get real — writing isn’t just for you. When you show up authentically on the page, you start showing up more authentically everywhere else. You write better emails, have deeper conversations, and maybe even become the person who doesn’t need a dozen emojis to communicate.
The irony is that in writing for yourself, you often end up connecting with others in ways you never expected. Your words, raw and unfiltered, have the power to resonate with someone else navigating their own chaos. But even if they don’t, even if your words never leave the confines of your laptop, they’ll have already done their job.
Because the most important person writing changes is you.
So, grab a pen, open a doc, or scribble on a napkin. Write 500 words. Write poorly, passionately, or in fragments. But write. Because when you do, you’re not just putting words on a page — you’re building a better version of yourself. One word, one day, one breakthrough at a time.
Brian Fink is the author of Talk Tech To Me. He takes on the stress and strain of complex technology concepts and simplifies them for the modern recruiter.
