Writing can change your life for the better. Why? Because writing clarifies your thinking and actions you need to take as well as your communication.
#1 Writing Clarifies Your Thinking and Actions You Need to Take
How we think dictates much of who we become. Therefore, the clearer our thoughts are, the clearer we become about our sense of direction in life. As we develop this clarity of thought, we’re able to make better decisions about our personal, academic, and professional lives.
One way I write to clarify my thoughts is by outlining my to-do list for the day in a notebook. I would (1) write that day’s date on top of the page, (2) think about the most important things I want to accomplish that day, (3) itemize my to-do list using action verbs and number the items, (4) look at my do-to list often as a reminder to stick to my stated goals, (5) check off items as I complete them. Below is an example of my morning to-do list.
2/18/25
- Go for a walk for 15 minutes after waking up at 5am
- Make sure my son gets ready for school by 6:30am
- Prepare myself and depart for work at 6:45am
With this outline, I’m able to think clearly about what I wish to accomplish that morning. And if that morning’s routine is one that I regularly repeat, at some point, I will simply remember what I need to do because it will become ingrained in my mind. That means I won’t need to write my routine down every day. Clear thinking can help you develop habits beneficial to your day-to-day life.
Another way I write to clarify my thoughts is to outline the steps I need to take in order to accomplish a particular task. When I was a student, I often broke down my assignments in this way.
- Brainstorm what I want to write about
- Discuss my essay topic with an English tutor
- Research my essay topic online and through reading books and articles
- Outline my essay
- Start drafting the essay
- Review and edit my draft with an English tutor
- Incorporate the necessary edits
- Work on multiple drafts by myself and with different English tutors until satisfied with the final product
- Submit the essay to my professor on or before the deadline
Writing down each step of the writing process in this way did two things for me. First, I became clear about what I needed to do. And second, the list kept me accountable, so that I executed my assignments without delay and procrastination. Breaking down the steps of a process and writing them down can help you accomplish your goals in a timely and consistent way.
Writing also strengthens your critical thinking. For example, writing sharpened my thinking on the importance of education. As a student at community college, I wrote about a range of social issues in the United States, including education. I’ve liked learning since childhood; however, writing about the importance of education gave me a deeper grasp of what it means to people’s lives on a larger scale. I came to the conclusion that education was a tool that would not just help me support myself and my family but also allow me to contribute to society in a tangible way. With this insight, my focus became less about pursuing good grades and more about learning for the sake of learning and acquiring skills that I could use long-term.
To learn more about my experiences at community college, download a free chapter from my memoir, Destined, here.
Try making a to-do list for your day. Did it help you to clarify your thinking about the tasks you listed?
Our thoughts have control over our actions. So the more we can clarify our thoughts for ourselves, the more we become clear about the actions we need to take, which can lead us to make transformative decisions for our lives.
For a further discussion on how to become self-disciplined, focused, and organized, read my article 3 Effective Ways to Manage Your Time as a Community College Student. The tips in this article are useful for any level of higher education, though I draw from my own community college experiences.
I believe in the transformative power of education so much that I wrote about my experiences to inspire other people to keep going in their learning and in their pursuit of better opportunities. Some professors are currently teaching Destined chapters to community college students. Our lives are interconnected. You don’t know what your life could mean to other people if you just keep going.
Can you write down one important action you wish to take in pursuit of your goals, how you plan to accomplish it, and who can support you in your efforts?
#2 Writing Clarifies Your Communication
Writing can allow you to communicate where you stand on issues that you’re passionate about. For example, I’ve written to advocate for causes and people. As the founder of the African Community Learning Program – a nonprofit organization based in West Philadelphia that supported students of African backgrounds in their education, acquisition of English, and social integration – one way I advocated for learners was to write articles telling their stories, which I shared with various news outlets.
I wrote for The Philadelphia Inquirer in the article titled “More support needed for students who don’t speak English” that students shouldn’t be made to feel inferior because they don’t speak English or because they communicate with an accent. When we invest in these students, we invest in the future of Philadelphia, America, and the world. This article reached many people across Philadelphia, including elected officials and leaders in education, and raised awareness about the realities these students face, especially in their schools.
Writing is an effective way to engage in advocacy, whether it’s for yourself, in the context of your education or your job, or for a change you hope to see in your community or your country. Through writing, you can express your thoughts and feelings on a specific issue and reach an outside audience. Whether it’s an audience of one or an audience of thousands, you will still have an influence.
Writing can also help you communicate orally. For example, I addressed an audience of about 150 people at Community College of Philadelphia during the launch of my memoir, Destined. In that audience were students, educators, and administrative staff. I shared some key themes from Destined, including the importance of learning, forgiveness, resilience, and community support.
I clearly communicated my points because I had previously written down my thoughts in Destined. So I knew what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it to reach that audience, especially the students and educators.
Communication is critical for connecting with other people and addressing problems – personal, academic, professional, and societal. Being able to communicate, whether in speech or writing, can help you solve problems across the board and potentially make a difference in your own and other people’s lives.
What is one topic you want to write about in order to advocate for yourself or for someone else? What form would your writing take and where would you seek to have it read?
Reflection Exercise of the Month
In the discussion above, each of the two reasons discussed about why writing is important was followed by questions. Get your notebook and pen and reflect on these questions in the month to come, as outlined below.
Week 1
Monday: Write a five-minute reflection on the first question you selected in section 1.
Week 2
Monday: Write a five-minute reflection on the second question you selected in section 1.
Week 3
Monday: Write a five-minute reflection on the question you selected in section 2.
Week 4
Monday: Building on your reflections, put together a plan for how you’ll incorporate writing as a practice in your life to clarify your thinking and the actions you need to take as well as your communication.
Tuesday: Start implementing your chosen strategies to embrace writing.
Closing Thoughts
That’s it for this article on why writing is important. When you reflect on this discussion, I hope you embrace writing as a practice that can change your life for the better.
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Do you want to know more about how I went from a high-school dropout to a master’s degree? Order your copy of my memoir, Destined: A Story of Resilience and Beating the Odds, on Amazon.
I would appreciate your review of Destined on Amazon!
Thank you for reading. Wishing you all the best.
Keep going!
Hi, I’m Aminata Sy. I’m the author of the memoir Destined: A Story of Resilience and Beating the Odds, in which I write about how I started out in America as a high-school dropout and non-English-speaking immigrant and yet went on to earn a high-school equivalency diploma and associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees and to land a dream career. All that time, I was a wife and mother too and had plenty of family responsibilities. Through my blog and newsletter, I offer tips to community college and first-generation Ivy League students on learning, writing, reading, and resilience. Subscribe to my newsletter here: aminatasy.com/join-newsletter.
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