I used to treat every video like a “project.” That mindset sounded professional, but it quietly made me slower. If every clip is a project, you start waiting for the perfect time, the perfect footage, the perfect edit. And then nothing gets published.
What finally helped was switching to a draft-first workflow.
Instead of opening my editor and trying to build a polished video from scratch, I focus on getting a rough cut fast—something I can watch end to end. A rough cut makes the real problems obvious: the hook isn’t strong, the middle drags, the ending lands too softly, or the visuals don’t match what I’m saying. Fixing those is 10x easier than guessing on a blank timeline.
My simple structure is:
Hook (first 2–3 seconds)
One clear point (no extra detours)
One example (show, don’t tell)
A clean ending (what to remember)
If I can’t describe the video in one sentence, I’m probably trying to do too much.
Recently I’ve also been experimenting with things like sora video as part of this “draft” stage. Not because it replaces editing, but because it helps me test an idea quickly—tone, pacing, even what visuals might fit—before I commit time to a full manual cut.
The biggest win is momentum. When drafts are easy, you create more versions. When you create more versions, you learn faster. And once you learn faster, finishing a video becomes normal instead of stressful.
If you’re stuck, try this: make a rough cut today that’s intentionally imperfect—but complete. Watch it once, fix only the obvious issues, and publish. Consistency beats perfection, especially with video.
