Wikipedia:Wikipedia can wait

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It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

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WP:WAIT

Wikipedia is no place for humour.
Everything is very serious here and we are all terrifically important.

Sometimes, it is important to realize that Wikipedia can wait. Wikipedia is always a work in progress. Oftentimes, what seems like an urgently needed edit or an immediate cause for deletion does not need to be acted on at the very moment. It is often this realization that can keep us cool or prevent us from exploding. Believe it or not, there are things more important than Wikipedia. Realizing this can keep us civil and allow us to assume good faith.

Here are a few points to keep in mind:

Have patience; all good things come in time. Like Rome. Or the Apocalypse.
Don't lose perspective; Wikipedia is just a website, after all.
Prevent burnout; go read a book or watch TV. Or tend to your children?
Not everything on Wikipedia is urgent.
- Corollary: Just because something on Wikipedia is not urgent doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. Just not now.

So please, heed our advice. If you find your WikiStress level going through the roof and your cat is rubbing up against your legs demanding to be fed, close out Huggle. Stop constantly reloading your watchlist. Go forth and enjoy real life. Do something else.

Then, come back and update the page about whatever it was you did.

Commentary[edit]

Below are comments from editors who have stopped by, relaxed a bit and reached into the Zen part of their Wikisouls to share with you these pearls of wisdom. Please feel free to leave your own comment below the last listed.

This essay is not urgent. Let's flesh this out some more in due course. --SmokeyJoe (talk) 02:00, 19 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The desire to see something done yesterday causes more heart attacks than anything else does. If this is wrong, please correct it. Tomorrow. Collect (talk) 14:38, 19 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Real life is more important than Wikipedia. If you find yourself brushing off other obligations to make that final edit, you may be an addict. Stop. Breathe. Move away from your computer. I'll write more, but my boss just called me into a meeting. Vicenarian (talk) 20:55, 19 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
zOMG! Are you all crazy! Teh wiki must be completed – and soon!! For if it is not completed, we will have nought to show for our day save sweat and an awful lot of tears.... – B.hotep •talk• 11:39, 10 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Hey guys, whats up? Spongefrog, (talk to me, or else) 21:25, 10 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
What I like about this essay is that it is very laidba--Canvashat (talk) 00:24, 13 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I hate that {{humor}} template! I've replaced it with the much cooler {{User:Yomangan/Humour}}. (In the spirit of this essay, the change took years and years to get done, just like the Cologne Cathedral.) Frutti di Mare 21:29, 18 March 2012 (UTC).[reply]
Perhaps even too long to read this essay. (But is six years too long?) Crazynas^t 22:41, 4 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
In order to be patient, <-!-meh. i'll finish whatever i was writing later--> DarmaniLink (talk) 00:32, 21 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Commentary[edit]

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