How I Stopped My Search for the Perfect Writing App

My brain is good enough; all else is about my anxiety and perfectionism

tl;dr

Perfectionism is an addiction. Get over it by allowing yourself to be a meddling beginner.

I reveal the magic computer program that Chip Heath and I used to write Making Numbers Count.

Brené Brown, God bless her, enjoys shopping more than exercising

Brené Brown asking James Clear on her podcast: “I’ve got a question from a friend — what’s the diagnosis for someone who likes to get all the equipment and do all the planning, but never actually starts the habit?”

James Clear: I like to define this as “motion” vs “action.”

My 2¢: you’re likely to stumble (and find it difficult to turn a new activity into a habit) until you learn why you keep avoiding the actual thing, and why you don’t find it rewarding enough to do on its own. Here’s my similar story:

The perfect tool

Despite having written a few books, I still daydream about the perfect workflow. Surely, there’s got to be an all-purpose application that can effortlessly capture my thoughts, any PDFs I collect, website clips, articles, images, Kindle notes, and all of the Post-Its that magically cover my home. Like a Fairy Godparent of Productivity, all of my thoughts and resources would be gathered, organized, and curated in the same little…