How to Write Better Facing Insecurities as a Writer
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Apr 9, 2026 
Leo Babauta, founder of Zen Habits and author on minimalism and mindful living, shares his journey from blogging to podcasting and coaching. He talks about dropping perfectionism, writing urgently, and creating in public. They discuss ongoing doubts, the messy reality of practice, focused habits like Pomodoros, and cautious views on AI for writers.
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Never Be Precious With Sentences
- Do stop being precious with sentences and prioritize narrative urgency so the first sentence drives readers to the second.
- Leo learned this as a newspaper reporter forced to write concisely on tight deadlines, which trained him to bury nothing and lead with the heart of the piece.
Newspaper Trial By Fire Shaped His Style
- Leo's newspaper job trained him to write on deadline, producing multiple pieces a day under time pressure.
- He says this 'trial by fire' forced him to let go of perfection and learn concise, lead-first writing on Guam's local paper.
Create In Public Rather Than Waiting For Perfection
- Do create publicly and accept being a beginner rather than perfecting in private before release.
- Leo launched Zen Habits by 'throwing spaghetti at the wall'—trying formats publicly and improving in view of readers.