Mission accomplished! Project complete.

Holy shit, guys.

I did it! Project Crappy First Drafts is complete!! Although to be honest with you, my excitement levels are slightly lower than they were five minutes ago because I realized that Day 1 was on the 11th of Feb and today is the 13th of March…so I completely missed my anniversary date. Wah 😭.

Regardless, I still did it — and I did an extra two days. Still fulfilling the classic stereotype of overachieving Asian.

What did I learn from this project?

• I actually really enjoy writing, specifically writing down my reflections and thoughts. I love having a space to share my point of view — my voice — with the world.

• The more I wrote the more I found my voice and unique style, and the more I leaned into being me rather than trying to be / write who I thought I should be.

• Titling this project as Crappy First Drafts and having clear parameters (aka in scope and out of scope for some business lingo) took a lot of pressure off so the focus was on writing rather than perfecting.

• I often left writing for the end of the day and therefore battled between wanting to sleep (very well) and getting excited about writing — it was a constant battle between staying up late to ride the excitement (and feeling tired and grumpy the next day) or getting something quick out to go to sleep sooner (but wishing I started writing earlier so I could continue a compelling train of thought).

What will I take away?

• I want to continue this habit of writing every day, but this time, begin my day with writing to actually prioritize something that is important to me. It doesn’t have to be the first thing I do in the morning, but I would like for it to be one of the first things I do so that I can more thoughtfully dedicate my time and energy, rather than leaving it for the last task of my day.

So, let me introduce you to Round 2 of my writing project: I’ll still prioritize getting each post done over getting it perfect, but have an added focus on honing my craft by prioritizing writing during the day. Welcome to Crafting the Draft.