Tinker Less - When Good Enough Means Done

I’m totally guilty of perfectionism.

I put the finishing touches on a project, have my mouse ready to click Publish, and… wait - what is that little box doing there? How did that typo sneak past my third or fourth review?

It will just take a couple of minutes to fix those little things, so I fix them.

Again I’m ready to Publish, and I see something else that is slightly in the wrong place. And the productivity-killer cycle repeats itself.

Why do we keep picking and picking until we’ve completely lost sight of the big picture and the 10 other things on our to-do list for today?

Would anyone else have noticed that dash wasn’t the right length, or that picture had 10 pixels too much on the right side?

What was my opportunity cost of choosing to perfect the design, instead of moving on to everything else to be done?

Was my productivity better or worse after finding my “mistakes”?

The cost of time spent fixing mistakes is huge, and it happens every day.

Unless you manage it.

I’m talking about actively applying a process that quickly weighs the cost of perfect and the cost of “done.”

Give yourself a moment to think about your last decision - did you spend too much time on a task when you could have stopped earlier and it would have been fine? What was the cost of continuing to tinker?

It is my new motto - tinker less, accomplish more.

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Kelly is known as a problem-solver, volleyball enthusiast, and has an intense love for God, her husband, and their daughters. She posts tips and articles on her company blog at www.upwarddesigns.com, the Upward Designs Facebook page, and her free Facebook group Management by Design.