The 20 year history of this blog - or why it took me so long to create this blog

I haven't been writing my diary and this blog for long, but I'm already noticing big, positive changes in how I perceive my everyday life. I look at my surroundings with a kind of investigative curiosity. I follow topics more closely—often asking the question, "Can this be turned into an article?" Writing down my experiences and my feelings puts things in a new light, and when viewed from a little distance and from a new perspective, unexpected insights emerge.

Just like that, in a quiet moment, the following question popped into my head: "Why didn't you do this before?" The answer is complex. After sorting out my thoughts and putting them on paper, I noticed a pattern in which one or the other could identify. That was the impetus to write this article.

Procrastination: The eternal struggle with yourself

When it comes to creating content, I think of so many things I could do. It starts in the household with the laundry that can be washed or folded, continues with the kitchen, where the dishes are still waiting, or shouldn't the house be vacuumed again?

What has helped me a lot is finding the time of day when I can write best. To do this, I wrote articles at different times of the day and days of the week and noted how well it worked and how it made me feel.

The result is that I feel fresh, full of energy, and have the fewest distractions in the morning. The latter is the most important thing for me. That's why I decided to work on content topics for 30 minutes first thing in the day before I tackle anything else. The willpower and discipline are still there, and so I was able to stop procrastinating, at least for this purpose.

In this context, a reading recommendation: the seven pillars of self-discipline → my book review follows :)

Yak-Shaving Problem: From Significance to Insignificance

This is a term from the 1990s and was made famous by a blog by Seth Godin. I first read about it in the book Terraform Up and Running.

When faced with a problem, software developers, in particular, tend to be distracted from the actual core of the work by a series of supposedly important and impossible-to-postpone tasks.

It all starts with a small task, like posting a note on the blog. Only this time, there should be a picture. This image is intended to be used as a social media image. It would be good if there was always an image available as a fallback, for which there is a plug-in that can be installed quickly. When installing the new plug-in, the other plug-ins need to be updated so that the dependencies can be resolved, etc.

Perfectionism: The inner basta.. er critic

I used to see the phrase “I am my own worst critic” as a strength. It spurred me on to move forward, learn even more, and achieve even more. Seeing the downside of this approach is, in my opinion, the art. To recognize when the driving force becomes an inhibition. And this happens more often and faster than expected.

I would like everyone to experience at least once how an idea in an (agile) project gradually grows into something great with each iteration through (constructive) criticism. Because sharing an idea early on and working with criticism to learn and improve something is not compatible with the perfectionist approach. The feedback is valuable and opens up many possibilities that would otherwise have remained hidden.

Motion vs. Action: From Planning to Action

I love getting lost in the planning, the conception, and the “what ifs.” Writing lists and plans feel productive and good - I'm "in motion." This is not just really moving forward and creating something.

What's more important is doing something and getting it done. Instead of just planning and structuring the blog as a project, go live with the website and publish texts. This is what distinguishes “in motion” from “in action”.

Since I became aware of these two states and learned to differentiate between them, I can critically question myself when planning my day and doing an evening retrospective in my bullet journal as to whether I was just moving today or whether I accomplished something.

Distraction: The omnipresent enemy

My phone is my worst opponent when it comes to productivity. It's always there, disrupting my flow. So, I have to decide whether I want to be available or productive.

An important step for me was using “do not disturb mode” and “putting the phone far away.” For me, it is important to work in a distraction-free environment to stay focused.

Only with this step can I implement the various ideas that come into my head - parallel to my daily work.

Conclusion

There are many reasons why I haven't had a blog before. On the one hand, perfectionism got in my way, and I didn't dare to go public. On the other hand, I always planned the blog and supposedly started with it... I didn't understand that I was just "in motion" by doing some planing. The yak-shaving, procrastination, or distraction were further hurdles on my path that I was only able to solve because I became aware of them.

This is my recommendation to you: write down what is holding you back. Formulate the blockers as precisely as possible. Preferably on paper. And then always one step at a time. I managed to publish a blog after 20 years - how long will it take you?