Here’s a way to approach projects, and life, from Oliver Burkeman:
The Imperfectionist: Seventy per cent
The 70% rule: If you’re roughly 70% happy with a piece of writing you’ve produced, you should publish it. If you’re 70% satisfied with a product you’ve created, launch it.
Do I believe this, as in, do I think that 70% is “good enough”? Not entirely.
Would I be more productive if I did? Absolutely.
And is most of my reluctance to sign onto this rule based in my little problem with perfectionism? Again, absolutely.
I do very much agree with the general idea:
I’m convinced it’s also the way to cultivate a particular kind of sane, action-focused, peaceful-but-energised approach to life that’s becoming more essential by the day. At the risk of offending any sticklers for traditional mathematics, I’m even tempted to argue that 70% is actually better than 100%, at least in this context.
So I think I’ll try to work my way down toward 70%. Will I get there? Maybe not, but when it comes to clearing away barriers to productivity, every step counts.
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