This week, I’m skipping out of the office early for a little extra holiday time. Please enjoy this post from way back in 2016. It’s all still true!

🎅🎅🎅

I don't know about you, but the holidays always turn my nostalgia meter up to 11. Come December, I am overwhelmed with memories of the cookies my family used to bake, the toys I longed for, the countless times I watched "Miracle on 34th Street.” The memories remind me of who I was back then. And, as I learned last week, who I still am.

During a recent visit to my parents' house, I came across a letter I sort of wrote to Santa when I was little. It kicks off with the toys I'd like to receive and then I make a couple of confessions/indications of personality traits I will never entirely outgrow, all contained in one sentence:

First, I was a child prodigy in perfectionism:

“I could not write this because I cannot write (cursive), I can only print and I make too many boo boos…

But also an early adopter of outsourcing:

...so Jan (my older sister) printed it real fast for me...

Sadly, time management has never been in my DNA.

...because I was in a big rush...

And finally, I get hangry.

"...to eat because I was hungry."

I share this with you as a reminder that sometimes, content creation kicks our butts, even those of us who grow up to write for a living.

Sometimes we have to concede that we might be programmed for perfectionism from birth, but it doesn't have to be a deal-breaker if we learn to recognize and work around it.

Sometimes we need to ask for help in sorting out our strategy, our message, our production, but be very, very careful about outsourcing your voice.

Sometimes we just need the pressure of a hard deadline to get our content done and there's no point in flogging ourselves for burning the midnight oil to meet it (again).

Finally, and maybe most importantly, we have to keep ourselves nourished mentally and physically; we need to read well and eat well to create well. At the very least, get yourself a good cup of coffee!

“Well Said Wednesday” is a blog by Barbara Govednik, Founder, Content Coach & Message Strategist of 4.23 Communication. It’s published every other Wednesday…ish.