Writing is Hard, Why I'm Doing It Anyways

Writing has always been difficult for me.

As someone who learned English as a second language, I missed the foundational lessons in structuring thoughts that many learn as children. Writing instruction typically begins with the alphabet, then moves to grammar, sentence construction, and later, different styles of writing. Yet, somewhere along the way, we're expected to just "know" how to write. Few are taught how to structure their thinking, edit effectively, and develop their own unique style.

Unfortunately, higher education doesn't fill the gap, especially for those of us who choose to focus on STEM fields because of the promise of better post-graduating career trajectories. At best, some institutions have a single writing requirement, but for those of us in science, technology, engineering, or math, writing rarely makes it into the curriculum. By the time we reach adulthood, communication might be a coveted skill, but writing—true, thoughtful writing—feels like a lost art.

This gap in learning is amplified in the corporate world. As a junior employee, the critical thinking required of you is often minimal. You’re tasked with data collection, administrative work, or project management—valuable in their own way but far from creatively demanding. Even in coveted industries like consulting or banking or big tech, the opinions of junior staff are often dismissed, stifling the practice of developing and expressing original ideas. Over time, this combination of expectations, judgment, and lack of opportunity shuts down creative thinking and writing as a skill.

For me, writing has also felt especially unnatural because of how I think. I don’t have an inner monologue (more on that separately). My thoughts are visual. Thoughts and feelings appear as bubbles and questions in my mind appear as doors, leading to rooms that are either empty, cluttered, or leading to doors with more questions and interconnected ideas. Organizing those ideas feels like navigating a maze, where I sometimes forget where I started.

But I know I’m not alone. Writing is inherently hard because it requires us to do so much at once: form novel ideas (hard), uncover new data (hard and time consuming), translate them into coherent language (even harder if you are not a native English speaker), structure them logically (hard but maybe easier with AI now), and infuse them with style (hard and personal) —all while managing the vulnerability of creating something new that others might judge (hard until you realize no one cares anyways).

A personal challenge to write

Recently, I caught up with a mentor who completed a master’s degree in creative writing at Harvard and has started a substack newsletter on innovation (plug: it’s awesome go check it out here). He described a new process for writing he learned akin to mind mapping. You begin with a blank canvas, ask questions, and link ideas together until connections emerge. Only then do you organize them into something coherent. This method resonated with me as a visual thinker, and it inspired me to approach writing differently.

What I’ve realized is that writing isn’t just about putting words on a page. It’s the output of a critical thinking process. And critical thinking, in today’s world, is harder than ever. It demands time, energy, focus, and often solitude—precisely what’s undermined by the constant distractions of social media and the ease of letting AI think for us. I believe in a world where social media and streaming provide cheap entertainment and AI will increasingly provide easy shortcuts, critical thinking and the ability to communicate original ideas through writing will become even more valuable.

To challenge myself, I’m starting a personal blog. It’s a forcing function to write for myself, but hopefully also as inspiration for anyone else who’s thought about writing but hasn’t yet taken the plunge.

My goals are fourfold:

1. Change my relationship with writing

   I’ve always thought that writing was not for me but in reality is it just that all things are difficult before they are easy. I want to change my relationship with writing and how I have viewed my capabilities for as long as I can remember. I hope to see writing as a process, not just an output and I aim to value the curiosity, creativity, and intellectual risk-taking involved in writing rather than judge myself on the result.

   
   

2. Strengthen my critical thinking

   The writing process will push me to set aside time for focused thought, to question assumptions, and to form structured reflections on the world around me. Over the past year and a half, since I’ve been at HBS, I’ve had the rare opportunity to step back from the day-to-day demands of work and think critically about some of the most pressing social, economic, and technical challenges public and private organizations face today. I hope writing will allow me to build on this mindset, deepening my ability to think critically and explore ideas with intention.

   
   

3. Rediscover my love of reading

   Recently, I also learned that reading habits are in decline. It’s estimated that in the US less than 30% of adults finish a single full novel or short story each year. This statistic is alarming, particularly because it applies to my diminishing reading habits. So, over the past two months, I’ve largely removed social media (my guilty pleasure is still dog videos on Instagram limited to 15 minutes a day) and replaced endless doomscrolling with reading books and articles, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and simply calling friends. This shift has been incredibly fulfilling, and I want to continue nurturing my critical thinking through more thoughtful consumption.

   
   

4. Explore how AI can support writing

   I want to experiment with new AI tools to understand how they can support the creative writing process. AI can serve as a source of inspiration, a tool for idea development, and an aid for editing. Learning to leverage these tools is essential because we’re moving toward a world where they’ll be integral to the future of productivity. While I don’t believe fully original writing will ever exist again, I hope the core critical thinking required for structured, meaningful writing will remain irreplaceable—at least for now.

   
   

So, here’s to starting something new, to embracing the challenge of writing, and to rediscovering the joy of thinking deeply.