30-day songwriting challenge

In January, I wrote 30 songs in 30 days. I publicly posted the songs to keep myself accountable… to myself. Ironically, it actually worked.

I set aside at least 2–3 hours every day to write, record and post each song. The first few days, I woke up at 5am and got the song out of the way early so I could go about the rest of my day.

Around day 4, I caught a really bad cold. I didn’t want to write a song, and I genuinely felt like giving up. Despite having no inspiration or motivation to keep going, I sat down, put pen to paper, and wrote a song anyway. It didn’t matter what time of day I wrote it anymore, as long as I got it done. I’m so glad I did.

The first few songs I wrote were shit. As Mr. Sheeran says, you find the gold in a pile of shit. You have to keep the water running for a while for the dirty water to clear and make way for the clear water. By about week 2, that’s exactly what happened.

Here’s what I learned about myself:
I can do absolutely anything I set my mind to.

Leading up to the challenge, it scared the sh*t out of me.

What if I don’t find any inspiration?
What if I fail?

The key was sitting down and working those creative muscles anyway. I couldn’t rely on inspiration alone. I picked a story I wanted to tell and just started writing until it was done.

On top of that, I was posting everything publicly, which actually helped me get the job done. I didn’t want to fail with so many people watching my journey.

Another thing I discovered is that when I set a deadline and give myself a set amount of time to get something done, it works in my favour, and I actually get it done.

Around day 10, I gave myself an hour to finish a song so I could go out. I got it done, and it actually turned out to be a good song.

Posting each song and receiving constructive feedback gave me valuable insight into how I could improve my technical ability and get better. It also forced me to let go of perfection, get the job done, and move on.

Even though I’ve archived all the posts from the challenge, I’m practising every day to get better and will officially release some of the songs later this year.
Here’s to discipline, dedication, and lifelong learning ❤️