Over the years, I’ve been working daily to unbind myself from perfectionism. It’s a tendency I know holds me back from doing more, and becoming better. This is one of the small tactics that helps.
Pen ink is (basically) permanent. Pencil isn’t.
With a pencil, you always have the option to erase. And that opens the door to second-guessing. To hovering. To overthinking. You start obsessing over corrections instead of focusing on the content.
What happens when you make a mistake with a pen? You strike it out. One line. That’s it. Acknowledge it. Accept it. Keep going.
The point of this exercise isn’t to write something perfect — it’s to practice not being perfect. It’s to fight perfectionism itself.
Focus on the content, not the correction.
And oddly, when you use a pen, your mistakes become useful. You see the evolution of your thinking. The word you didn’t know how to spell. The phrase you wanted to explore. The idea you tried and let go of.
When you zoom out, what you’ve created isn’t just a clean finished piece — it’s a map.
Of what you wanted to say.
What you tried.
Where you pivoted.
What you didn’t know.
What you learned.
What you overcame.
So yeah. Use a pen.
Make your mark. Move forward.
Focus on the content, not the correction.