I don’t really like giving absolute rules, but I’m going to today! In 2015 and for most of 2016, my drafts folder was a giant mess of about 50 posts. Some were just headlines, others were half written, some just had one or two lines. By the end of 2016 I had reduced my drafts folder to less than 20, mostly through finally admitting I was never going to publish the post and clicking the “Move To Trash” link.
You Have To Finish Your Blog Posts
If I don’t finish a blog post soon (ish) after I start writing it, I know I never will. Part of it is my shiny object syndrome, another part is some hefty procrastination skills. But most of it is actually that when I get an idea for a blog post, I’m in a flow. I know what I want to write about. It comes out easily. If I leave it half-written and come back later, it always feels (and I’m pretty sure, reads) as much more stilted and robotic. I could even point you to posts I have published that fit this awkwardness, but I don’t want to!
Finishing your blog posts straight away avoids all the mess and procrastination I spoke about. But don’t think that finishing them means publishing them. You don’t have to publish a post just because you’ve finished a post. In fact, having a solid draft means that you can go back, add images, tweak words and generally polish the post up.
I know that it might just be my personality or working style that means that I have to finish blog posts – but I have a sneaking suspicion that many bloggers have a lot in their drafts folder that either needs to be used or discarded.
Ok, I want to know! How many posts are in your drafts folder right now? Do you find it easier to write a whole post in one go?
I have two posts in my draft folder right now. One I’m working on for next week, and one I’m thinking of moving it to the trash bin. I try to write the whole post in one go. #lifethisweek
Ha, this is so true! So many unfinished drafts – the core of a good idea, but the inspiration has gone so it’s impossible to go back and get into the flow. It does happen _occasionally_ but so rarely that this rule is probably worth enforcing anyway. Thanks đ