Perfectionism in writing

Hi,
I’m a newly freelance writer and I have noticed that a lot of perfectionism is coming up for me – which is actively reducing my income and holding me back, because I’m spending too long on things, going over and over them. It means this career won’t be financially as lucrative for me if I continue like this.
Also when I haven’t been given a deadline, it’s even more rife.
I feel quite overwhelmed with a lot of the things I want to do for my career – and it includes building an instagram presence. I have put off sharing posts for weeks / months because of this mindset.
I think it’s time for some messy massive action. But I’m also scared of it being too massive… due to recent feeligns of burnout.
Someone recently said to me: ‘dont get it right, get it writ’ which I really like. But in reality it feels more complex…
Do you have any tips on channelling this new mindset in my work, and creating my own mini deadlines / forms of accountability along the way?
Thank you

 

 

Answer:

Of course it feels more complex. Your lower brain wants to conserve energy. It’s always going to give you all the reasons why you shouldn’t do something. Perfectionism is one of the ways. Being unsure of yourself is another. Deciding to take massive action and then getting caught on the word massive is another one. Just be onto your brain about this. Thank your brain for trying to protect you, and then gently take back your power.  If you had rock solid confidence that you could handle “getting it writ” and submitting, what would that be like?

I would also suggest that you question the part where your brain thinks that getting more done faster=more burnout.  How much energy are you spending worry about deadlines and if things are perfect? If you could let go of that even 5% what could you do with that energy? Who could you be?

Who do you want to be? As a human and as a freelance writer? What’s one step you can take to becoming that version of you?