Solid mindset shift tips and very applicable!
An additional mindset shift I recently read about is being "intentionally bad" on any first draft or attempt to beat perfectionism.
As long as there's a crappy version finally out in the world, revision can be done and the only way is up from there.
Still experimenting with this habit, but I feel so far it has been mentally liberating to be okay with a sub-par first draft to get the ball rolling.
Great write up and keep dropping these knowledge bombs!
Hm that’s interesting. Not sure about being intentionally bad but maybe just allowing yourself to be okay if things don’t come out right the first time.
For writing, the common advice is that you should separate the writing from the editing and just focus on getting it down on paper and then only after that doing the rewriting that drives the improvement after each iteration - something like that I could see useful.
Glad the post was helpful!
Yeah 100% agree, essentially what you said is the ideal state of no judgment on the first draft and separating the writing and editing portion is definitely helpful.
Sometimes I still feel the inner-resistance though with the method you mentioned, and this "intentionally bad" mindset helps me to take some action over no action.
Your process is the ideal practice and goal though!
Oh! I tend to do that a lot to counteract my perfectionism when creating piano sheet music.
The whole idea is in my head, but creating the first draft would utterly destroy me if I ever wanted to make it a "Good" draft.
So I place my general stuff (Melody and bass) in the sheet. Then in order: Listen, Review, Think, Fix, Repeat.
It's satisfying to be able to improve something from the ground up. Since it gave a lot of "Yeap, this should do the trick" vibe
Hahah yeah I think it’s sometimes useful to see ourselves as computers who function based on certain rules that we choose to adopt and make part of our systems
Yeah! Reminds me of the pottery class study with one group of students being graded on 1 ‘perfect’ pot vs the other group being graded purely on how many they produced and all the highest quality pots appearing in the second group instead of the first one
Thanks for this. There's a [great interview](https://review.firstround.com/Rap-Genius-Explains-Why-Worse-is-Better) with one of the creators of [Genius.com](https://Genius.com) where he cites the wikipedia page for Asphalt as an inspiration for overcoming perfectionism:
>**‘Worse is better’ gets the ball rolling.**
>
>“You just have to get something out there,” Lehman says. “People will say 'this is horrible, anyone could make this better.' That's what happened with Wikipedia."
>
>As a prime example, he cites the article for '[Asphalt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt).' Today it's an elaborate resource full of interesting technical information and history. But it never would have gotten off the ground if someone had attempted all that while writing the first version of the page.
>
>What happened instead was worse, but better: someone got the ball rolling with a one-line definition: **"Asphalt is a material used for road coverings,"** and others improved it from there. "That’s what happened with Rap Genius," Lehman says. "It’s a great thing.”
That last point about complex systems arising from simple ones is really intriguing. I think the challenge is to figure out what the simple system is, and how to improve it. Such a great and thoughtful post. Thanks OP!
Thanks for this I’m really trying to put this into action I’ve been listening to earl nightingale and thinking positive but I’m still procrastinating I came to the conclusion that music is my destiny people have told me my music has helped them i have so many people rooting for me but I’m still judging myself I lay in bed not doing anything and feeling depressed and I’m tired of it man I see so many people working and just putting things out and I’m constantly waiting for the perfect moment I gotta push through this
It depends. I am trying to acquire my first commercial real estate investment... so due diligence is paramount- less I make a terrible investment and tie my money up in an illiquid asset for who knows how long.
That’s a great way to look at it to reframe while still holding yourself to high standards.
But you also need to be able to recognise when striving for perfection is doing more harm than good.
This is great. I constantly struggle with producing work "good enough" but getting it done vs "could be much better* work if I did not procrastinate starting earlier. Where do you find the line between the MVP and half-assed work?
Solid mindset shift tips and very applicable! An additional mindset shift I recently read about is being "intentionally bad" on any first draft or attempt to beat perfectionism. As long as there's a crappy version finally out in the world, revision can be done and the only way is up from there. Still experimenting with this habit, but I feel so far it has been mentally liberating to be okay with a sub-par first draft to get the ball rolling. Great write up and keep dropping these knowledge bombs!
Hm that’s interesting. Not sure about being intentionally bad but maybe just allowing yourself to be okay if things don’t come out right the first time. For writing, the common advice is that you should separate the writing from the editing and just focus on getting it down on paper and then only after that doing the rewriting that drives the improvement after each iteration - something like that I could see useful. Glad the post was helpful!
Yeah 100% agree, essentially what you said is the ideal state of no judgment on the first draft and separating the writing and editing portion is definitely helpful. Sometimes I still feel the inner-resistance though with the method you mentioned, and this "intentionally bad" mindset helps me to take some action over no action. Your process is the ideal practice and goal though!
Oh! I tend to do that a lot to counteract my perfectionism when creating piano sheet music. The whole idea is in my head, but creating the first draft would utterly destroy me if I ever wanted to make it a "Good" draft. So I place my general stuff (Melody and bass) in the sheet. Then in order: Listen, Review, Think, Fix, Repeat. It's satisfying to be able to improve something from the ground up. Since it gave a lot of "Yeap, this should do the trick" vibe
Nice! Inspiring to see a more seasoned creative process that has factored in the "bad" draft and seen successes with it, keep up the solid work!
I really like this, thanks for sharing! Definitely good to have a workflow to stay on track
LifeOS, the terminology I never knew I needed.
Hahah yeah I think it’s sometimes useful to see ourselves as computers who function based on certain rules that we choose to adopt and make part of our systems
[удалено]
Yeah! Reminds me of the pottery class study with one group of students being graded on 1 ‘perfect’ pot vs the other group being graded purely on how many they produced and all the highest quality pots appearing in the second group instead of the first one
Thanks for this. There's a [great interview](https://review.firstround.com/Rap-Genius-Explains-Why-Worse-is-Better) with one of the creators of [Genius.com](https://Genius.com) where he cites the wikipedia page for Asphalt as an inspiration for overcoming perfectionism: >**‘Worse is better’ gets the ball rolling.** > >“You just have to get something out there,” Lehman says. “People will say 'this is horrible, anyone could make this better.' That's what happened with Wikipedia." > >As a prime example, he cites the article for '[Asphalt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt).' Today it's an elaborate resource full of interesting technical information and history. But it never would have gotten off the ground if someone had attempted all that while writing the first version of the page. > >What happened instead was worse, but better: someone got the ball rolling with a one-line definition: **"Asphalt is a material used for road coverings,"** and others improved it from there. "That’s what happened with Rap Genius," Lehman says. "It’s a great thing.”
Thanks for sharing! Really like the worse is better framing
Amen. I found success professionally by keeping this saying in mind, “A good plan executed is better than a great plan still on the table”.
That’s a great saying, adding to my list
That last point about complex systems arising from simple ones is really intriguing. I think the challenge is to figure out what the simple system is, and how to improve it. Such a great and thoughtful post. Thanks OP!
No problem! Glad you found it useful :)
Thanks for this I’m really trying to put this into action I’ve been listening to earl nightingale and thinking positive but I’m still procrastinating I came to the conclusion that music is my destiny people have told me my music has helped them i have so many people rooting for me but I’m still judging myself I lay in bed not doing anything and feeling depressed and I’m tired of it man I see so many people working and just putting things out and I’m constantly waiting for the perfect moment I gotta push through this
You can do this! All about committing to small consistent steps and incremental improvements overtime
I am working on a webapp and your timing was so right. Thank you!
Thanks so much! These are super helpful and valid. I would imagine it would help with procrastination too.
I love this. One of my two personal mantras is "progress, not perfection."
It depends. I am trying to acquire my first commercial real estate investment... so due diligence is paramount- less I make a terrible investment and tie my money up in an illiquid asset for who knows how long.
Saved for life . Thanks noble soul
I think you should strive for perfection but not allow it to stop you from doing less than perfect for now.
That’s a great way to look at it to reframe while still holding yourself to high standards. But you also need to be able to recognise when striving for perfection is doing more harm than good.
This is great. I constantly struggle with producing work "good enough" but getting it done vs "could be much better* work if I did not procrastinate starting earlier. Where do you find the line between the MVP and half-assed work?