Here’s a question to consider: Why don’t people finish goals that are important to them?

There are probably many answers to that question, but one obvious reason is that they simply get tired and don’t see a lot of progress toward the goal.

Take writing a book, for example. If you’re a perfectionist, writing a book can take a long time because you’re trying to both write and edit as you go. It’s easy to get discouraged and just quit.

I know because it’s happened to me. Once I spent a couple of years working on a book, and in the process compiled literally 150 pages of notes… yet never finished the book.

It’s easy to do when you’re focused on trying to make it perfect.

Instead, we should take John Steinbeck’s advice about first drafts. He said, “Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on.”

My advice is to take Steinbeck at his word. Once you have outlined your book, try to get the first draft done as fast as possible. This will give you incredible momentum because it’s easier to work on a book that is complete.

You will have a sense of accomplishment and motivation because you have something whole you can work with. You can also see the big picture of the book.

Today’s Challenge: Whatever project you’re working on, try to get a first draft done as fast as possible. Don’t overthink it—just do it.

The post The Productive Writer: Get the First Draft Done Fast appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Do you struggle with being a perfectionist? If so, let’s talk about a strategy that can help you overcome it immediately.

But first, let’s deal with this question: what is perfectionism?

Perfectionism is the tendency to get paralyzed by the idea that your work is never good enough. Perfectionists imagine there is a standard out there and they can never reach it. They have convinced themselves that they will be an utter failure unless they reach that impossible standard. Therefore, they never take action and instead live in a perpetual state of frustration.

Now, for the strategy to help you overcome perfectionism.

If you think of yourself as a perfectionist, you are always shooting for “A-level” work. The problem is that your definition of an “A” is so far above everyone else’s that it’s unreachable.

They key is to have more realistic standards. You need to adjust your standard of perfectionism so that you are shooting for “B-level” work, maybe a “B+” at best. You may think of this as lowering your standards, but remember that your standards are so unrealistically elevated, that your B is everyone else’s A.

So make it your goal to do B-level writing. Most of us don’t have the capacity to be objective about our work anyway, so you must trust that your B is truly an A in everyone else’s eyes.

When you shoot for a B, you can get work done much more quickly, move on, and still be considered excellent in everyone else’s eyes. Plus, you can always improve your writing in the editing process.

Many a great writer has been sidelined because their standards were so high, they never finished that first draft. Don’t let that happen to you.

Question: How could adopting a strategy of doing “B-level” work help you get your first drafts done?

The post Bring Your “B” Game appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Today’s perspective is that almost everything is a draft. Here’s what I mean: one of the reasons we get creatively hung up is that we want everything we do to be perfect. We’re afraid of judgment, of what people will think.

So, we get stuck in this endless cycle of always starting things but never finishing and publishing them because of this idea that everything we create is the final version of that thing.

I believe the opposite: almost everything you create is just a draft, a work-in-progress, of a more final version later on.

Books are really the only thing that should exist in some type of “final” form because it’s impossible to go back and change print books. But even those are not necessarily “final” because you can always update the ebook and audiobook versions, or you can release a new edition of a book.

I consider almost everything I create to be a draft. Podcast episodes, newsletters, email, social media posts, teaching sessions in my Daily Writer Club… I work to make all of those as good as I can, but I will change and update that material for other formats. The book is the format that needs to have the highest level of editing and excellence.

So don’t get hung up on the things you’re creating. Just do your best, reach for excellence, then hit publish and move on.

Question: Do you get hung up on trying to be a perfectionist?

The post (Almost) Everything is a Draft appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Why don’t people finish goals that are important them?

There are probably many answers to that question, but an obvious reason is that they simply get tired and don’t see a lot of discernible progress toward the goal. Take writing a book, for example. If you tend to be a perfectionist, writing a book can take a very long time because you’re trying to both write and edit as you go. It’s easy to get discouraged and just quit.

I know because it’s happened to me. Once I spent a couple of years working on a book, compiled literally 150 pages of notes . . . yet never finished the book. It’s very easy to do when you’re trying to make it perfect.

Instead, we should take John Steinbeck’s advice about first drafts. He said, “Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on.”

Once you have outlined your book, try to get the first draft done as fast as possible. This will give you incredible momentum because it’s easier to work on a book that is complete. You will have a sense of accomplishment and motivation because you have something whole you can work with, and you can see the big picture of the book.

Daily Question: Thinking about your current book project, how fast could you get it done if you really pushed yourself?

The post This Will Give You Incredible Momentum appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

As I mentioned yesterday in my podcast intro, I’m forgoing the usual weekend introduction and just diving right in. This weekend, I’m doing a couple of shorter episodes that can help you with practical aspects of your writing.

On today’s post, I’d love to dive into the topic of perfectionism. This is an area where so many writers struggle. We have this ideal of what we should be writing, or the kind of success we should be having, and then we get stuck because it seems unattainable.

I used to struggle with this a lot more. Honestly, when I started doing a daily podcast, and when I started doing more client work, this tendency went away simply because I had to create on demand. There wasn’t really time to sit and analyze my writing to death. I had to get it in shape, then get it out the door and move on to the next thing.

I want to share the most helpful way that I started to beat perfectionism. I started making it my goal to produce B-level work in everything I did. I think it was the author Sean McCabe who I once heard say, “Your 90% is everyone else’s 100%.” There is a lot of wisdom in that approach because, if you’re a perfectionist, your standards are so high that almost no one can achieve them. So, if you just shoot for 90%, everyone else will perceive that as 100%.

This was immensely helpful to me, and I translated this concept into a grading metaphor since I was a teacher for a long time.

So how does this apply in real life? It just means that you get your work to the level that is a solid B+. What does that mean specifically? Well, it depends on your perception of what a B+ is, the type of work you’re doing, and so forth.

If you’re a heart surgeon, a B+ won’t cut it because you have to be perfect. But we’re talking about writing, not heart surgery. The way this applies to me is that when I create material for my podcast or a book, I get it to a level where I think, “Yeah, that’s pretty good and will help someone.”

I don’t spend excessive time wordsmithing things. I don’t obsess over every word. I make sure it’s clear and has some kind of practical application. And, of course, I make sure there are as few grammar and spelling errors as possible. And when it comes to client work or paid products like books, of course, I bring in editors and sometimes beta readers for more support.

Perfectionism is not about the reader you’re serving, it’s about you. If you’re obsessed with perfection to the point where you can’t create, that’s a very self-centered approach to your work. Start focusing on the reader and the people you are trying to help. Get your work to a B+ level and then ship it.

When you obsessively focus on trying to help people instead of obsessing over what people think of you, you will enjoy writing a lot more and be far more productive.

The post The Best Way to Stop Being a Perfectionist appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

A casual conversation with writers will reveal the same thing, at least if they are being honest. Even the writers who have finished at least one book have almost always started others they did not finish.

What is the root of this phenomenon? Why don’t people finish the books that are so obviously important to them?

It’s not because people are too busy or because they don’t want to finish the books. It mostly comes down to fear. Writers are afraid their books won’t be good enough.

But what does a “good book” look like, anyway? Who determines the rules about what makes a book good or bad?

The dirty little secret of writing and publishing is that it’s mostly arbitrary. Sure, a book needs to be organized in a coherent way, written well, and be edited. But beyond that, it’s mostly conjecture. The so-called critics and experts are just people with opinions—and even those opinions can change at a moment’s notice depending on cultural trends.

There’s nothing to fear here. So remember the mantra that business leader Sheryl Sandberg likes to repeat: “Done is better than perfect.”

The next time you feel afraid or want to avoid finishing your work, tell that voice inside your head to take a hike. It’s trying to sell you the lie of perfectionism. It’s also trying to keep you from finishing the book that can bring an amazing amount of joy to you and your readers.

The post There is Nothing to Fear Here appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.