Still Not Published

There’s a file sitting in my drafts folder. Has been for weeks. Maybe months. Maybe it’s not even a draft anymore - just a ghost document labeled “next.”

I told myself I’d be punctual. That I’d build the habit. That this newsletter would run like clockwork. That writing for myself would be non-negotiable.

But here we are.

Work got busier, and then it got busier again. I started guarding my free time like a dragon with gold. I opened that document more times than I care to admit and stared at the screen. No idea seemed good enough. No start seemed sharp enough. So I did what we all do: I told myself I’d write it tomorrow.

Turns out this kind of delay isn’t just a habit, it’s an algorithm. There’s a theory called Temporal Motivation Theory that basically says our motivation is a math problem. When the task feels far away, and the payoff isn’t immediate or certain, the brain quietly files it under “later.” Unless there’s a looming deadline or instant reward, it rarely makes the cut.

Layer that with present bias, and you’ve got a perfect storm. We choose the now over the later, every single time. Rest feels better than risk. Consumption feels easier than creation.

And then there’s the emotional weight. Procrastination, they say, isn’t a time issue. It’s a mood issue. We put off the things that make us feel inadequate, or exposed, or simply not ready enough.

So no, I didn’t forget this newsletter. I avoided it. Because it meant facing the possibility that I had nothing new to say. Or worse, that I did, but I couldn’t say it well enough.

But avoidance is expensive. It costs you your rhythm. Your confidence. Your voice. And in marketing, that pause between intent and execution is often where momentum is lost and perception is shaped anyway.

So here I am. Saying something. Starting again. Even if it’s not perfect. Especially because it’s not perfect.

Another chronicle in the books, another lesson learned. Until the next one.

#marketingchronicles #theartof