I have a confession to make: This week I screwed up. I’m late with my blog post. The due date I set was Monday with a few days for reviewing and editing before posting early Thursday (today) morning. Well it’s now 11:58am on Thursday here in New York, and I’m still working on it.
I have a good reason. I’ve been fighting some kind of virus for the few days…a nagging headache…problems concentrating…couldn’t focus. I started on Saturday, tried again on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday…you get the idea.
So why, besides wanting some sympathy, am I telling you this? It’s to show that although I have made a commitment to publishing helpful and engaging blog posts on a regular schedule, sometimes life just gets in the way. And yes, a ton of planning (which I do) helps a lot, but real life doesn’t always stick to the calendar.
We are only human. When things in our businesses don’t work out the way we plan, we just have to pick ourselves up and keep going towards our goals. Guilt, remorse, self-flagellation? Forgetabouthem.
The blog post I was planning to publish today was going to be a list of the most brilliant content marketing blogs that I regularly read (and why I think you should read them, too). But when I sat down this morning to actually crank it out, it just didn’t feel right. I hadn’t given myself enough time to do it well and the topic at hand, how to emotionally deal with a missed deadline, seemed more relevant and just as important.
But here’s where it got interesting: While I was working on this blog it suddenly occurred to me that instead of just publishing a list of blogs so you can subscribe to the blogs I subscribe to, it may be a lot more helpful if I distill the best tips from them in a recap at the end of each month (with of course, a link to the entire blog post). I know you’re busy, and I’m thinking that it would be super helpful. I’m really excited about it. Look for the first installment next week.
And here are the takeaways from today’s post that I hope you’ll really take to heart:
1. You’re only human
2. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a deadline; keep going toward your goals
3. We all miss deadlines sometimes
4. Missing a deadline can be the catalyst for better creative thinking!
Got anything to add?
