Over the past few weeks, I’ve been watching the latest series of House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones.
This return has left me with the sudden urge to reread George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. That was, until I remembered that the story remains unfinished.
Martin has published five of the seven planned books, with The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring still unreleased.
Interestingly, on 16 June 2026, 5,453 days had passed since the last novel in the series, A Dance with Dragons, was published on 12 July 2011. This was the same length of time that had passed between the release of the first book, A Game of Thrones, and the most recent.
It is worth pointing out that writing The Winds of Winter must be a mammoth task. Martin has created a huge world containing hundreds of characters, multiple continents, and dozens of storylines.
While your next blog or social media post is unlikely to face quite the same challenges, even smaller writing projects can remain unfinished for weeks or months if you don’t feel as though they’re ready.
With this in mind, continue reading to learn why perfect is the enemy of good and how you can spend less time fretting over your content.
Worrying about your content could prevent it from reaching your ideal audience
If you’ve ever written social media posts, a team update, or a market review, you’ll likely know that doing so involves several significant decisions.
Indeed, you need to choose an appropriate angle, decide what to include, and ensure the finished piece perfectly reflects the tone of your firm.
Even after completing the first draft, there may still be editing, last-minute checks, and compliance approval required.
Understandably, you’ll want to get every detail right, as your content represents the business you’ve worked hard to build. Mistakes or an unsuitable tone could ultimately affect the way readers perceive you.
However, there is a considerable difference between making necessary improvements and continuing to edit because content doesn’t feel “perfect”.
For instance, you may delay posting a team update because you aren’t quite happy with the introduction. Even if you pass it through your team for advice, each person could suggest small changes that don’t add much to the overall punch of the piece.
Similarly, you might leave a social media post sitting in your drafts as you search for a “better” way to express your idea.
Chasing this ideal version of your content could mean you prevent a useful version from reaching your desired audience.
And the longer you leave a piece unfinished, the harder it can be to publish it. After spending weeks reviewing a blog, for example, you might feel it needs to go above and beyond to justify the time you’ve already spent on it.
Effective content should be accurate, relevant, and carefully written, but it doesn’t need to be the definitive answer to the subject it targets.
There are several practical ways to spend less time fretting over your content
Now, this isn’t to say you should start rushing through your content. However, it can be prudent to establish a process that upholds high standards and helps you identify when a piece is ready. Read on for three practical ways to stop agonising over your work.
- Decide what the content needs to achieve
Before you even start writing, it can be helpful to establish who the content is for and what you want them to learn or take from it.
For instance, a blog titled “3 important factors to consider before drawing from your retirement fund” doesn’t need to explain every single pension rule.
Instead, it should describe the factors clearly, explain why they may matter to the reader, and help them understand the value of professional advice before they make a decision.
A clear purpose can give you a point at which you should stop, as once a piece has answered the question mentioned in the title, adding more unnecessary information could dilute the message.
- Set a hard deadline and limit the number of reviews
It is much easier to postpone content when you don’t set a deadline, especially when client work and running your firm take priority.
A clear publication date that allows enough time for writing, editing, and reviews can help you make better decisions.
It might also be worth deciding who actually needs to review each piece. Too many opinions could create conflicting feedback and lead to unnecessary changes.
Assigning responsibility to one, maybe two, people for the final version could mean the content doesn’t become a clash between several styles of writing.
- Ask what each change realistically improves
If you are considering making further changes to a piece of writing, it can be helpful to think carefully about whether doing so would realistically make it more accurate or relevant to the reader.
Correcting a mistake or removing repetition will often add value, but changing one acceptable word for another might not.
There isn’t a specific point at which a piece becomes perfect, so if you’re repeatedly moving sentences around or changing words without improving the overall quality, it might be time to publish.
We can help you write timely and relevant content without procrastination
Writing an 800-word blog or a brief social media post is, of course, not exactly comparable to bringing together the characters and storylines in The Winds of Winter.
Yet, writing good content is still challenging. You need to understand your audience, find useful ideas, and explain complicated subjects clearly.
And when you’re advising your clients and running the firm, even the best of ideas could remain unfinished for far longer than you intended.
At the Yardstick Agency, we can take this work off your hands. We’ll work closely with you to develop a content plan that is tailored to your specific audience.
Our experienced team can help you publish this useful content consistently without letting every project become more complicated than it needs to be or drag on.
Please email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300 to find out more today.
