Intensity vs Consistency… which is better?

Warning: This blog post contains references to exercise…

I am writing this from the comfort of my couch, snuggled under a woolly blanket, on a cold winter’s evening. Children are fed, bunnies are settled for the night, and I am working on some personal admin.

After the admin is done, I will settle in for an hour or two of writing before organising myself for my corporate working day tomorrow.

While I work on the computer, husband is out in the studio running on the treadmill. His love of running usually manifests as spurts of inspired intensity where he does a big run and some weights, followed by days of soreness and inactivity, waiting to feel motivated again.

Well, it used to. About two months ago he made a commitment to reach a new running milestone – a certain number of kms run, within a particular time – and he has been building towards that goal most nights for the last 8 weeks.

He slowed his running right down, set much smaller initial daily goals, and built on his time and distance steadily, night after night.

He swapped intensity for consistency, and it seems to be working. He is getting faster, with greater endurance. He has a plan, which includes rest days, and he just sticks with his plan. How simple that is.

Set a plan. Commit. Be consistent. Get results.

But can that work with creativity? Surely one needs to be inspired, and feel the passion and pleasure of working on the drawing, writing, music etc. Then we can pour all that inspiration into a prolonged bout of creating, losing ourselves in the intensity of it. Isn’t that when we create at our best? Is it?

There are a number of great podcasts or audiobooks about the value of making a commitment to oneself – whether it be weight loss, a creative undertaking, a fitness goal etc – to get the outcome you want.

The message is simple. Don’t wait for inspiration or motivation. That stuff is erratic, sometimes elusive, and often poorly timed.

If you rely on your ‘today self’ to make the decisions, you may very likely choose chocolate, another episode of your favourite genre show, or too much time scrolling social media, because ‘today self’ doesn’t feel like running, or writing.

But… if ‘last week you’ made the decision that every evening for 30 days you will run, and you are committed to that decision regardless of how ‘today self’ feels, you remove the need to feel inspired to get on the treadmill.

As for intensity… letting that stuff make decisions for how you spend your time might very well lead to burn-out and disconnect from the very goal you want to achieve. Spurts of intense activity followed by long periods of inactivity will delay results and impede your success.

Unless you can balance intensity with consistency to get the outcome you want.

Runners focus on consistently increasing the duration of their runs and building their endurance. They don’t get up one morning, run 20km straight without prior or follow-up training, then run a 42km marathon three weeks later. At least, not without paying the physical and mental price. If you even complete the marathon you will most likely be in pain, exhausted and disinclined to do it again any time soon.

Most runners focus on consistency interspersed with bouts of intensity to build capability.

Can this same approach be applied to writing?

I’m going to say yes.

The best, most productive writing weeks are when I commit to write consistently, and then do so.

Sometimes that commitment to consistency has produced only 200 hard-won words. Sometimes that commitment has resulted in an amazingly intense super-late-nighter and a fabulous draft chapter.

The more I write, the more the story and the characters grow and develop in my head. I find I can hold all the threads together far easier (Threads! Heehee. Small play on words for those of you who have already read my books), and the story becomes more layered.

Relying on bursts of intensity meant the first draft of The Weaver’s Heir, Book One: Crafter took almost two years. Relying on consistency meant the first draft of Book Two: Musician took seven months, and my beta readers thought it was a better first draft.

The more consistent I am, the more likely I will experience focused, intense writing sessions. But I no longer wait for, or chase, that intensity. I build up to it, and allow it to come when it comes.

At times the commitment to consistency falters. Sometimes it evaporates completely for a few weeks.

I work full-time in a corporate job which I love. I am a parent to two school-aged children. I have a wonderful group of friends who I enjoy spending time with, along with an extended network of family. These commitments must co-exist alongside my writing, and sometimes they take precedence.

That is just fine, because I know that once I commit to take those first few, small, steps to consistently writing again, the momentum builds quickly, and then passion and intensity are born from the very act of writing.

So should you focus on intensity or consistency?

For me, consistency leads to better spurts of intensity, which exponentially pushes the writing forward. But intensity without consistency does not get me the results, or the word count, I want.

I offer you this – commit to consistency. Pick a daily goal, and consistently, deliberately, make time for it. Start small. Write the first 200 words. Do it again the next day, and the next. Don’t talk yourself out of it. Don’t wait to feel inspired or motivated. Just write.

Celebrate each of those daily wins. Woohoo – you are writing!

And when writer’s block stops you in your tracks, or your other commitments are more pressing, or perhaps you are just over it, take a small break, re-set, and commit to consistency once more.

Have fun, let me know how you go,

Tara

#justkeepwriting

#createanintentionallife