If you’ve ever wanted to start or maintain a blog but found yourself procrastinating, you’re not alone. The process of writing the actual content is just part of the battle—sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. It’s not always the ideas that are lacking, but the friction in the system that keeps you from diving in.

This concept applies not just to blogging, but to all areas of life. Let’s take guitar playing, for example. When your guitar is tucked away in a case inside a closet, it adds a layer of effort between you and your playing. However, if your guitar is hanging on the wall, ready to be grabbed, you're far more likely to pick it up and strum a few chords.

Understanding Friction: Blogging as a Case Study

Let’s compare two blogging systems: a typical static site generator, like Hugo, and a more user-friendly platform like Ghost. In Hugo, you might:

• Write your blog post in markdown
• Select a picture from somewhere an upload it
• Serve the site to see how it's shown
• Push your changes to GitHub
• Wait for the site to rebuild and redeploy through GitHub Pages or another service

This process involves several steps that can make blogging feel like a chore, even for tech-savvy developers. Each of these steps adds friction—small bits of effort that add up and create resistance.

On the other hand, with Ghost, the workflow is much smoother:

• Write your post directly in a WYSIWYG editor
• Upload a cover image from Unsplash (right from the interface)
• Hit publish, and you’re done!

Ghost strips away unnecessary steps, making the process much more enjoyable. It feels seamless because the system reduces the amount of decision-making and manual effort required.

James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits, talks about friction extensively. He writes:

“One of the most effective ways to change your habits is to reduce the friction associated with your good behaviors.”

By reducing friction, we make it easier to engage with tasks we want to do. And this doesn't just apply to blogging—it’s a principle you can apply to almost every part of life.

The Guitar on the Wall: The Power of Accessibility

The concept of reducing friction becomes even clearer in the world of music. Imagine you’ve just bought a new guitar, and you’re determined to practice every day. If the guitar is in its case, tucked away in a closet, every time you think about practicing, you have to:

• Open the closet
• Take out the guitar case
• Unzip it, tune the guitar, and finally start playing

That’s a lot of effort before you’ve even strummed a chord. On the other hand, if the guitar is on the wall, and easily accessible, you can just grab it and play. Suddenly, the barrier between you and your goal is dramatically reduced.

Clear explains this further in Atomic Habits:

“You are more likely to act when friction is low. Create an environment where doing the right thing is as easy as possible.”

It’s a simple truth that applies to blogging, practicing music, or learning any skill. The fewer barriers in your way, the easier it becomes to start and maintain the habit.

Practical Tips to Reduce Friction

1. Automate Wherever Possible

- Use tools like Zapier or n8n to automate repetitive parts of your workflow. For blogging, setting up automatic deployments or using a CMS with a built-in editor like Ghost can cut out a lot of the hassle.

2. Make the Tools Easily Accessible

- Whether it’s hanging your guitar on the wall or keeping your blog writing environment always ready to go, make sure that you can jump into your task without searching for tools or setting things up.

3. Simplify Your Workflow

- If a tool or process feels like it's bogging you down, look for alternatives. Switching to a simpler blog engine or finding a more streamlined development workflow can make a huge difference in your productivity.

4. Minimize Decision Fatigue

- Too many choices can create friction. Whether it's choosing the right image for your blog or deciding what to write about, limiting your options can help you move forward faster.

Conclusion: Less Friction, More Action

By reducing the friction in our workflows—whether it's for blogging, music, or any other endeavor—we make it easier to stay consistent and make progress. Tools that simplify the process, like Ghost for blogging or a guitar stand for easy access, allow us to focus on what really matters: creating, practicing, and growing.

As James Clear so aptly puts it:

“You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

By creating systems that reduce friction, we put ourselves in the best position to succeed. It’s not about willpower, but about setting yourself up to win with the least amount of resistance possible.

So, whether it’s hanging your guitar on the wall or switching to a smoother blogging platform, find the areas of friction in your life and remove them. You’ll be surprised at how much easier it becomes to create, learn, and thrive.