31 Days of Freelancing: The Good Enough Moment

What I’m listening to: Get Outta My Head by Brett Dennen

Wow, this month is flying, isn’t it? It’s only because there’s a ton of shopping and baking and things work-related that it feels like 24 hours in one day just aren’t enough.

And yet there’s still time to do what we want to, isn’t there? If you’re able to surf Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or even Polyvore, you have time to implement today’s strategy.

So let’s get to it.

December 13: Finish That Thing You’ve Been Putting Off

I’m talking to you, writer. You’re great at planning, at mapping things out, at dreaming up the next big thing, or even starting down the road to …. what? Maybe it’s that website you’ve outlined, that book you’ve started on, those business cards/brochures/mailers that keep sliding lower on that list.

I know exactly why you don’t finish it, too. I’m the same way.

[bctt tweet=”Writers get stuck trying for perfect when good enough will do.” username=”LoriWidmer”]

It’s a tough thing to do — jump over your own roadblocks. That’s what your focus on perfection is, you know. If it’s not perfect (and it never is), you give yourself permission to stall it. You don’t have that marketing plan just right. Or you don’t have the website wording just so. Or you’re waiting for the right season or moment or haven’t had a chance to research the keywords….

Welcome to your worst enemy — you.

Didn’t know this was going to be a therapy session, did you? Well, if you want to move forward in your freelance writing career, you need to be thinking about why you’re standing in your own way. It’s your fear talking, but there are ways to tell that fear to take a walk. One way is to accept something as good enough.

It’s good enough:

• When your client is happy: I can tell you a few times I’ve thought ‘Lord, that’s crap’ and the client was thrilled. If they’re happy and they’re paying, that’s when you need to let go.
• When you’re online: My gawd, have you not caught on to the idea that online content can be revised? Sure, mistakes can still be found through things like the Wayback Machine, but who cares that much to look? If your content is electronic, exhale. You can always revise.
• When the deadline looms: Even magazine work can give us a bit of agita. We want it to be perfect! Of course. But please — don’t miss your deadlines over perfection. Reliability matters much more to your editor than perfection. Perfection can be edited in.
• When you’ve said what there is to say: Maybe you think you have to hit this magic word-count target or maybe you think something new will come along soon to negate what you’ve written. You can’t control the latter, and you shouldn’t strive for the former. Say what you need to say — pretend you’re writing just to yourself.
• When it solves the initial problem: Your book, poem, article, website all has to solve a problem. A book solves either a customer problem or your own (getting the story out). A poem solves your “telling it a certain way” problem. The article or website solves a problem, either for the customer (as in an article) or for you (as in finally getting that damned website up).
• When you realize revisions are a moving target: You may revise that website several times over the years (you should). You may think “I should have covered this!” for that article. But that just means you need to write another one, no? Stop chasing moving targets and launch your baby into the market.

Good enough lets you move on to other things. Better things.

Writers, what project is on your back burner?

What would it take for you to get that out the door? How can you schedule your day to include finishing it?