Done Is Better Than Perfect

We are all creatures of comfort which is part of the reason why we never get anything difficult done—at least most of the time.

In doing my professional video production work, I’m always compelled to achieve the highest quality possible, even though time and resources are always limited. Part of what pushes that work forward is the very existence of a deadline, a delivery date that everyone depends on.

But when it comes to side projects and personal development, I’ve always been overly cautious in establishing any expectation of delivery. Making an “artificial deadline” feels fake and in our heads it feels like pushing ourselves into the deep end of discomfort is just not worth it. Why do it?

A Call To Action

I’ve never been much of a writer but recently I’ve been very frustrated by the algorithms that drive the social media platforms that have become so powerful in our lives. I have a hard time connecting the dots between my thoughts on those platforms and wanted a way to document my ideas—blogging here, has been in response to that. It empowers me to control where I say something and how it is heard.

This last week, I was inspired by a recent podcast episode of “The Business Of Authority” which is produced by Jonathan Stark and Rochelle Moulton. The call to action was to publish helpful content to a specific audience in any medium we preferred, for at least five days in a row—hence the #5in5 hashtag I’ve been throwing around. I chose to blog here and continue to focus my efforts towards nonprofits, but the exercise pushed my ideas further in ways I didn’t expect.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Writing in public day after day has forced me to think more clearly. I may not be a good writer by any stretch, but it feels different when you write about things you think you know.

When you get your ideas outside of your head it’s a great way to test them. With a small audience this makes this experimental approach easier and less intimidating. Ideas that I thought might get an interesting response are sometimes met with silence, whereas others, that I had thought of as frivolous or obvious become surprising points of conversation.

Sharing your thoughts or expertise in public makes them vulnerable to the sounds of crickets—but even crickets can say surprising things.

-Reuben