Writing

TL;DR - Writing helps you know what you think, organize your thoughts, and communicate effectively.

Why Write?

Writing is thinking. Both in the practice of knowing what you think and seeing those thoughts on paper so you can more objectively engage with and develop them.

More specifically, I think writing brings 3 main benefits:

• Memory - Helps you remember your knowledge, both from re-review and having an artifact to reflect on
• Understanding - Helps you understand what you think via organization and viewing / presenting them in new perspectives (like teaching)
• Progress - Helps you build your ideas into new knowledge over time. Each piece of writing is an artifact on which to build from.

Related: Why I write online as a Software Engineer

Why write publicly?

I've run a public blog since ~2012. I don't think you need to write publicly to get most of the benefits of writing but I do think it adds some extras.

• Can reference thoughts / writing via links - allowing your communications to be short and effective while providing depth to those interested
• Can build authority in your niche - useful to get opportunities
• Can provide a public showcase of your past work
• If you look at writing as teaching (conveying knowledge to someone else), it can also help you better understand the domain
• Can be energizing - once you start getting feedback / viewers, can be an accountability partner to keep going

Todos

• Add links to writing is knowing what you think and similar essays I like