Let’s talk about drafts

There are so many ways this could go! The NFL draft? Draft beer? Protecting your home from gaps in windows and doors?

All no.

I want to talk about the nearly endless supply of half-finished, partially written bits of inspiration that we let marinate for days, months and years, assuming they’re going to magically fit or finish themselves.

It’s time to tackle your blog post drafts, Instagram drafts and the half chapter of a book you were inspired to write 5 years ago.

First up, I’m guilty of this myself, probably more so if the stack of “novels” I wrote in high school that just went into a packing box (for posterity!) is anything to go by. I love creating and when I get irrevocably stuck in the process it’s always been easy to save, go find a distraction, and pretend I’ll come back to it someday.

Do you have unfinished drafts? 

Search your notes app, Instagram drafts, outlined blogs, sketches and the papers you shove into a drawer while “cleaning” your office.

Most of us have a lot of unfinished stuff, so why does it happen? In my experience there are a couple of reasons:

1. Inspiration dries up
2. We’re short on time
3. There’s something missing
4. We don’t know how to finish

So instead of digging in, we cop out.

Now you might think my advice is to get focused, stop procrastinating and hustle hard!

Nope!

If you read through your old drafts you’ll find they fall into a few categories. Here’s what they are and how to proceed:

This is brilliant – Finish and Publish

I truly hope you come across something fantastic that you can’t believe you wrote and never put out in the world. If it speaks to you, is current and relevant then finish it up and hit publish! It’s likely your tone and style have evolved a bit so don’t be afraid of a rewrite if necessary. Double check for outdated references, broken links and strong closes.

This is rubbish – Delete

Like my childhood stories, it’s also likely you’ve found some junk in between the gems. No need to get upset with your past self, just smile and delete. You’ll know when it’s bad, perhaps you wrote on a topic you’re not passionate about or know very little about, perhaps you were just ranting out of frustration and anger and not hitting publish is a big relief. Just don’t leave those drafts lying around, taking up space and energy.

This is outdated – Update and Publish OR Delete

I hate coming across my old posts that begin with “yesterday I saw x” or contain “I’m looking forward to y” because not only is the post incredibly dated, but also usually unnecessary. If you’re reading an older draft try to remove and update these references as to not confuse your readers or look like you pulled super old content and tried to pass it off as new. If you get into this process and find there’s very little else to the piece, it’s okay to delete it.

Older drafts that never get published have served their purpose, let them go.