When in doubt, cut it out
When I was making YouTube videos for my channel (I published over 70 of them). I read a book on filmmaking that shaped how I think about creative work: How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck by Steve Stockman. One line from the book stayed with me:
When in doubt, cut it out.
On the editing floor, hesitation is a signal. If you’re watching your own footage and you pause, even for a second, wondering whether a clip should stay, it probably shouldn’t. It’s not carrying the story forward. It’s not sharpening the point. It’s adding weight without adding value. The core message gets buried under “maybe this is useful.”
Eventually, I started applying this rule everywhere. When I’m building a presentation, writing an article, or designing an interface, I ask myself a simple question: should this be a part of my final work? If I have to debate it in my head, it’s gone.
Work breathes because the noise is gone. And work improves as much by removal as by addition. So, When in doubt, cut it out.
Sparsh Paliwal · Jun 2025