This past week marked two consecutive years of sharing my thoughts publicly. On March 9, 2020, I began posting because of a friend’s challenge. That sixty-day challenge has continued for over 730 days. Today I spent some time reflecting on what I’ve learned from doing this every day for two years. Here are some of my thoughts:

• Compounding knowledge – Posting daily forces me to stop and reflect daily. Reflecting and taking in new information daily has a compounding effect and has accelerated the rate at which I’m learning. More thoughts on this here and here.
• Unexpected benefit – When I started, the goal was to share what I’d learned as an entrepreneur with other entrepreneurs. It was a way to give back. I didn’t expect to get much from it personally, but I have.
• Difficulty – It was hard to establish the habit at first. It’s in place now, but there are still days when it’s harder than normal to create a post.
• Frequency – Posting daily is the right rhythm for me. If I’d started off doing it weekly or monthly, it wouldn’t have lasted past the initial sixty days. The habit is second nature now.
• Topics – I’ve likely shared most of the lessons I learned as a founder. This year I want to focus more of my posts on where I’m headed and new things I’m working on.
• Reach – Over the past two years, I’ve been consistently surprised by my posts’ reach and audience. Whenever someone tells me a post was helpful, it’s usually when I least expect it and from someone I’m not expecting it from.
• Mental exercise – The brain is an organ that needs to be exercised just like any other. Doing this daily makes me feel like I’m giving my brain the exercise it needs.
• Quality – With a daily frequency, every post isn’t going to be a Pulitzer piece. That’s OK. The process of reflecting daily is what I get value from. Some days are less eventful than others.
• Public diary – I’m excited to have a diary of thoughts that I—and others—can go back and review.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about doing something like this for such a long time. It’s been challenging and fulfilling at the same time. As with anything else, there are pros and cons, but after two years I can see that the positive far outweighs the negative. I’m looking forward to continuing the habit. Year three here we come!