Writing IS thinking.

I get on a writing jags. I am in one now. It exercises an important muscle that has a profound effect on every facet of my life. Communication: documentation, emails, texts, Slack! Clearly stating and articulating what it is that I know, seek to know, or need to move forward is a super power.

At work I write RFCs for software architecture changes. This was a labor of love. I would look at the writing template for a day or two, the start the seven day slog attempting to state exactly where I want to go with a project, the risks involved, and write in such as way as to anticipate where folks might poke holes in the project.

Previously, these documents were written after my thinking was done. It showed that I already did the thinking work. See, I did it! Starting today, I am using the document as the repository for the evolution of my thought process. Thus far it has been a completely different experience. For the better.

I started with a skeleton of what I know and leave notes of what needs to be added. Little by slowly I fleshed out the notes as I gather information, confirm or refute ideas, assumptions, dependencies, etc. The unknowns become knowns.

There has been no greater reward, I have found, in this new approach than seeing -- in black and white -- all the knowledge gaps in my understanding of this new project. When I approach a topic in this way, I can tease out all the base questions and avoid the curse of knowledge. I can clarify, with specificity, plans, and bugbears, rather than present abstract hand-wavy jargon-filled nonsense.

This blog and its 300 word constraint has been a boon to my writing. And I am grateful for that.