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Start before you think you’re ready

austinkleon.com

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Re: Start before you think you’re ready

#3
post #2

That's really just like creating a business : get out of the building and start experimenting as soon as possible.

Agree 100%. You can research the market, see who else is out there in your line of work, ask questions, make plans....but to make progress you just get something out there and let it loose on users and potential customers.

Re: Start before you think you’re ready

#5
post #2

That's really just like creating a business : get out of the building and start experimenting as soon as possible.

However this quote is referencing writing, and the author is primarily in print. Getting started is definitely key, but the kind of work being referred to here isn't typically experimented and iterated on once it's published.

Re: Start before you think you’re ready

#7

The counterpoint being that "months in the lab saves hours in the library" (Westheimer)

In the world of software, I think this counterpoint definitely applies. When faced with a new problem, especially when greenfielding, I sometimes have the impulse to just jump in and start writing code. Almost every time that I succumb to that impulse for a complex problem, I discover weird edge cases and lots of little issues which could have been avoided by further contemplation at the drawing board. Stated in a similar format: a lot of refactoring can be prevented by a few extra hours at the whiteboard.

Re: Start before you think you’re ready

#9
Struggled with this a lot when I started studying foreign language.

I spent way too much time deciding between Turkish, Russian or Japanese and trying to justify my decision with arbitrary metrics of usefulness.

In the end I went with Japanese as I had the most interest in the culture, but then ran into another phase of paralysis by analysis in determining the most efficient study methods.

Finally bought a "recommended" textbook, instead of endlessly searching for the perfect learning resource and just got to it

Re: Start before you think you’re ready

#10
post #2

That's really just like creating a business : get out of the building and start experimenting as soon as possible.

However this quote is referencing writing, and the author is primarily in print. Getting started is definitely key, but the kind of work being referred to here isn't typically experimented and iterated on once it's published.

And in writing you experiment too : you write things down, you read again, correct, ask a friend to read a chapter for feedback, etc...
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