CrossFit and writing – how to make hard habits easy
Dripping sweat. Blisters on my hands. Bruises on my collarbones and knees. Gasping for air. Did I pay for this? I can’t believe I chose to do this to myself!
CrossFit, baby. The ultimate challenge for a fair-weather exerciser like me.
But somehow, I’ve made this personal torture a habit. I go in feeling fear and come out feeling exhilarated. I am Alexandra the Great after every class.
CrossFit has taught me what I need to build a hard habit. And, conveniently, those lessons have helped shape our online School of unProfessional Writing. We want you to succeed as a phenomenal communicator in your workplace, which means building an environment where you can make a habit out of some hard things.
Here’s what I need to succeed in a hard habit.
Guidance
A supportive group around me cheering me on
An environment that makes the habit easy
A vision of what life will be like when this habit is my new normal
I need guidance
When I started at the gym, I had no idea what to do with the barbell. I needed the trainers to show me how to use it. Movements like this overhead squat look easy…
My nemesis: the overhead squat
… but believe me, it has not come naturally! After 10 months, I can still barely squat to 90 degrees with a bar overhead. My arms do not like going back. My back doesn’t want to stay straight. And don’t get me started on my knees – they wiggle all over the place!
Over time the trainers have given me tips to improve my technique. They do this consistently, so that each time I get good at something, they add another level of difficulty.
How does this relate to writing?
If you’re new to writing in a clear, concise style, you’ll need good trainers. Drum roll please… at the School of unProfessional Writing, Miraka and I are there to train your asses. (Well, we’re there to train your brain cells.)
You’ll also need people who know what they’re doing to give you useful feedback so that you can improve your technique. That’s why we have the School community and the weekly live sessions. The community is there so you can share your drafts and get feedback. At the weekly live sessions, you can get on-the-spot coaching for whatever you’re writing this week.
I need a supportive group around me cheering me on
The CrossFit gym isn’t like any other gym I’ve joined. The people welcome each other, chat to each other, bring dogs and kids, and go out for coffee afterwards on the weekends. I hadn’t realised how much this mattered to me until it was part of my life.
A group of us did a 6-week intensive programme. In our WhatsApp group, we told each other which classes we’d gone to, showed photos of the yummy dinners we’d cooked, and commiserated with each other when it was hard.
Community matters. For me it’s the difference between eating healthy for half a day and eating healthy for 4 weeks. (I’m serious!)
Our supportive group...
...And Justine’s incredible dinners!
And this is why we have the School community. It’s a place for us to cheer when someone aces a document, commiserate when it all goes to pot, share ideas, jokes, banter, the odd rant, and generally keep each other focused on communicating clearly.
I need an environment that makes the habit easy
I think the CrossFitting has stuck because my office is in a horseshoe of buildings. One end of the horseshoe is the CrossFit gym. At lunchtime, I change my clothes and run the 20 steps over to the gym. Easy peasy. No friction. I go.
You want to make great writing a habit? Turn up to the Community live sessions each Tuesday morning. Knowing you’re coming will make you more aware of your writing during the week. You’ll try new approaches so you can tell me about them.
I’m there at 11am each Tuesday. I’m your personal trainer, helping you learn, stretching you further, cheering you on!
I need a vision of what life will be like when this habit is my new normal
I’m vain. I want muscles. I want to be the parent running around at the park, swinging on the monkey bars with the kids.
It helps to remember this when I really don’t want to go to class. Class is hard. They’re not playing around at CrossFit. It’s 30 pull ups. 40 push ups. High numbers of reps on the heaviest barbell you can manage.
When I don’t want to go, I think ‘This is who you are. You’re someone who exercises. You’re becoming someone who has energy and looks shit hot. Put your shoes on.’
James Clear calls this an identity-based habit – check out his article.
The School of unProfessional Writing shows people what their lives will be like when they make a habit of clear communication at work. They see Miraka and me as confident, kind, assertive communicators, and it inspires them to take on this identity too.
It can be scary to be plain. It feels easier and safer to use the fancy words and fit in with the jargon-ridden crowd. But being part of the Community allows you to see proof – and therefore stand strong in the belief – that there’s a more effective work life on the other side of clear communication.
Apparently one day this will become push ups in a handstand position!
I was not always a regular exerciser!
When I worked from home I told myself I’d get out for a run every day. I didn’t. I didn’t do it because it wasn’t easy. There was no one waiting for me to run with them. No one noticed whether I ran … or sat down, ate lunch, and had a nap. My life set-up did not make it easy to be the fit person I wanted to be.
Do you want it to be easy to write well?
Join the School of unProfessional Writing!
You can immerse yourself in our supportive community. Turning up to the weekly live sessions could be the difference between thinking it’s a good idea to write well and actually writing well.
Let’s get your writing pumping!
