There are two phases to writing: the part where you're figuring out what you think, and the part where you commit to what you think.

For most of my writing life, I conflated these. I'd write until the thinking-out part felt done, then save it as a draft, then never go back. The piece never crossed from "I was working on this" to "I believe this enough to put my name on it".

Setting a finishing rule changed that. The rule is small: anything I start in the posts/ folder gets shipped or explicitly killed within four weeks. No drafts living indefinitely.

The first effect was that I started fewer things. Most of what I would have started, I now don't, because I know I'd have to either finish or kill it. This is healthy; I was starting too many things.

The second effect was that the things I do start, I take seriously from the first sentence. The "well, it's just a draft" excuse evaporated.

A draft you'll never finish is worse than a published piece you slightly regret. The unpublished one teaches you nothing; the regret teaches you what you'd do differently.

I still keep a separate folder for half-thoughts that aren't trying to become essays. That folder is unbounded. Different rules for different work. See Notes on writing in public for the related point about garage doors.

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