Perfection Is The Enemy Of Progress
Why writers should just pen and publish…
My Medium friends can read this over there as well.
The Article That Never Left My Hard Drive
I once printed out a blog post draft for a client and proofread it six times.
Talk about a waste of ink!
I read it aloud walking around the garden, then sat on the loo and went through it again — then sat on it overnight.
I edited it again at dawn with my morning coffee.
And still, I didn’t send it over.
I didn’t email it to my client until it felt “perfect.” Not until I’d polished every paragraph like an antique mirror.
And guess what?
The article I thought was perfect came back with multiple changes from the client.
“How could they!” I cried, “can they not appreciate how perfect it is?!”
Meanwhile, a quick piece I’d dashed off between meetings the week before?
My other client loved it and published straight away.
That’s when it hit me:
Polished doesn’t always mean powerful
I’ve done the same thing with my own writing projects — tinkering and tweaking until they die quietly in a Google Drive folder, never seeing the light of day.
And I see it in others too — especially new writers:
They might be smart and have big ambitions, but many are waiting on “perfect.”
Perfectionism Isn’t Precision — It’s Fear in Disguise
Perfectionism wears a clever disguise.
It tells you you’re being professional, focused and detail-oriented.
But it’s really just fear in a smart suit, or procrastination dressed up as productivity.
And the cost is staggering — because while you’re endlessly polishing, someone else is publishing.
They’re building an audience and growing an email list.
Creating a tiny compounding effect that adds up to income, influence, and freedom.
So what’s the real takeaway?
Progress beats perfection — every single time
You can’t edit what isn’t published, or grow an audience with a folder full of drafts.
You can’t learn what works if you’re never brave enough to put it out there.
3 Ways to Publish Without the Panic
Want to ship more and stress less?
Here’s what’s helped me:
Block out 30-minute writing slots with a timer
Draft, edit, and publish, with no distractions or exceptions. The deadline forces momentum.Create a ‘brain dump first draft’ habit
Write like no one’s watching and finesse it later (but don’t keep digging over it like I used to).Become a weekday writer
Commit to writing consistently every weekday. It’s repetition that builds skill, not waiting.
Need a Weekday Nudge to Help Beat Perfectionism?
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And how many times did you go through this one? 😁