Just Put Stuff Out There

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Even if you have been posting on your own site for quite some time, blogging regularly can still be challenging. Ask almost anyone who blogs and they will probably tell you the same: They would very much like to hit that publish button more often, but, somehow, it just doesn’t happen. One reason for that can be that we feel like every post has to be perfect, so we start fiddling with our text longer and longer. Another reason could be that we don’t find the time to write more often between everything else that is going on in our lives. And then, there are all the things related to writing itself that can hold us back, like finding something to write about in the first place, structuring our writing, editing the posts, and so on. And, just like with other habits, once you let the series break and more and more time has passed since your last post, it is getting even harder to publish again.

Here is a thought. Maybe, we are overthinking it. Maybe, the one thing we should care most about is just putting stuff out there. At least, this is the primary reason we have a personal website, right? We have it to document and share random thoughts, things we learned, and nuggets we found. If we don’t put stuff out there, why have a website in the first place?

When I think of people who publish regularly, three come to mind immediately. For one, there is Seth Godin, of course, who has been publishing a blog post every single day since 1548 or so. Jeremy Keith is another avid writer and a busy bee when it comes to posting all kinds of thoughts and links on this website – which really feels like an extension of his mind. But the guy who is the primary reason I sat down to write the post you are reading is Chris Coyier. Chris, who recently sold his blog CSS-Tricks to Digital Ocean, is now posting a lot on his personal site again, and it’s so inspiring and refreshing to see how he approaches it. Some posts are longer while others are short. There are a lot of posts about the Web and web technology, of course, but there are also others about health, mandolins, writing, teaching, identifying plants, good typography, and collections of random thoughts. It really feels like a personal site that is there for a reason.

So how do they do it? Do they sit down at their desk – very consciously – and take the time to write? You better believe they do. Do they write without worrying too much about what others might think or how polished their posts are? For sure. But, more importantly, it looks like they are enjoying the process of creating and have found a way to make publishing easy for them. And those two things might really be the key to publishing more often:

  1. Enjoy the practice.

  2. Make it as convenient and comfortable as possible to publish.

Now, there’s only one thing left to do to just put stuff out there.

Don’t overthink it – hit publish.

~

41 Webmentions

  1. Photo of kev ????;⛓;????; kev ????;⛓;????;
    'writing more' has probably been my longest #1 resolution... and here we are again, with a streak broken for a while. Just Put Stuff Out There, by @m_ott matthiasott.com/notes/just-put…
  2. Photo of JayCruz JayCruz
    Just Put Stuff Out There, by @m_ott matthiasott.com/notes/just-put…
  4. Photo of Adactio Links Adactio Links
    Just Put Stuff Out There · Matthias Ott – User Experience Designer matthiasott.com/notes/just-put…
  5. Photo of Jeremy Keith Jeremy Keith
    Just Put Stuff Out There · Matthias Ott – User Experience Designer June 20th, 2022 I’m honoured to mentioned in the same paragraph as Seth Godin and Chris Coyier (and I too have really been enjoying Chris’s writing).
  6. Photo of Deborah Edwards-Oñoro Deborah Edwards-Oñoro
    Yep. That's what I've told friends and colleagues for years. Stop overthinking it. Enjoy sharing your words. Publish it on your site.
  7. Photo of Roy Tang Roy Tang
    Shared via web: Just Put Stuff Out There · Matthias Ott – User Experience Designer matthiasott.com/notes/just-put….
  8. Photo of Manuel Matuzović Manuel Matuzović
    Hmmm... “Maybe, we are overthinking it [blogging]. Maybe, the one thing we should care most about is just putting stuff out there. At least, this is the primary reason we have a personal website, right? We have it to document and share random thoughts, things we learned,...”
  9. Photo of Florian Geierstanger Florian Geierstanger
    „Write about the problem is more timeless than writing about the solution“ — @swyx in the @MuseAppHQ podcast.
  11. Photo of Daniel Mclaughlan Daniel Mclaughlan
    @matthiasott Thanks, another nice read😊 Every so often when I was blogging regularly, I would experience an identity crisis of what the blog should be about. I’d get so wrapped in knots deciding what to write about/or not that I’d lose momentum. Starting again is a fresh start for new interests but there are also interests I don’t want to leave behind. Chris Coyier’s site that you linked to is a great ...
  12. Photo of Ruben Borg Nielsen Ruben Borg Nielsen
    @matthiasott great input. I’m currently working on a post that is just exploding. Every time I have a point to make, there is so much background to explain first. So I could make it into multiple parts. So I should outline this 10 part series before starting writing 😵 Alternatively, I could write the first part explaining what I want to get into, get it out there, get feedback, and that’ll shape the ...

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