What I Learnt About Writing From Doing Push Ups

For the last 25 days I have been doing 25 push ups every day. This was called the 25 day push up challenge to raise awareness for suicide. (If you want to see how I did and learn mental health tips along the way, the link will be at the bottom of the page).

And each day I learnt something new - about writing.

Here are 25 things I learnt about writing from doing push ups:

1) Perseverance.

The more often I did the push ups the easier they got, and the more I wrote the easier the words flowed.

2) Hard work pays off.

The more intense the push ups were the stronger I felt. In other areas of my life I could feel the strength in my arms - especially when it came to carrying grocery bags! And with writing, the harder I work and the more effort I put into each moment I'm sitting in front of my laptop, not only do I see faster progression of my novel but I can also see in other areas my skills growing. I can look at other's work and know in an instant what needs to be improved and how to improve it; I can write short stories; blogs; emails etc. with more ease.

3) Sometimes, you just need a rest.

At the end of the 25 days I am so happy I do not have to do push ups any longer. My body needed that rest badly. I felt my pushups were lagging in strength near the end. But during those last few days, a good long sit down and some relaxation did the trick. My body was ready to go again, and the next day I was there doing pushups. Push ups that were using more strength than I had 25 days ago.

With writing, it's the same. You get tired and you need a break. After a break of 20minutes, a couple hours, or a couple of days you can get back into writing refreshed and stronger than you ever thought you could be.

4) It's a marathon, not a sprint.

The last 5 days of the push up challenge I was really struggling. I was tired, I needed a break and it showed. Doing 25 push ups in 25 days was a sprint and it was obviously not sustainable. Why was it obvious? Well, for me my work schedule, my writing schedule and the type of fitness I enjoy did not fit push ups into my life very well. But the fact that I was going from zero push ups a day to 25 push ups a day, every day, is a big jump and my body wanted a break. Now that the challenge has finished I don't think I want to do a push up ever again.

I don't want this to happen with my writing. It's all about balance and finding how much you can do in a day that you can sustain. You want to do a little bit of writing every day over a long period. Rather than a lot of writing in a short amount of time. It's a marathon, conserve your energy.

5) Have achievable goals.

25 push ups is great but if I had a goal of 2 a day I would probably be doing them right now. Why? Because 2 push ups a day is a reachable goal. It sounds easy so it's more appealing to start.

When writing, I started with my current goal of 2,000 words a day. But I wouldn't sit down to write. Why? At the time, this was an unachievable goal. I changed my goal to 200 words and slowly built up from there.

6) Always have a reward.

The only thing that got me on the floor doing push ups was knowing that I would have a shower straight after and get into my pyjamas. That worked every time.

Writing is a little different, I like to write in the mornings and my reward is usually a delicious lunch that I'm going to make myself. But having something extra like a walk outside or being able to cuddle my dog is a great reward.

7) Be prepared with a punishment.

If I didn't do my push ups, I had two punishments. One was that I wasn't going to bed. The second was that the push up challenge would be dragged out longer. Both of those options made me get outta bed and get on the floor.

My punishment is similar for writing. If I haven't finished all my tasks for the day (which takes about 6 hours), I am not going to bed until I have finished. And that's that.

I love my bed.

8) Make the time.

It isn't going to get done if you sit around waiting for the perfect moment. My push ups were done as soon as I got home from work. I said Hi to my family and then I got on the floor and pushed away. Then it was done. I could've spent the time socialising, eating, watching tv.. But no. That was push up time, and when it was done, I could do anything I wanted. Usually I ate.

Writing is the same. I could make plans every evening, every weekend. But if I did that I would never get any writing done. I make plans for after I've finished my writing. And if I haven't finished, I don't get to live out those plans. Tough love.

9) Do it straight away.

I did my push ups right after work. First thing after coming home. And you know what, I always did them.

With my writing I do it in the morning. Straight away I start my writing routine and I always get it done. Unless I leave it until I've done my socialising, chilling, and having fun. Writing gets done when I do it first.

10) It doesn't matter if you do it well, just do it.

Doing the push ups was hard. Some days I didn't want to do them, and on those days I did not push myself that hard. I dropped to my knees, or I bent my arms to a 10degree angle, not a lot. But I did them. I reached my goal and I achieved.

With writing you want to allow yourself to make mistakes. Some days you won't want to write, but to either get in the habit or stay in the habit, you need to write anyway. On those days, allow yourself to write rubbish until you've reached your goal. Write it in a different file. Write something about character, rewrite the weak parts of the plot. Let your brain do a little bit less on those days you don't feel like doing much.

Keep writing.

11) Mistakes are how you get better.

When I would go on my knees or only bend my arms at a 10degree angle and I felt like I was cheating, I realised I could actually achieve my goal. After 'cheating' a little bit, the next day I would do a little better on my push ups, because I knew that I could. Even when I didn't want to do push ups and in my own opinion I did them badly, I still achieved my goal and that did wonders for my brain.

While writing rubbish, either on purpose or by mistake, you are constantly refining your skill. You are learning all the time. Maybe it's about the conventions of writing; maybe it's about your characters; maybe you learn a little more about your plot. Mistakes are gold.

12) Show you can do it and people will follow.

I filmed everyday I did the push ups and I explained something new about mental health (including references). The first couple of days, no one really cared. My mum cared and my personal trainer who now lives overseas cared. No one else. After multiple weeks people started to notice and engage with the post. I even got some people doing the push ups with me. Some in person, only the people in my bubble though! Stay safe. And some people following my video online.

This is more associated with marketing your writing. Have the social media, showcase your work and showcase your work every day or every week. Once you get in the habit of doing this, people will realise you are serious and they will begin engaging with your marketing plan.

13) Effort is appreciated.

I was doing these push ups for suicide awareness. I've not been one to follow through with a lot, except for writing. But I followed through with these push ups. And I followed through with posting online about mental health. People started to notice this effort I was putting in and I received a few messages from people thanking me for what I was doing.

When it comes to writing, people notice how much effort you put into your story. If you spent 5 minutes on the plot and only wrote one draft, people will notice and not be very happy. If you spend days on the book and do a million rewrites, you will be rewarded with people who care about your book.

14) Prepare beforehand.

When I was doing the push ups I had to set up the camera first and do a little pep talk. I warmed up my muscles, usually with the heater, and then I would dive in to do the 25 push ups.

It's pretty similar with writing, you want to give yourself a little time to warm up and play. Whether it's day dreaming or writing terribly for a couple minutes. This exercise warms up the brain muscles and gets you ready for writing your masterpiece.

15) People are supportive.

While doing the 25 push ups I received so many messages and comments that were really encouraging. The most common was telling me I was doing really well. Which was really nice!

When it comes to writing, I've heard stories of people not taking you seriously and being rude, but I have had nothing but encouragement from the people I talk to about my book.

16) People will want to join in too.

There were people in my bubble and there were people online that were following along with the push ups too. I thought that was so cool.

And people will want to join in with writing too. Many people have told me they want to write a book too, but they only tell me this after I've talked about my book for a couple weeks. If you're enthusiastic, other people will be too.

17) People want to support you.

When people who care about you see you doing something that makes you happy they want to encourage you. I was happy doing the push ups (although I was very grateful when the challenge ended) and people around me sent encouragement and were very supportive.

The more I talk about writing bringing me joy, the more people around me want me to do it. If I'm busy they'll stay out of my way and they'll even ask to read my work when I'm done.

18) You do have the time.

It may feel like there aren't enough hours in the day and I don't think there are. I didn't know how I was going to get my push ups done with my busy schedule but somehow I fit them in. I did have to shuffle things around and it took time away from either creating scripts, family time or sleep. But I fit it in and got it done everyday.

This showed me how much I could do simply by shuffling a few things around, sacrificing a few pleasures from my life and focusing on my writing.

19) You do have the energy.

I was always tired coming home from work. The last thing I wanted to do was to get on the floor and do some push ups. But I did them. And I found I had more energy after the push ups than I felt I had before them.

I noticed with writing, whether or not I wanted to write, once I started I never wanted to finish.

20) What you do now matters.

What you do in this moment matters. While I was working, or driving home, or waking up, I was preparing myself to do push ups when I got home so when I did, it would be an automatic response to do so.

When I'm at work, at home reading a book, eating breakfast, I am preparing myself to write. That way, when it comes to the time to write, it feels automatic to sit down and do it.

21) Pushing yourself works.

When you think you've had enough, you're wrong. The first few days of push ups I thought my body was done by about 5 push ups. I pushed myself and made myself finish no matter how tired I was. And I did finish. All 25 push ups on all 25 days. Even when I felt ill, tired, or in the middle of a movie. I pushed through and I showed myself that I could achieve my goals.

When it comes to writing, after work I never want to write. I'm tired, I've had a long day and right now I'm starting on my 4th draft. But I didn't know where to start. Thanks to this lesson from the push ups, I pushed myself to start and I started in the only place I could think of. I began editing and found the flow came as soon as I sat my butt at the desk. Pushing yourself works.

22) You are capable of more than you think.

Similar to the one above. Before the push ups I was thinking about how weak my arms were and how I can't do push ups. 25 days later and I realise my arms are stronger than I thought and I now know I can do 25 push ups for 25 days in a row.

When it comes to writing I thought my skill set was limited but I've recently been beta-reading and I realise that I do have skills I can offer other people. It might not feel like you are improving in the moment but when you go back to look at where you started, you will see a big difference.

23) The longer you put it off the harder it gets.

I left my push ups until late evening a few times. Those times were not fun. I spent the entire day dreading the push ups and when it came time to do them I was tired I could hardly stand up straight let alone push my body off the ground with just my arms. The push ups were a lot easier when I completed them straight away.

I've added this with my writing. If I need to get something done, I do it right away, I don't think about what is fun and do that first. I get the most difficult thing out of the way first, that way I have more energy, I spend less time dreading it, and I usually find out it wasn't as difficult as I thought.

24) Everyone has an opinion.

I received a couple messages from people telling me how they thought I should be doing push ups. They had the best intentions at heart and the messages were only filled with love. But, they were giving me advice on something I didn't want advice on. They didn't know my history with sport very well and because I hadn't asked for advice, I wasn't so keen to receive it. I didn't take their advice in the end, I thanked them for their concern and then I carried on with what I was doing. And we're still friends.

When it comes to writing everyone has a specific way of writing things. Some tips work for some people and some tips don't work well for others. Take Stephen King as an example. Incredible writer. I learnt more about writing from his stories than I had from How To Write books. His book On Writing is amazing but I didn't gain as much from it as other people have. In fact, I didn't gain much and I wouldn't recommend it to people wanting to learn to write. Yet, I know some people rave on about it and say it's the best writing book on the market.

And thanks to what I learned from push ups, we can still be friends.

25) You can do it.

I managed to get through 25 days of 25 push ups. I can get to the end of my manuscript, and so can you.

My personal page with the push ups: https://www.facebook.com/lou.sp.9

My author page where you can follow the progress of my current works: https://www.facebook.com/Livvyskeltonprice/