Abstract#
This part of the agreement was initially mentioned in this weekly journal. It has now been practiced for nearly two months, and the number of articles has increased from 3 to 20. Compared to articles from three years ago, both the quantity and quality have significantly improved (previously boasted of having a six-month inventory, but upon closer inspection, most of them only had titles, which is truly embarrassing).
Therefore, it is now time to organize these agreements into a separate article. This also serves as an extension and supplement to my article "Elegant Philosophy" regarding "documenting aspects of life" and "focus."
Writing & Publishing#
- Deepening understanding of learned content through writing: This is the primary goal. I write articles not for anything else, but for thinking. Writing down the learned content is not only a method of recording but also a powerful tool for deepening understanding and revealing knowledge gaps. Writing allows for reflection on the topic, enabling learners to connect new information with existing knowledge. This synthesis helps create stronger and interconnected topic understanding.
- Attempting to express clearly to others: Writing an article that is only seen by oneself will not lead to progress. It is very likely that something written for oneself, with a score of 30, may satisfy and be understood by oneself. But in the eyes of others, it may be nothing. Often, one falls into the dilemma of "I thought I had thought it through, but in reality, I haven't thought it through at all." So, publishing the article for others to read and trying to explain it clearly to others forces oneself to constantly question oneself, "Have I really thought it through? Does this make sense? Are there better ways to express it?" This is also known as the Feynman learning technique.
Writing Goals#
In summary, it is two blog posts per week. Weekly journal + thematic writing.
Weekly Journal - A gathering place for scattered thoughts#
- Recording aspects of life: Recording what I did during the day. Although it is called a weekly journal, I don't actually start writing on the last day. What happened that day may be forgotten the next day. For example, taking photos of life, thoughts on eating and shopping.
- Recording learning content: Whether it is work or life, I encounter various new concepts and knowledge every day. At this time, I will record some important points and express them in my own words.
- Reflection & Emotion: Watching various works and encountering various things in daily life usually triggers various thoughts. These thoughts should be recorded as soon as possible, especially the parts involving emotions. After all, "those emotions will be forgotten one day."
- Weekly Sunday organization and publication: The weekly journal is a collector of my various fragments of thoughts, with the purpose of having enough material for future articles on related topics. Moreover, this also helps the future me understand how foolish I was in the past.
Thematic Writing - The key to deep thinking#
- Content should align with the Random topic: The articles of thematic writing should not be too far apart from the Random topic of the month, otherwise, it will take up a lot of time and affect the progress of the Random topic. If the writing content is consistent with the Random topic, then I can balance the goals of writing articles and the Random topic.
- A complete work integrated from materials: The weekly journal is only scattered material, and to integrate these materials into a complete work, specific writing and description of a particular topic are needed.
- One article per week: I have also considered one article every two weeks or one article every three weeks, but based on my understanding of myself, it will definitely end up as "starting to write on the last day." So I decided to set it as one article per week, with a high probability of being on Wednesday.