Perfect is the enemy of done
This is a quote that I think about often. When you are working on something creative or that requires you to think in a certain way, I chase after a way to do it “better” and be more “prefect”. This drive often becomes the enemy to the task.
I have been building websites for as long as I could use a computer. Each time there is a point where nothing you could do makes the site seem done. While each pass of improvements makes the site a little bit better, not all of the details need to be done right now.
For a long time build websites was something that I did for fun and a little bit of profit. As I get older the profit side of it becomes a bit more fun. The satisfaction of helping a customer have a decent looking website is something that I will always enjoy. When you are building a website for yourself it’s a lot different then when you are building a website to a spec that a customer provided.
Having an end goal gives you a stopping point. If your only end goal is “it will be done when it is perfect” you will never complete your project.
Your tools can be your savior and your enemy
To be successful you need to be organized and to be organized you need some tools. For years I spent time trying to figure out the “perfect tool” to manage all these ideas. The frustration of searching and trying to find the “best” was always delaying getting actual work done. It wasn’t until I traded in all my fancy tools for a pen and paper that I started to find real productivity again.
This works well when you have regular access to your resources, but paper is easy to lose or get destroyed. For me I use it as the landing pad for my brain. The ideas that I need to remember, or anything that is occupying that brianspace when I want to instead be working on a project.
When you start with something basic and develop a workflow that works for your productivity you can being to automate steps in your day to make it easier to use. Perfect isn’t something that you will ever find as an end goal. Perfect is a continuous process that changes the more you learn.
Get it done! Then make it better
The first step to building anything is getting your first draft done. Once you have this completed you can expanded/improve and make it better. The important thing is when that it’s done.