Is Optimization Slowing You Down?
Are you a perfectionist?
If so, hello. Welcome to the support group. You are amongst friends.
As a freelancer or solo business owner,
There is a lot of pressure to “figure everything out on the first try.”
It’s a lot of responsibility to be in charge. But it can also give you a lot of freedom to explore.
Let’s get into it!
You are just one person. It’s OK if you don’t do everything perfectly.
I know for many people, this level of control and decision-making can be very stressful,
(And when we get stressed, our brains start to seek answers and advice).
It’s not uncommon to find yourself multi-tab doom searching Google pages, panic reading for answers:
WHAT IS THE BEST DAY TO POST ON LINKEDIN???
HOW MANY CHARACTERS SHOULD MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER SUBJECT LINE HAVE?????
AM I USING THE RIGHT SEO BLOG KEYWORDS????????
HOW MANY EMOJIS CAN YOU PUT IN A PROFESSIONAL WORK EMAIL???????????
(This one might just be me tbh, and for the record, I am still yet to hit the upper limit of what I find to be “too many”)
😈✨💕🤩🎉🤷♀️
It’s a normal human response to want to do everything “right” and “correct” whenever we feel a bit out of our depth,
But, this mentality can also be incredibly limiting
(Especially if analysis paralysis kicks in, and we overwhelm ourselves with optimization and end up just not starting at all).
If any of this is starting to sound familiar, I totally and completely feel you. And you can overcome it.
My journey to overcoming optimization sabotage
When I was first starting out as a writer, I felt a lot of pressure to “start on the right foot” if I wanted to start a new project, which often resulted in me just not starting at all.
I started a newsletter back in 2021 but got overwhelmed with not picking the right software, and bailed after five email sends.
I wanted to start a blog but got confused about how to perfectly optimize my meta titles and descriptions, so I ended up deciding I wasn’t ready to share my ideas.
I am interested in offering consulting services for healthcare providers looking to pivot into medical writing, but I keep letting imposter syndrome win, and I haven’t been brave enough to launch.
No one is immune to the feeling that they are not doing things right — but I have learned that when I am able to table those feelings of doubt, I am much more capable of creating content and creative ideas that I enjoy.
(This blog is the perfect example of that — I just decided to create it one day and didn’t stress about the send schedule or software, and, against all odds, here we are!)✨
It’s time to just go for it
We are constantly being reminded to optimize our blogs, improve our working process, and “cut the fat” wherever we can.
And while that may be valid and helpful advice,
I have found (for me, at least) that I need to remember that I am just one person out here doing my best and trying new things.
It is time to give yourself permission to mess around and find out what happens.
Something that is 80% of the way to excellence is a whole hell of a lot better than something that never started because you were worried about perfecting it — so do yourself a favor and loosen the reins and just give’r.
(Does that list show my Canadian roots or what, eh? 🤠🇨🇦)
So my question to you is this — what areas of your freelance business are you overcomplicated and over-optimizing? I’d love to hear about it in a reply.
Here’s to hoping this article is a kind reminder that it’s OK to try new things and not be perfect.
You got this!