I Suck at Editing

Every time my parents spoke to my teachers, teachers unequivocally told my parents that I rush through my work. I was always the first one to finish a test, to get the assignment out of the way and to move on. They were, and always have been, correct.

Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about editing - How we edit (or rather, how we don’t).

I want to do a better job of editing; I want to edit. Period.

With a semester left to go in college I’m at an interesting point. I have the luxury of reflecting back on 16-plus years of schooling, with the horizon almost at my fingertips. I can see how I’ve approached the work that I’ve had to do as I’ve grown up, brace myself, edit, prepare and change my approach and work ethic moving forward.

Middle school, high school and university have taught me to finish things and put them behind me. I did very little iteration, even when drafts were assigned. It was forced iteration which, to me, doesn’t mean much. For being as introspective as I am, very few times have I gone back to reflect on what I’ve done professionally.

When I talk about editing, I don’t necessarily mean just proofreading this post before it goes out. I can’t remember the last time I tore something out completely - something that I’d already finished - to start over and do a better job.

LIfe is iterative, good work is too. School presents one framework, but creative pursuits present another. 

What does this say about me? I think it says that I rush through life, I look over the hill to the next thing without considering what’s right in front of me or what’s presently going on. This hit me a few weeks ago at TechStars as I was thinking about what I want to do afterwards or my dream job that I hope to get in December after I graduate.

For so long I’ve looked, particularly at school, as a series of dates or deadlines. I used to say to myself (and I still do at times), “If I can get to Friday…,” assuming that life will magically improve when a big deadline has passed. For my educational lifetime I’ve looked forward to everything that is to come without appreciating what’s going on right now. 

I wonder what this says about society? I doubt I’m alone in my rushing and in my lack of editing. Is this a product of youth and immaturity or is it a reflection of the world and the pace we live in today? I’m not sure. Probably pieces of both and other things I’m not thinking of at the moment.

The first step to recovery is realizing that you have a problem. The first step to editing is realizing that you don’t; realizing that you should. So what’s the plan? I’ve started to approach work and creation as iterations. I’m not creating the product, I’m creating the first product. Or the second.  I’ve started to think about what I’m doing, stepping out of myself to see the bigger picture, realizing that sometimes you have to tear something out and start over, even if it means spending more time before moving on.

  1. zackshapiro posted this