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I have a new writing style: word golf.

Why? Skimmability—I respect your time.

(Also, it’s nice on small screens.)

I started enjoying this on Mastodon (say hi!), even though that’s technically character golf. But I find that fewer words skims better—less visual jumping.

Here’s an example.

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good-enough.

My rewrite?

Sometimes, imperfect is okay.

Nicer, huh?

Am I overthinking it? Always.

But does it add up? Probably.

And is it fun? Yah.

Don’t talk this way—but do perhaps write this way. Always optimize for your medium.

Yup, I’m always overoptimizing something. Perfectionist here.

But worse than overoptimizing? Being unsure what to optimize.

Hence why I’ve blogged so rarely. Should I optimize detail? Accuracy? Interestingness? Now, I’m prioritizing skimmability.

Yes, the order of your priorities matters, and no, I’m not sure here. But hell, editing time matters too.

Anyway, now that I know what to overoptimize, I’ll be blogging more. Stay tuned.

(This post: 167 words)