Thursday, May 27th, 2010 - 9:09am
Turn Around the Guilt
Fail early, Fail often.
Well, Project 52 didn’t go quite as planned. Fail early? Yep. I managed to get two entries for Project 52 before I couldn’t do it any more.
Fail often? Yep. I managed to continue to fail to write for the next umpteen weeks. Until now.
That’s okay, though. It isn’t like I don’t have things to say (I say a lot of them on Twitter). I’ve been writing and producing other “stuff” – part of a book (InterACT with Web Standards: A Holistic Approach to Web Design), a number of new presentations, and a few new articles ready to go up at Simply Accessible once we get that new design finalized.
But for some reason, I’ve felt incredibly guilty about writing for me. How can I produce content for ME when I can’t produce the content for others? How can I, in good conscience, write on my blog when I’ve got other deadlines that I’m missing?!?
Switch it up
Maybe, I’m actually looking at it the wrong way. Maybe I shouldn’t feel guilty. Maybe I shouldn’t hold back writing for me. I remember hearing/reading this somewhere:
“If you don’t love yourself, how can you love someone else?”
Maybe the same applies to writing.
If you can’t write for yourself, how can you write for someone else?
feather
May 27, 2010
“If you can’t write for yourself, how can you write for someone else?” http://bit.ly/dn6r0a
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Stephane Deschamps
May 27, 2010
I’ve solved the problem already. When I want to throw content out in the world because it has to get out of me, then personal site it is. Sometimes you’re just too tired for the level of code or content that others should expect from you outside of your own personnally-owned realm.
I’m feeling less guilty. Which is not the same as not guilty at all, but heh. Only human.
Indeed. That might be a very easy way to handle it… somewhere to publish the unpolished, and the stuff that others don’t necessarily read so that if a deadline looms it doesn’t even cross my mind!
Jeff Chasin
May 27, 2010
Not sure if you’ve read this, and it’s a bit hoky in places, but http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421472/ might be helpful. Morning pages. Deals with this conflict in depth.
Interestingly, I own this book. I have yet to read it though, like so many of my other books. Perhaps this’ll inspire me to crack it open… Thanks!
sin3rss
May 27, 2010
Turn Around the Guilt: Fail early, Fail often.
Well, Project 52 didn’t go quite as planned. Fail early? Yep. I man… http://bit.ly/a1ZdsP
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Matt Robin
May 27, 2010
Derek, really, you’re going to start ‘loving yourself’ more? Don’t fall in to the ‘Web Designer’ cliché (that every non-web professional loves to hate, true or otherwise). Next you’ll be wearing only black t-shirts and stroking white kittens! Where will the madness end?! Haha! ;)
Keep at it – with all your new articles dude.
seanyo
May 28, 2010
@kwissent This might be useful: http://bit.ly/cIZQWO
This comment was originally posted on Twitter