Hey, everyone!
When was the last time you caught yourself overthinking?
For me, it happens pretty often, and unfortunately, it influences my creative process. Honestly, it almost overshadowed the fun I used to have when creating.
In this post, I'd like to take this topic and highlight a few learnings that helped me to look at it from a different angle.
What exactly does "overthinking" mean for me?
Like many of you, I'm a perfectionist. But I sometimes tend to drag it into extremes because I also focus too much on what other people may think. I want my work, the decision-making behind it, and all I create to be well-made and thought through.
There is this soft voice in my head. It always reminds me to think of all possibilities and scenarios that may happen when people see or use what I've created.
"Is this easy to understand? Easy to use?"
"Is there a way to make it better?"
"What if I tried to do this differently?"
"Would I be able to explain my decision behind [this]?"
"What if someone asks about [this] part?
The soft voice constantly makes me rethink ideas. That is good for the quality of work and making it better. But sometimes, it's too much.
Instead of going further with work, you switch between questions in your head. It almost feels like a loop that makes you stuck. It can even lead you to a place where you question your abilities.
Sounds familiar?
Fear of making a mistake or receiving bad feedback can cause unrealistic expectations. Pressure to deliver more or perform better quickly follows. Even when there is only a slight chance of improving something from the current state.
How and when does "overthinking" happen?
What I found interesting when experiencing overthinking were the triggers that caused it to happen in the first place.
For me, it's usually one or more of these conditions:
Too much time for a task/challenge
Too many possible ways to approach it
Too much freedom (ex. lack of brief)
Undefined goals
High expectations of myself
The previous version of this newsletter is an excellent example from practice.
In ~2018, I tried to launch a newsletter for the first time. But I failed because these five points aligned almost perfectly.
I was experimenting with Mailchimp. The unlimited features dragged me in, and I wanted to create something great. I spent hours perfecting spacing between blocks or choosing the best cover image. I'd brainstorm upcoming topics for days and wrote a dozen drafts but only published a few. I wanted everything to be perfect in every direction. But I got caught up in overthinking the form while the content was behind.
I felt so sorry for the people that subscribed to my "experiment" back then (luckily, not that many). I thought I had forever lost their trust. But, it motivated me to work even harder to one day earn it back.
How I (try to) keep it under control
When I was thinking about a "new" newsletter, I wanted to do it right. I wanted to use what I learned since then and do it better.
The biggest lesson is to limit space for overthinking by changing (or addressing) the conditions attached to it. As I learned over time, this doesn't remove it entirely because you can't control everything. But it can lower the odds of it happening.
Let's take this newsletter as an example:
I chose Substack because it limits me from making any visual changes to the layout, and it only allows me to write. (No design!)
I've made a master brief with high-level points to stick to a theme and keep consistency over time.
I've set up a solid main goal to connect with like-minded people over topics we share. Everything else is nice-to-have.
I've improved my writing to be straightforward, easier to read, and less descriptive. In other words, I am aiming for a shorter total read time per post (also a shorter prep time).
I've reached out to a few close friends for support and to help me review ideas and drafts before publishing.
Maybe you aren't planning on launching a newsletter. But a similar approach could help you review what you are doing. Especially if you are struggling and you feel trapped in second-guessing yourself.
Is there anything you can do to change your conditions? To re-focus, lower the effort, or be more efficient with your time and decision-making? Anything that would ease your mind at least a little?
What works for me is to get closer to making actionable steps towards a bigger goal (even the small ones). Those can lead you out of wherever you may be lost at the moment. And at the same time, it makes you feel good because of the progress you are making.
Have a great week, and talk soon!
A.
Links & inspiration
A collection of links to stuff I'm currently digging
🔤 Font - F37 Beckett - A quirky British classic font, lovingly transported to modern times. PS: I love the uppercase in this one!
💻 Web Design - Glide - Nicely updated landing page Glide allows you to create powerful apps and websites, without code.
👕 Mockups - Studio Innate - You’ll probably never look anywhere else for apparel mockups after seeing these.
🧩 Plugin - Downsize (Figma) - Compress and resize images without leaving Figma. Recently recommended by one of my colleagues.
🎦 Video - Making the Worlds 2021 Show Open - An inspiring look behind the scenes of the last year’s LoL Finals creative process (almost heartbreaking 💔).
After reading this, I can totally relate to you. Your article motivated me to reflect on a pattern that I had been repeating.
Thank you for sharing your strategy for solving this problem, Ales.
I am eagerly waiting for your upcoming newsletter.
🤝🏼 From India! 🇮🇳
Made better than perfect. Thank you for sharing these thoughts Ales, in my case the exposure of my proposals to the feedback of the stakeholders shaped me in this aspect and although I ask myself the same questions or try to know what to answer in most of them, at least today it does not overwhelm me to know that there are points to continue improving.
We are constant iteration of what we do. That perfection does not lead us to do nothing.
Hug from Argentina! 🇦🇷
@chirofernandez