Thank you for the reminder. "If you wait until all of the conditions are perfect before you do anything, you will never do anything." Especially in January where many of us are trying to make goals happen. But also, I remember in college I had an amazing college professor and her advice to me was your title". Write First, Then Edit". She trained us to make 5 drafts, yes 5 drafts of each of our papers. The first week was our "free write" No sentences, punctuations, etc. Second week and so forth and kept cleaning it up. I am by no means a great writer but that changed the way I thought about writing.
I listened to a Jordan Peterson podcast recently and he made a comment about how there is a production center and an editing center in the brain - you shouldn't try to edit while you produce or produce while you edit. This metaphor speaks to a common challenge I see in myself.
Especially when speaking, I catch myself trying to edit as the words come out - trying to find the perfect words and arrange them in the perfect way. This has the opposite effect and actually leads to a more fragmented way of speaking, and fluency is lost in the desire to optimize.
I just started the Coursera course entitled "Writing in the Sciences." It speaks to the power of the first few drafts - knowing they won't be perfect - then tip and tricks on how to communicate your message effectively and clearly.
Thank you for sharing this Kyle. I can certainly relate to what you experience when speaking.
Also that course sounds interesting ... It is such a skill now to be able to effectively communicate complex things (like modern technology!) in simple ways, especially when you work with a diverse group of people or if you communicate with the general public on a regular basis.
Thank you for the reminder. "If you wait until all of the conditions are perfect before you do anything, you will never do anything." Especially in January where many of us are trying to make goals happen. But also, I remember in college I had an amazing college professor and her advice to me was your title". Write First, Then Edit". She trained us to make 5 drafts, yes 5 drafts of each of our papers. The first week was our "free write" No sentences, punctuations, etc. Second week and so forth and kept cleaning it up. I am by no means a great writer but that changed the way I thought about writing.
Wow I love that! What a great teacher.
I listened to a Jordan Peterson podcast recently and he made a comment about how there is a production center and an editing center in the brain - you shouldn't try to edit while you produce or produce while you edit. This metaphor speaks to a common challenge I see in myself.
Especially when speaking, I catch myself trying to edit as the words come out - trying to find the perfect words and arrange them in the perfect way. This has the opposite effect and actually leads to a more fragmented way of speaking, and fluency is lost in the desire to optimize.
I just started the Coursera course entitled "Writing in the Sciences." It speaks to the power of the first few drafts - knowing they won't be perfect - then tip and tricks on how to communicate your message effectively and clearly.
Thank you for sharing this Kyle. I can certainly relate to what you experience when speaking.
Also that course sounds interesting ... It is such a skill now to be able to effectively communicate complex things (like modern technology!) in simple ways, especially when you work with a diverse group of people or if you communicate with the general public on a regular basis.