Overcoming the Resistance

Bjork recorded this blog post as a podcast episode for the Food Blogger Pro podcast. Listen to the episode below or check it out on iTunes or Google Play Music:

I’m convinced that the #1 issue that people face with building a blog (or any creative endeavor, really) is The Resistance.

It’s not a lack of time, it’s not a lack of knowledge, and it’s not a lack of skill.

It’s The Resistance.

Food Blogger Pro Overcoming the Resistance

Here’s how Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art, describes it:

Resistance comes as a voice in our heads. The voice tells us not to work today and it gives us a reason. Our daughter’s dance recital starts at seven; this headache is killing us; the boss wants us to organize the Penske file.

Sound familiar? I know it does for me. I’m fighting that voice right now.

“You’re in Chicago, Bjork. You can write the post when you get back home…”

“It’s New Year’s Eve…”

“You’re heading out in an hour. It’s not worth it to start now. You’ll have a good chunk of time on the car ride home, you can do it then…”

“What will people think if they read that sentence and know that you were writing a blog post when you were in Chicago with friends on New Year’s Eve?”

“The Pinch of Yum email campaign is broken. That needs to get fixed. The post can wait…”

The Resistance is real and it’s powerful. I’ve fallen victim to it more times than I can count. But the good news is that it’s not all-powerful. You can overcome it.

More realistically, you need to overcome it. And not just once or twice, but each and every day.

Here are some things that can help you slay The Resistance and do The Work.

1. Build your castle

Blue banner that reads 'Build Your Castle'

The incredible thing about publishing content online is that it continues to live…forever.

That Food Blogger Pro post called 5 ways to make more money from your food blog? I just checked and someone is reading it at this very moment.

The Red Curry Lentils post that Lindsay published in 2012? 11,385 people visited that page in the last 30 days.

The video we made when living in the Philippines about making hummus? It’s been viewed over 17,000 times on YouTube.

When you’re building a blog or a website it’s like building a castle. A castle needs bricks. A blog needs content. In order to build a solid castle you need lots of sturdy bricks. In order to build a blog you need lots of sturdy content.

The wonderful thing about laying a brick for a castle is that once it’s put in place it will be there for a really long time. It’s part of the structure. Same with a blog post. It lives forever as part of the structure. The more quality bricks you lay the better your castle will be. The more quality blog posts you publish the stronger your blog will be.

No one cares about a castle on the first day it’s built. It’s not very exciting after a month either. After a year it might start to be interesting, but it definitely won’t be noteworthy. It’s not until you’ve been building your castle for years that people will start recognize it for what it is: a sturdy and awe-inspiring castle.

Bottom Line: The Resistance will tell you that your castle needs to be big and beautiful in the first week, month, or year. But you know better than to listen to The Resistance. You don’t focus on what it’s not, you focus on what you’re doing: Laying bricks that will someday (probably not someday soon, but someday) be a big and beautiful castle.

2. Shrink it down to the first step

Blue banner that reads 'Shrink it down to the first step'

A lot of work has gone into Food Blogger Pro. It’s a membership site with over 800 members, 300 videos, an active community forum, an affiliate program, and a blog (that you’re currently reading…thanks!).

When Lindsay and I were first thinking about starting Food Blogger Pro it was a bit overwhelming. So much so that I put it off for almost a year. It was just too much to think about (classic Resistance).

It wasn’t until I shrunk the project down to the first step that I overcame The Resistance and finally started to make progress.

In this case it meant searching “Membership Site” in iTunes and listening to all of the podcasts on membership sites that I could find.

This led me to an interview with Nate and Jon of Forty Seven Media, where they talked about building a membership site. This led me to sending them an email asking if they could connect to talk about our idea for Food Blogger Pro.

Nate and Jon,

Greetings! My name is Bjork Ostrom. I heard about 47m while listening to a recent podcast interview that you did. I checked out kicktastic.com and really love what you guys have done with it (I’m a member)!

I put together a quick video to formally introduce myself – https://www.dropbox.com/s/hx4urj20c4z1al6/hi-there.mov

Here’s the URL of my wife’s blog that I reference: https://pinchofyum.com/

I’d love to chat more!
Bjork

Food Blogger Pro wouldn’t be what it is today (or, maybe more accurately, wouldn’t exist today) if I hadn’t shrunk down the project into that first step of listening to podcast interviews.

The same can be said for this blog post. When I was thinking about it as “writing a blog post” I thought of a whole slew of excuses for why now wasn’t the best time to work on it. But when I thought about it as opening up a text document and writing the intro paragraph I realized I could do that. Now, an hour later, I’m 1,000 words in.

Bottom Line: The Project is almost always overwhelming. The Resistance uses this to keep us from starting. The first step isn’t as intimidating. Shrinking a project down to the first step helps you to start, which is one of the hardest things to do with projects.

3. Reward The Work

Blue banner that reads 'Reward the work'

My mom and dad have a system for making sure their dog Sophie goes in the kennel each night. They give her a quarter (yes, you read that right…a quarter) of a cracker. Want to know the funny thing? It works. Sophie loves going into her kennel because she knows that she’ll get that tasty morsel of saltine.

Want to know something else funny? I’m pretty similar to Sophie. I know that every time that I engage in The Work instead of The Resistance that I’ll reward myself with a quarter of a cracker.

Okay, that last part isn’t true.

Instead of a cracker it’s usually coffee. I know that if I train my brain that The Work = coffee then my chances of engaging in The Work will be higher.

Bottom Line: Find ways to build in small rewards for yourself when you engage in The Work instead of giving into The Resistance. Drink your favorite drink, listen of your favorite music, or wear your favorite sweater. The Work is hard, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. The more you enjoy doing The Work the less likely it is that you’ll listen to The Resistance.

4. Embrace brokenness

Blue banner that reads 'Embrace brokenness'

If I listed out the number of things that are broken in our business right now this would be a 10,000 word post. I’ve come to realize that things will always be broken. If things aren’t broken then we’re probably not moving quickly enough. The design will never be perfect, the email will never by entirely mobile-friendly, the analytics will never 100% accurate, and our posts will never be 100% error-free.

The problem isn’t that things are broken, the problem is that we prioritize fixing the small broken thing over creating the big important thing.

This is my biggest struggle.

I’m a fixer. I love troubleshooting, investigating, and repairing, which keeps me from doing truly important work.

Truth be told there are times when something is broken and important, but usually that isn’t the case. Usually we’re fixing things that don’t really matter, or fixing things in order to avoid The Work.

The Resistance convinces us that we need to adjust our logo location, change our blog’s font color, organize our email list, tune up our Google Analytics, organize the towels in the cupboard underneath the sink, or take our car to the car wash.

Those things aren’t inherently bad. They’re just bad when they’re done in place of doing creative important work (which is usually when we feel the call to do that type of “work”).

Bottom Line: It’s important to develop your ability to resist fine tuning and tinkering with things. There’s only so much time in a day, and if you spend it fixing things then you’ll never actually create things. Outsource the fixing as soon as you can. Hire a designer, developer, WordPress support person, or ad network management company as soon as possible so you can focus on what’s important: The Work.

5. Quit things

Blue banner that reads 'Quit things'

You are too committed.

It’s true for me and it’s true for you.

If you’re going to really “do this” blog thing then you need to quit some things that you’re currently involved in or committed to doing. Simply put: if you don’t scale back your commitments then you won’t have the time you need to work on your blog.

It’s going to be really hard (read: impossible) to maintain an outstanding blog if you’re trying to squeeze it into the margins of your day. You can maintain a crummy blog in the margins of the day, but it’s darn near impossible to maintain an outstanding blog in the margins of your day, and an outstanding blog is what you need if you really want to build your blog into “a thing.”

The Resistance tells us that we can (and should) be involved in lots of things. It tells us that we should say yes more than no and that being busy means that we’re maximizing our potential. It’s a lie.

The truth is that in order to do The Work we need to have space and time to truly engage in it. Day-after-day, week-after-week, year-after-year.

Bottom Line: There are things in your life that you need to quit. This will open up the time that you need to do The Work. The Resistance tells us to say yes to things so we avoid doing The Work, but our biggest impact comes by saying no to things in order to build in time and space to do The Work.

What about you?

What’s one thing from this list that you’d like to improve on?

Leave a comment below with your answer.

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112 Comments

  1. I think what I need to work on touches on all of your points Bjork. I have spent the last year going through Food Blogger Pro videos, reading every food photography resource, and taking all kinds of online workshops. I tell myself I still need to build background boards, write and shoot 20 plus solid posts and polish up my site with a designer. In reality, I just need to stop trying to make my site perfect and just put it out there! I need to stop worrying and get the important work done! Thank you for this post…it really helped to put things into perspective!!! Thank you for both Food Blogger Pro and Pinch of Yum…both have been a huge inspiration! Happy 2015!

  2. In my case, I need to not necessarily quit, but reduce the time I spend reading other blogs. Or perhaps make that a reward for doing some work. (Hey, I like that idea!) I love reading blogs, which is why I started my own, but it’s so easy to get sucked in and realize that an hour has gone by.

  3. Hi Bjork, this was just what I needed to hear today! I decided to get a web designer to design my blog and he is overdue finishing it. I’ve taken advantage of that and slipped back on developing the content ready for when it is due. I’m on it now though, going straight back to my content now to finally finish a post, ready and waiting for when the web designer gets back to me. Also it’s motivated me to contact him and ask for an update! Thanks again.

  4. An inspirational post Bjork, thanks! And certainly one that reminds me to stop endlessly tinkering with the colours / fonts / widths and margins on my site and just simply concentrate on what matters. The CONTENT. Thank you. 🙂

  5. Brilliant post Book and happy new year by the way. I would say The Resistance uses comparisonitus on me all the time. Constantly reading other blogs and seeing them as so much better. This then leads on to constant tweaking, changing and an endless perfectionism that squashes real creativity and is the theif of time.
    Hope 2015 is good for both of you and thanks for your great blog and course.
    Karon

  6. If I could get you to read this on a podcast, I would listen to it each morning before I sit down to the computer. I find myself wasting so much time tinkering with plugins, social media, and looking at other people’s sites, that I forget how much I should be spending on good content…and then there’s the excuses… Seriously, Bjork, I need you in my head.

    1. You’ve made a really good point that I can connect with as well, Erin. I spend so much time looking at other’s content that I have none of my own. Possibly a moment when I need to take inventory of whose content is helpful (Bjork’s is for sure) and whose is just an enjoyable time-waster.

  7. Thanks Bjork, I got over the resistance to make this post 🙂 Great perspective and another way to make sure we are doing High Value Activities rather than Low Value Activities.

  8. Thank you for sharing. I struggle with this every day. I want my blog to feel like it’s “arrived” right now. But I know it probably won’t for years, especially with such a specific subject. With the prospect of years of work ahead of me (even work that I love), it can feel overwhelming, and The Resistance settles in… It’s good to be reminded that A) I’m not alone in this and B) taking small steps will help me get there eventually. Thank you!

  9. What a great read Bjork, I have to say that I have been putting off making a media kit, I think I have convinced myself that it is something that will take so much time and it is sooo complicated and yes I have the resistance in my head saying just pin one more pin or go check out facebook, so yes I will quit things and get started. And thanks again to you and Lindsay for all your help via videos, advice and photography.

  10. Hi Bjork! On point once again. Like most of us creative types I have struggled with the voice of The Resistance forever. The post really helped to remind me to cut the excuses and get to work. I have avoided tinkering with the blog so far. But its always tempting. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Say hi to Lindsay.

  11. Bjork, every point you make is valuable to blogging and really, any endeavor! On the topic of blogging though, I have resisted The Work so effectively that I took a completely unrelated job to avoid it! As you said, what we build (post, blog) will last forever. Is there a phobia against this? I think I have it… Geez! I am even tinkering with this note! Guess it’s a start.

  12. “The problem isn’t that things are broken, the problem is that we prioritize fixing the small broken thing over creating the big important thing.”

    Whoa! This was like an electronic punch in the nose! Also, the timing was a bit scary. 🙂

    I’ve read this twice and my wheels are turning, this is so, “me”. I’m a perfectionist by nature, it’s just my DNA, which means, I fail everyday. This post summed it up very succinctly. Do you secretly follow me around all day?

    1. Wow Jack, you just gave me some insight into my husband’s mind that I never thought of “which means, I fail everyday”. I usually get annoyed at his constant “fine-tuning” suggestions and looking for what needs improving in just about everything (he’s an engineer). Now, I feel sorry for him. Thanks for that wake-up call for me.

      1. My partner and I are the opposite – he is the one who is happy with ‘good enough’, while I am the perfectionist who sees every teeny tiny flaw!

  13. Thank you for writing this. I’m trying to learn how to “embrace brokenness”. It’s oddly comforting to see that others are facing and fighting the same struggles each day (and winning!).

  14. This is so perfect to read on my first day back at the computer after a lovely holiday. Thank you for sharing. I really needed to read this. Major resistance atm…

  15. This post is the best thing I’ve read today and in this new year! The War of Art really hit me when I finished it in September last year, but once in a while, I let resistance get ahead of me. Thanks for the very timely reminder to keep building the castle one brick at a time. I’ve been working on my blog Dish by Dish for the past 2 1/2 years, and I’ve realized that sturdy posts that have good content and above average photos keep bringing in the audience even if they’ve been published more than a year ago!

    Thanks for your inspiration Bjork! May 2015 be the best year for you and Lindsay and POY!

    Felicia

  16. Great Post and very apt. Very me ..some of it….my resistance is grammar I continually grammar check and stat check…try as I may …I may last a couple of hours and just have to peek…But thank you I now realise we all have our personal little quirks and foibles and that’s a relief…

  17. So . . . what did I do almost all day yesterday? Watched about a kazillion FoodBloogerPro videos instead of creating new content. Don’t get me wrong, they were all extremely helpful, but I get your point. Stay focused. One thing at a time. Quit being a details person. Get to the real work. Thanks for these regular “reminder” emails. They’re really helpful.

  18. I love your analogy about the castle! I have over 500 bricks so far and my castle is getting stronger and bigger with every post. I have been recently fighting the resistance. I started feeling like my work wasn’t going anywhere and so I stepped away for a while. I’m climbing back into the saddle and your post reminds me that it takes time to build a blog and a career in this burgeoning field. As always your post was very informative. Thank you!

  19. ‘Shrink it down to the first step’ and ’embrace the brokeness’ really hit home with me.
    I’m terrible at getting distracted instead of just getting on with it. Most of the time I find
    that as soon as I get started, I really enjoy it!
    I don’t think I can ever completely embrace the brokenness though. I just thought to myself ‘Ignore that the Pin-it button isn’t doing exactly what you want it to do – people can pin so
    forget it for now’. Then I instantly thought ‘but I cannnnn’t!!’.
    Maybe I’ll go with ‘schedule the fixing of the brokenness and don’t think about it
    till then’ 🙂

  20. If there is one thing I can identify with, it’s building your castle. Rome didn’t happen overnight but darnit if you didn’t wish for a bigger better more popular Rome while laying down the bricks.

    But once I grasped the concept that it’s gonna be a journey and I may as well enjoy myself along the way, I started stressing less and enjoying my work more. And ironically enough, big things started happening the less I stressed.

  21. Loved the article. I need to embrace brokenness. While on our site I will see fonts I don’t like or things that aren’t centered perfectly and I’ll drop everything to “fix” them. When honestly, i’m probably the only one that notices any of these things lol. It definitely brings my attention away from bigger projects and better things I could be working on that will bring real value. Thanks for the great read and that boost of motivation I needed.

  22. This truly hits home for me. I was experiencing the resistance just before I read this post and now I have some tips to overcome it. Thanks bunches!

  23. Hi Bjork! I just wanted to let you know that this post is downright brilliant.

    The Resistance has been an ongoing enemy of mine (that I’ve had a hard time combating) because I, too, am a fixer. If one little thing is wrong or messed up, I drop everything I’m doing in order to fix it.

    So, here’s a big thank you for helping to get me, and so many others, back on track. (P.S. Where can I find some “Bjork Podcasts?” I NEED this kind of inspiration ALL DAY LONG!)

  24. Thank you so much for this!!! I am currently developing my home decor blog, and have been in major resistance. It took me 3 years to finally decide to take the plunge, and it has taken me 2 months to make my castle perfect before I have even done a single post. You have really inspired me to overcome the resistance. Thank you!!!

  25. This is such a great post! With our remodel and the holidays it was really hard for me to focus.
    Confession: I have started buying myself an Americano and locking myself in a parked RV (no WiFi!) To force myself to write. It works!

  26. This post is so, so timely! Especially #5 on this list! While I don’t have a strictly food blog (mine is a mix of personal finance and lifestyle content), I still follow FBP for the amazing tips!

    I’ve been up against The Resistance and been avoiding The Work for a bit too long, and finally came to terms that I can’t do everything. I really want to build a financial planning practice and need to let go of my struggling Etsy shop. I read this post after buckling down and drafting my most recent post on a Saturday night (just published now): http://fiscallychic.com/201…

    I feel so relieved to let something go and make room for better things 🙂
    I’ve also realized I have some pretty good bricks in my castle and need to keep adding those sorts of brick.

  27. Exactly what I needed to read at this time. The last 2-3 months I’ve neglected working on my site because “I don’t have time.” Classic resistance excuse. Thanks Bjork!

  28. This was a definite wake-up call. I am going to start focusing more on my content–bricks. It seems like there can be so much to do but without the writing, there is no castle. Thank you for the email. It came at a perfect time for me.

  29. Oh my goodness, this post came at such a great time, Bjork! Numbers 1, 2, and 4 really hit home with me. I’m working really hard on remembering that building up a thriving and successful blog takes time, commitment, and content. I’m finally getting to the point where I’m injecting more patience into my blogging mindset, and it’s really done wonders for both my outlook and my confidence! Thank you so much for putting out such a thoughtful post. It’s definitely one I’ll come back to when I need a little nudge! 😉

  30. This post is absolutely amazing! I was just talking to a friend an hour ago about how I’ve been struggling to write blog posts for the past 2 weeks. Now I know it’s the resistance. Right before I read your post I was coming up with a thousand reasons not to write a blog post today, but now I’m on it and I’m going to fight the resistance! Number 2 is definitely the biggest problem for me. I often get overwhelmed and decide to clean or do something else instead. Now I’ll just have to bookmark this page and read your post anytime I’m feeling the resistance. Thank you Bjork!

  31. My classic resistance is ” well no one is going to read it (the blog) anyway, why bother? ” Thank you for reminding me that it is a marathon not a sprint.

  32. I’m not sure if you did this on purpose, but your misspelling in your top feature image just drives point #4 home. This post was so engaging and perfectly timed for all the projects we have on our plate.

  33. This is the most perfectly timed post ever! I have been struggling for the last several months with The Resistance! I want everything to be perfect from the start and it is so overwhelming! I totally agree with Erin that this should be a podcast for everyone to listen to every morning. Thank you so much for overcoming the resistance and posting this!

  34. Loved this! I always love when you break it down into actual manageable steps and actionable items! And those red curry lentils from Lindsays site…I’m making those tonight for dinner 🙂

  35. This was so encouraging to read! Since having my second baby and trying to adjust, I’ve been listening to the Resistance a lot and wondering how I can get back into my blog again. But instead of wondering, I just need to take that first step and do it! Thanks for lifting my creative spirit Bjork!

  36. I read this nodding my head up and down vigorously. You know, like in emphatic agreement. You know how to get to the heart of things, Bjork. That’s why you’re super cool. *high five*

    I just ended a three month hiatus from the blog, and man, did I ever encounter The Resistance. Case in point – I had almost two weeks off from work and did the photography for my first post of the year over a week ago. I finished the post at midnight last night. My husband caught me looking at food photography videos on Saturday, and kindly said, “why are you looking at that now? When are you going to finish your post?” I hate it when he’s right. But he was trying to support me, and I’m so thankful. Pushing past our own insecurities and dumb reasons not to do things is more work than the actual work! Well, I quit. 🙂

  37. Thank you for posting this and reassuring me that I’m not the only one who deals with “The Resistance.” I need to shrink down my ideas to achievable steps. I am guilty of finding everything else to do except focus on The Work because it feels daunting to me. Thanks for reminding me that breaking it down will help me build it up.

  38. I needed to read this today! Thanks! I thought #4 was going to be the thing I need to work on the most… until I read #5. Being a mom of twin 4-yr olds, a freelance writer, a business owner, and blogger, prioritization is key, and there are definitely things I need to “quit” to be successful in each area of my life.

  39. Amen! And to your question, All of the above! 🙂 This is a great reminder of what’s important and much needed! I don’t know WHO my “resistance” is but “they” are a very powerful influence over my day to day–must be the committee living rent free in my head, dictating that the minuscule is more important than the macro. Thanks for writing such a relevant piece–It’s not often I completely relate to a post like this.

  40. Man Bjork – did you ever say it when you said, “Embrace Brokenness”. That really is the key for me – my greatest challenge. I like for things to work exactly as they should all the time. In most other areas of my life – I fix things myself, know who to hire to fix it or decide to just live with it. In the case of my foodblog – I am so new to doing the website thing that I might not even know something IS broken. I certainly don’t have the knowledge to fix it myself and don’t know where to get the help to fix it either! That makes me CRAZY! I have learned one ESSENTIAL lesson that is now in my toolbox concerning website brokenness. STAY COOL. Don’t get mad – don’t lose my temper – don’t feel frustrated – don’t feel defeated. Just keep working on it. If I didn’t figure it out today – there is always tomorrow. It is a learning curve. Keep learning. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate having a tool like FoodBloggerPro. Thank you Thank you Thank you. I could NEVER have done this without you. Ever. I am forever in your debt. 🙂

  41. Wow. I needed this today. Thank you Bjork. Fixing the the little thing instead on building the big thing… Yep, I needed this today.

  42. A good reminder, it’s hard to keep on track, especially when growth is slow, I really have to push myself to blog. I have celebrated my first year published, it’s been a hell a lot of work, I’ve enjoyed it, but resistance is strong.

  43. Haha, “the margins of the day.” I like that expression and I agree that to build a quality blog you need to give it some quality time. Great blog post, as always!

  44. What a fantastic post — and not just for bloggers. The resistance factor is huge in any business — and pops up in my art all the time. Thanks for framing this so cleanly.

  45. “The Resistance will tell you that your castle needs to be big and beautiful in the first week, month, or year.” This line really highlighted my biggest struggle. I don’t think of myself as a perfectionist but I obviously am if I can’t start something without already feeling like it needs to be perfect. It’s actually very helpful to know that even successful blogs have ongoing issues and problems as it reminds me that wonderful things are not necessarily perfect.

  46. WOW!!! I’ve been following you for some time, but this one hit me on all levels. I have been “researching” for a few years so I could have all the answers before I start my food blog…when I have enough time to devote to making it perfect! I just need to start with the first brick…THANK YOU

  47. Great article Bjork…so timely and important to exactly where we feel we are in our YouTube business. All of your points…especially the one about outsourcing is so important! It’s so hard to let go of anything when it’s been your “baby”.

  48. Great post once again! Thank you Bjork! My weak spot ist definetely number 4. Trying to fix things while thinking how to create the greatest castle ever. Not a good combination! 😉

  49. Yay! I’m not alone! #4 … most definitely. I can tweak until the cows come home, and they never will since I don’t have any. I read, I tweak, I research, I study, I redesign, I totally get lost in what everyone else has (themes, plugins, etc.), rinse, repeat.
    And next thing I know, hubby wants to know what’s for dinner and nothing’s been done.
    Thank you SO MUCH FOR SHARING this.
    Now I better get to work!

  50. Thanks Bjork. I too fight The Resistance everyday, and multiple times a day! I find myself with so many ideas for my blog that once I get home I’m overwhelmed and spend time on other things and viewing others’ content. I end up wasting what time I could have used for my own benefit. I agree that a podcast would be very beneficial.

  51. Oh my gosh…#4!!! Tinkering with ALL the broken things is killing me right now. It can be all consuming! And YES, it puts up this resistance to creating new content.

  52. Bjork: Best. Post. Ever. This perfectly describes my past year of putting together my blog. Truth be told 80% of the things I need to do all take 10 minutes or less and for what ever reason the Resistance has taken over my life.

    You have inspired me to keep a running list of “to-do” tasks so I can knock them out throughout the day. Generally I can do one before I leave for work, one over my lunch hour, one when I need to take a break from “the man” and last night I even did one while the kids were in the bath.

    This weeks productivity is up 845%. Ok I made that up but I feel like I’ve gotten more done this past week than in the past 6 months.

    To hell with the Resistance.

    Thanks for the awesome post.

  53. I so needed this article at this exact moment. I have had resistance with my blog because of distress when my original blog was hacked and crashed. Now I am back in the game and I and so glad that I have been keeping my eye on my favorite bloggers from St. Paul Minnesota.
    Thanks so much Rochelle Marie from Duluth Minnesota

  54. Thank you, Bjork, it is so true and so inspiring! Thanks to you I am going on with my blog in spite of anything, creating those bricks even when I know there are still so many things far from perfect on my blog and in my life:).

  55. I’m just now reading this post but so, so glad that I did. You are a great motivator! I am struggling so much with time management right now. Greatly encouraged:)

  56. I struggle with resistance and found this article to be very helpful. I just need to constantly remind myself that I must push through!!

  57. Setting up my food blog wasn’t difficult at all. Although, it’s my hobby to cook and to learn about continental food, but I guess I am still missing the feedback or I am at
    error at one or other point, and I really can’t dig up more deep to find out
    the trouble.

  58. OMG! Such a timely post. I’m a master tinkerer, thinking my site design is NEVER just quite right..
    Also, I spend far too much time learning, and far too little time doing. AKA I never know quite enough to go do it. I just need to know one more thing.
    Yeah, perfectionist inertia.
    Love it.

  59. Thank you for this post! I joined FBP two months ago and purchased my domain for my blog. Since then… I’ve really done nothing because, well I’m stuck and afraid that what I write doesn’t matter, I’ve created the resistance for myself instead of just blogging. I feel like I lost the huge adrenaline rush I had when I purchased my domain and have been trying to get it back… I just need to DO IT! Sit down, watch some more tutorial videos because whoa WordPress.., and start typing! 🙂

  60. Great post! I need to read “The War of Art” again. It was a Christmas gift in 2013 from a great friend of mine. I read it in the mind frame of my former business as a portrait photographer. I now need to read it as a blogger. Thanks for this great post! There is a lot of great information on there!

  61. I read these all the time, but never take the time to comment. This is SO SO helpful. I love you guys and I WANT TO BE YOU! er, be ME. haha

  62. Amazing post – couldn’t have come at a better time. I resisted the work all damn day today! I’ll make sure to keep this blog post near & dear as a reminder of what’s important versus what is simply a waste of time. Thank you for screwing the resistance and writing this for us!

  63. This is exactly what I needed to hear after coming from FBF Orlando! I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the information I gained and all the new goals and tasks I had assigned myself. The excuses have been rolling in the past few days and I’ve been letting them get to me. This post couldn’t have been more perfectly timed! I’m ready to get to work now! P.S. It was such a pleasure meeting you and Lindsay at FBF!

  64. Bjork! It’s like you’re in my head or something! Thank you for the firm, yet eloquent, reminder as to how to tell The Resistance to shove it and start making out passionately with The Work. Cheers!

  65. Wonderful post Bjork, it was just what I needed! My biggest fault to work on is #2, I look at the big picture too often and get overwhelmed, then I nitpick at what I’ve already done. Thank you for the inspiration 🙂

  66. This came at such a perfect time. I’ve been avoiding writing, even though I’ve spent the last two months extricating myself from over-commitments. The Resistance is so dang powerful sometimes! Thanks for sharing this. I will use it to buoy up my spirits and continue ever onward!

  67. This is my favorite post you’ve written, Bjork! I love Steven Pressfield’s Turning Pro. It inspires me whenever I need it. Haven’t read The War of Art yet! I’ve been thinking about the idea of Resistance a lot lately. Your tips are so actionable. I am always reminding myself not to get caught up in the little fixes and focus on creating the big stuff instead.

  68. Thanks for the inspiration. I hate the resistance and fall into its trap all the time. It is so hard to come home from work and then do work until bed. yeesh

  69. This line got me: It’s going to be really hard (read: impossible) to maintain an outstanding blog if you’re trying to squeeze it into the margins of your day. You can maintain a crummy blog in the margins of the day, but it’s darn near impossible to maintain an outstanding blog in the margins of your day, and an outstanding blog is what you need if you really want to build your blog into “a thing.”
    One needs to make time for the blog, rather than fitting it in bits and pieces, ‘between things’. I need to declutter my time and rework my priorities today!

  70. Far from an inspiring, articulate comment… I just want to say that ‘this is bloody brilliant’. It’s like you’re talking to my inner voice! Thanks Bjork.

  71. Thank you so much for this message.! I posted my first blog post a few months ago. I read, make, ask the experts and seek out. My blog is a food beauty/kitchen to cosmetics blog called a billion little light bulbs. (I am currently working on beer and beer as shampoo and beer food pairings and am interviewing the experts and touring brewery– you get the idea) I am using the WordPress.com free template. I had someone come help me understand the what’s what to start. Being responsible for backing up and hosting myself seemed too much for me so the free template seemed a good place to start. The need to have a castle built in a day is ever present. I am learning to say no more so I can do the work. It is still overwhelming at times and procrastination and resistance often seem to win so your words on managing this and provided resources/reading materials are most helpful. Again, thank you. I always look forward to your messages in my inbox. Much continued success to you! -Tatum

  72. I love this – building a castle. What a great – and realistic – way to envision what your blog will be if you keep at it. My little old blog could one day be my own castle (or maybe a palace…;-), but it won’t if I don’t build a good foundation. Thanks so much.

  73. Great article Bjork, I really enjoy and value everything you write. The area I need to improve on is to stop focusing on the unimportant things. I know you said to comment on 1 thing from the list but to get motivated especially if I’m cooking 3 recipes in a day and doing the photos is to put on some good music or listen to your podcasts. Thank you.

  74. Guilty as charged on all accounts listed. This post pulls together all of those glimmers of insight into why I’m moving backwards, not forwards on my blog (among other things). Thanks for the reminder and the information on the book. I need to check it out.

  75. The fixing things… oh, dear gods, the fixing things!

    Right now, my most recent blog posts are looking fine (there’s always room for improvement, right? *fnar fnar*) but the older ones look pants. They’re from the time I knew nothing about blogging, taking photos, or even SEO, and consequently grate and niggle on me all the time. I’m gradually tidying them up, re-shooting the dishes, and generally getting them more in line with my ‘brand’ (that sounds soooo ambitious!).

    In fact, I have an enormous spreadsheet, which contains all the things I need to fix… and putting that together was because of The Resistance, I’m sure. The Resistance ft. OCD!

    I’m getting there but I do realise that because Yumsome isn’t 100% the way I’d like it, nor even 80%, I’m loathe to publicise it, in case anyone looks at my older content, and thinks, “Wow, this is rubbish”… but at the same time, I don’t want to take that content down – albeit temporarily – because then my site will look pretty virginal, and I guess that will impact my SEO etc. And I really need to publicise it, build my readership, and get affs/advertising. Bottom line – it’s essential I make money from my blog.

    And I can’t even begin to think about putting together the part-done cookbook!

    I kind of feel caught in a bit of a Catch-22 situation, which sometimes – no, often – feels completely overwhelming.

    And the stupid thing is that I have absolutely no problem creating new content, no shortage of ideas, and almost half an entire external hard drive filled with photos and recipe files, just waiting to be tweaked and primped into decency, ready for posting. And I’m creating new recipes at least three times a week. But The Resistance keeps telling me to make sure everything else is perfect first. Gahhhh!

    It’s so good to read your words above, Bjork, and to know that things don’t have to be perfect right from the get-go… now all I have to do is convince my overactive brain of this! I think a good start however, would be to break the tasks down into smaller chunks, and each week, concentrate on fulfilling just one chunk + adding new content.

    Thank you for such a great post!

  76. Embrace brokeness! Yes! I really struggle with this, but after reading your post totally realize how my perfectionism in fixing “important” things is really resistance. Ironically, I just spent the last 30 minutes trying to fix a Google Analytics issue instead of editing the photos I set out to finish tonight. Blah. Well, I won’t let it happen again. Here’s to more broken tomorrows! 🙂

  77. Just what I needed to read this morning (after I watched the 3 minute video I made to promote the blog…again…and just one more time…). I perfect AND procrastinate AND that drives me absolutely cashews.
    Thank you for your wisdom, Cool Kid.

  78. Thanks, Bjork. I’ve been lost in the details of starting my blog for literally months now, but after reading this post, I finally took the plunge and registered my domain name, signed up for hosting, and downloaded WordPress! You’re right, it won’t be pretty, or even good, for some time, but the sooner I actually get working on it instead of just planning it, the sooner it will become the wonderful site I plan on it becoming, so really, thanks for the motivational post.

  79. Thanks for this post! It came to me just in the right moment that The Resistence was almost winning, al tips are really useful. Thanks again!

  80. Quit things…That really hit home. I am that guilt ridden person that feels they need to help, to volunteer, to do everything. Yes, I need to quit things. Thanks for giving me permission, make that ordering me to quit things!!
    -Andrea

  81. Yaaaaaasss good grief I needed to read this RIGHT NOW. I have been battling The Resistance for months and now I finally have a name for it. Thank you! I feel so much better knowing I’m not alone, and also what a helpful post!

  82. “The Resistance: Something that Nancy and Bjork have in common” – I loved seeing this subject line in my inbox. And you are right! I’m certainly relieved to hear that it’s not just me that finds a million things that need doing when I should be working on content. Thanks for the great post! -Nancy at Hungry Enough To Eat Six.Com

  83. Love it!

    I was thinking about getting a designer to do the web. I thought I should do it myself so that I know what’s going on overall. This gives me some idea.

    Thank you!

  84. Bjork,

    I realy struggle with working in the margins. I work a full-time job and feel there is just not enough time when I am not at my paying job to get done what I need to get done to really build my blog. It seems like I am spinning my wheels. I do like your ideas about focusing on the really important tasks.

    1. Hi Cheryl,

      You are absolutely killing it by juggling your full-time job and your blog! I know it can be so difficult to manage both at the same time. Like you mentioned, I think it’s so helpful to really prioritize the important tasks and realize that there just isn’t enough time in the day to do everything.

      Find what works best for you and stick with it!

  85. Shrinking it down to just one step. Often times I get so overwhelmed, feeling like I don’t have enough content and I should be doing triple what I’m already trying to do. Really it’s about building that castle like you said. Eventually all the little bits of work will add up and it doesn’t need to be perfect.

    1. Hi Anna,

      I completely understand where you’re coming from! I’m a perfectionist at heart, and I often blow things out of proportion in my head. Like you and Bjork said, I think it’s definitely about just taking things one step at a time 🙂

  86. I never leave comments on posts but this really hit home for me. Thank you for putting things into perspective. I’m finally moving forward with a blog I’ve had on ice for 3 years for fear/time management and really all of the above. This is just what I needed and I can’t wait to read more!

  87. Loved every bit of this! Trying to get off the ground with a website and blog as a Dietitian. This was def a realistic post, appreciate ya!