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It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

nytimes.com

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Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#51

Post by dan_quixote »

koolba wrote: post #36
Buttons840 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> pretend-work I pretend I'm live streaming my programming session, it seems to cause some switch to flip in my brain and seems to help. Maybe I should actually live stream? But I probably wouldn't have real viewers, and don't know how to fit multiple monitors into a stream.

I'm convinced that the majority of the value from pair programming (literally sitting next to each other, not "virtual" pair programming) comes from the fear of looking like a lazy idiot in front of the other programmer.

I think it's more related to having to communicate your problem(s) and intention(s) to someone else. I often find myself overwhelmed by tasks at work and home. The best solution is a to-do list, but even reciting out loud the steps necessary is enough to calm the anxiety and focus.

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#52

Post by agumonkey »

dgreensp wrote: post #12

I’m reminded of a similar online NY Times piece I read, years ago, I think by a woman named Gladys, which was entirely about the harrowing process of procrastinating on, and eventually writing, the piece. All I could think was, poor Gladys. Not, here’s an authority on procrastination. Heck, I’m more of an authority on procrastination, based on my high school and college years alone, not even counting that I’ve overco…

I personally ended up in the 'just get it done'. I find it very very effective.

I tried many other approaches, sliced tasks, meditation etc.. and no amount of sugarcoating made me evolve.

Mentally overcoming the drag was key in my own experience.

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#53

Post by koolba »

dan_quixote wrote: post #51
koolba wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm convinced that the majority of the value from pair programming (literally sitting next to each other, not "virtual" pair programming) comes from the fear of looking like a lazy idiot in front of the other programmer.

I think it's more related to having to communicate your problem(s) and intention(s) to someone else. I often find myself overwhelmed by tasks at work and home. The best solution is a to-do list, but even reciting out loud the steps necessary is enough to calm the anxiety and focus.

I don’t think communication has anything to do with it. It’s just shame.

I tested this out once with a friend who complained about procrastination issues. I suggested he have his wife sit by him while working from home. His wife has no programming background whatsoever but she knows that browsing Reddit or YouTube isn’t work. Apparently he got a lot done that day.

Free Startup Idea: Supply “interns” to shadow employees to create the same effect. Logo could be a Peter Pan style comic of a programmer and his silhouette.

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#54

Post by CM30 »

Well, they've got a point. There are definitely quite a few projects whose creators needed to step back, stop spending years focusing on the wrong things and actually get something done. I mean, look at Duke Nukem Forever. Might have done pretty well had they not spent 14 years on it. Same with many other games and pieces of art that spent decades in development, and sometimes bankrupted/broke their creators in the process.

Does that mean you should rush? Obviously not. Does that mean having an eye for detail is bad? No, not at all.

But it does mean you should try to finish your projects at some point. Something that never gets released at all is pretty much useless, and it's probably better to get your products while you're alive rather than have them released posthumously by your estate.

It's also probably worth pointing out that a creator will likely never be as happy with their work as a customer will. After all, you created it, you've got nothing to be surprised by. So right off the bat, some of the 'magic' found in experiencing a piece of fiction/work of art for the first time is immediately gone.

You're also quite likely to see all the flaws, all the things you could have done better, all the possibilities that didn't pan out yet, etc and feel disappointed compared to some ideal you had in your mind.

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#55

Post by SubiculumCode »

This is a difficult decision in science. If you are too perfectionist you will fail. If you are not, then your contributions can be bullshit. However, there is no such thing as a perfect experiment (at least in cognitive sciences), so we depend on converging evidence, so pretending it can be perfect is procrastination.

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#57

Post by TuringNYC »

ohazi wrote: post #19
dgreensp wrote: post #12

I’m reminded of a similar online NY Times piece I read, years ago, I think by a woman named Gladys, which was entirely about the harrowing process of procrastinating on, and eventually writing, the piece. All I could think was, poor Gladys. Not, here’s an authority on procrastination. Heck, I’m more of an authority on procrastination, based on my high school and college years alone, not even counting that I’ve overco…

I often tell myself to "just start" rather than to "just get it done," especially when I suspect my anxiety is driving. If I tell myself I'm just going to sit down and pretend-work on the thing that's making me anxious for five minutes, just to get a feel for it, and if it ends up being crappy, I'll just toss it and start over later, I'm usually able to short-circuit the anxious "everything must be well-understood an…

>> I often tell myself to "just start" rather than to "just get it done," especially when I suspect my anxiety is driving.

Same here, and specifically for tech work: I try to start with a unit test and a random-generator algo. Getting that trivial thing to run is often the activation energy I need to get started on writing the main workhorse functions.

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#58

Post by lallysingh »

TuringNYC wrote: post #57
ohazi wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often tell myself to "just start" rather than to "just get it done," especially when I suspect my anxiety is driving. If I tell myself I'm just going to sit down and pretend-work on the thing that's making me anxious for five minutes, just to get a feel for it, and if it ends up being crappy, I'll just toss it and start over later, I'm usually able to short-circuit the anxious "everything must be well-understood an…

>> I often tell myself to "just start" rather than to "just get it done," especially when I suspect my anxiety is driving. Same here, and specifically for tech work: I try to start with a unit test and a random-generator algo. Getting that trivial thing to run is often the activation energy I need to get started on writing the main workhorse functions.

Exactly. Seed, trunk, branches. They last thing you want is to build something big that, when it does the wrong thing, leaves you with too much code that you're not sure about.

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#59

Post by phkahler »

koolba wrote: post #53
dan_quixote wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's more related to having to communicate your problem(s) and intention(s) to someone else. I often find myself overwhelmed by tasks at work and home. The best solution is a to-do list, but even reciting out loud the steps necessary is enough to calm the anxiety and focus.

I don’t think communication has anything to do with it. It’s just shame. I tested this out once with a friend who complained about procrastination issues. I suggested he have his wife sit by him while working from home. His wife has no programming background whatsoever but she knows that browsing Reddit or YouTube isn’t work. Apparently he got a lot done that day. Free Startup Idea : Supply “interns” to shadow employ…

>> His wife has no programming background whatsoever but she knows that browsing Reddit or YouTube isn’t work.

Or Hacker News...

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#60

Post by bluGill »

CM30 wrote: post #54

Well, they've got a point. There are definitely quite a few projects whose creators needed to step back, stop spending years focusing on the wrong things and actually get something done. I mean, look at Duke Nukem Forever. Might have done pretty well had they not spent 14 years on it. Same with many other games and pieces of art that spent decades in development, and sometimes bankrupted/broke their creators in the p…

For software you should make something - any part - work and release it. Then do regular feature releases after that.

If you are not working alone you can ask your marketing people for help, sometimes it is worth waiting for a big bang release, sometimes not (For some things if you miss Christmas you should delay until next Christmas). I recommend you err on the side of release too soon - customers are the ultimate answer, if their feedback on what is important is useful to have (but their feedback is not always correct!)

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