97 - Don't let perfect be the enemy of done
It’s no April Fools Day. There will be no newsletter on April 1 as I enjoy some R&R between chemo and radiation.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of done
I grew up thinking that perfection was the goal to shoot for, particularly in school work. This carried into college and even into my first few years of work. My parents certainly didn’t drive this belief. They were only concerned with me doing my best. I don’t honestly know where the idea that perfection was the goal originated.
As I matured, I realized that perfection was not the goal. Instead, always doing your best while shipping work regularly is the goal. I try to always abide by this concept.
One of the best resources I’ve found on this topic is the “Done Manifesto” which was originally written in 2009. I regularly lead teams of would-be perfectionists. We regularly had to have conversations about doing the best we could in the time we had with the resources we had available.
This was on my mind a lot this past week as I worked on two projects for a client. One was a “rush” job that I had only a week to complete. The other is a longer term project that has some elements in it that are subject to change based on federal regulations. In both of these projects having a clear project scope was critical. While this is standard in client projects like these, I’ve also found it beneficial in personal projects as well. Before you begin the project, define what is and is not a part of the project. That scope sets the boundaries of the project and makes it clear to you, and a client where appropriate, what will and won’t be done.
How do you keep projects from growing to a point that they are undoable?
Some Things You Might Find Interesting
What I published: I have a great amount of client work right now so writing has taken a back seat for now.
Keep Up With My Cancer Journey: My final chemo treatment happens on Wednesday! If you’d like to follow along in more detail on this journey, you can request access to my Cancer Journey website at https://www.mylifeline.org/invitation/Monroe4702670/c4d9a0945939697870a9267ec2cd951230b25b0e9f023ca466233659967b5e46
Palm Royale: We’ve added Palm Royale to our watch list.
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