I’ve written at least one post here every day since October 12, 2009. 2,323 days in a row. It’s been one of the more valuable and enriching things I’ve done, much more so than I ever thought it would. Here are five things I’ve learned from daily blogging that I hope inspire other people to give it a try.

1. Blogging made me pay closer attention.
Daily blogging makes me pay closer attention to everything I’m doing. When I read an article, attend a conference, finish a book, etc., I’m thinking, “Is there something here that might be blog-worthy?” When I hire a new employee, give a speech, or meet with my business partners, I think about what I’m learning—and noticing—during the experience in case there may be a blog post within it. Paying closer attention makes me more appreciative and attuned to what I’m doing. And it helps me get more out of those experiences.

2. Blogging taught me the power of a habit.
Once I decided I was going to blog every day, it quickly became a habit. Habits are powerful. A habit means that the decision of whether or not to do it has already been made. You don’t need to have the “Should I or shouldn’t I?” debate with yourself. That’s why nobody ever debates if they should brush their teeth or bathe or put clothes on. Those are habits, too. You know you’re going to do them, so you do. Blogging taught me that the more habitual a productive activity becomes, the less discipline you need to keep it up.

3. Blogging improved my writing.
This is a self-serving lesson to claim, but it’s actually an embarrassing one for me. Before blogging daily, I’d always considered myself a good writer. I was an English major in college and have written in pretty much every role and job I’ve ever had. But when I read old posts, old emails, old marketing copy, etc., I see how much I had to learn about writing tight and compelling messages. Doing something every day will inevitably make you better at it. It also makes you realize that there will always be room to improve (I’ve still got plenty of room!).

4. Blogging made me more resilient.
Once I day, I share something with the world that some people might not like. And nothing bad ever comes from that. Even the occasional critical email doesn’t sting like it would have before blogging. It takes some guts to put yourself out there every day, in whatever way you choose to do it. But the more often you take the risk, the less risky it feels.

5. Blogging built an audience.
Blog regularly for long enough and eventually people start showing up to hear what you have to say. That platform makes it easy to reach people who care most. Case in point: after one announcement here, over 300 people signed up to be kept informed of our plans to roll out college admissions training for high school counselors. I hate to think of how much advertising and interrupting and spamming it would have taken to reach that same number of people if they didn’t voluntarily show up as part of this blog’s audience. Daily blogging has made people more aware of Collegewise, it’s generated wider interest in our company and our approach, and most importantly, I think it’s made a difference for students and parents who embrace what I share here. I can’t imagine a platform that would have let me make the same impact, so cheaply and comparatively easily, as blogging has.

If you’d like to give regular blogging a try—and I recommend it!—here’s a past post with some advice about how to get started.