Blogging Procrastination, Perfection, and Permission to be Human
blogging, psychology June 25th, 2008While blogging I often feel that I want a post to be just right. This has even led me to put off posting something for so long that the content is no longer relevant and I’m forced to abandon the post entirely. Time is precious and timing important so why do I waste so much time over thinking?
Deadlines
I got thinking about this again from a post by Tim Ferris on profitability. In his 11th tenet he discusses the importance of deadlines -
“11. Deadlines over Details - Test Reliability Before Capability:
Skills are overrated. Perfect products delivered past deadline kill companies faster than decent products delivered on-time. Test some one’s ability to deliver on a specific and tight deadline before hiring them based on a dazzling portfolio. Products can be fixed as long as you have cash-flow, and bugs are forgiven, but missing deadlines is often fatal. Calvin Coolidge once said that nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent; I would add that the second most common is smart people who think their IQ or resume justifies delivering late.”
His thinking about products informs my sentiment about deadlines in blogging. I also see a tie in to the Positive Psychology principle of the permission to be human.
Mistakes and Risk
Part of the reason many people are reluctant to hit the publish button is that we are afraid of making mistakes. But mistakes are part of learning! As J.K. Rowling said at my commencement earlier this month, if you aren’t making mistakes, you probably aren’t taking enough risks. Michele Martin, a nonprofit blogger I look up to, posted recently about her desire to take more risk in her professional life. Coincidentally she links to a different but also relevant post by Tim Ferris about big goals.
In any case I have realized that I want to be less of a perfectionist in my blogging and give myself permission to make mistakes. My goal has been to become consistent in my posting and I will never achieve that regularity if I rethink every step I take. Have you noticed yourself setting the bar at perfection or avoiding risk at the expense of growth? In what way? Any advice on how to avoid this trap?
photo by fdecomite
June 26th, 2008 at 5:24 am
Avi, I think that the desire to write the “perfect” blog post is very common among bloggers. There’s something about having your posts be so public that really makes you worry about making a “mistake.” But what I’ve found is that when I back off and focus on writing an “authentic” post–that is, one that says what I really mean to say, even if it isn’t perfect or complete–that’s when I do my best writing. Those are also the posts that get the most responses from people. They can relate to the tone of the post, recognizing that it’s “real.”
The other thing is that, at least for me, perfect posts have been about saying everything I could say about a topic. But when I do that, there’s nothing left for anyone else to add to the conversation. Letting go of perfection in blogging can be hard at first, but in reality actually makes you a better blogger I think.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Michele, I hadn’t thought of it in the light of trying to say everything, but that definitely does play a role for me. Thanks for sharing!
I think a lot of newbie bloggers, and writers in general for that matter, struggle that way with authenticity and finding their own voice. Anyone have tips with that?
June 26th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Avi -
Great post. I completely agree! I used to think my posts had to be authoritative - like a news article. Now I think of those posts as explorations - I put thoughts and ideas and fragments and hope that it sparks a conversation that our entire community can learn from.