How Long Should It Take to Write a Blog Post?

go at your own pace
surrender to your rhythm
trust your own timing

How long should it take to write a blog post?

This is a question I used to ask often.

As I approach 1,800 published essays on this blog, one thing I’ve learned is that there is no “should.”

You might think that by now I would know, on average, how long it does take. After all, I have a good volume of data to work with.

But even all that data is ambiguous. It can take me 20 minutes or 20 hours.

The answer depends on many factors, including what time of day I’m writing.

This is true for most tasks we do, especially creative tasks.

Here’s the principle:

“How long” isn’t an absolute time; it’s a function of many factors, including when.

This realization freed me of a lot of unnecessary stress. Instead of seeking an external guideline to measure my timing, I started to look within.

I noticed the conditions that helped me go from idea to published more efficiently and effectively. I do my best to create those conditions daily.

I call this process of creating the conditions “creating space for your best work.”

The best “productivity hack” is knowing how you work best, what you need, and giving it to yourself.

It doesn’t work to try to model someone else’s rhythms.

Instead of seeking external metrics of timing, cultivate trust in your own timing.