Ever found yourself endlessly tweaking a project, chasing that elusive perfection? Yeah, me too. But here's a thought. What really is “good enough”?
It's a simple question, but it can revolutionize how we approach our work. At Wavetable, we've turned it into a surprisingly effective framework for processes, content, workshops, and classes.
Picture this: You're all set for the big presentation tomorrow, and suddenly your kid gets sick. Or that workshop you've been planning for months? Yeah, the client just moved it up by a week. Cue the panic, right?
Wrong.
(Feel free to read that last word in your best Schwarzenegger voice, btw. I did.)
Anyway, we now make a concerted effort to stop labeling things ‘V1’. And we absolutely avoid FINAL_FINAL_FINAL.
Instead, we aim for a version that meets one of two criteria:
- If you HAD to launch/present/teach it tomorrow
- If you weren't there and someone else had to do it
Would it work? Would it be good enough?
Yeah, “enough”. That's the tricky bit. A Goldilocks zone of productivity: not too perfectionist, not too slapdash. But it’s worth the effort each time to figure out what ‘enough’ is.
Here’s why this approach has worked so well for us:
- Forces you to think about others (shocker)
- Things need to be clear, easy to explain, and shareable
- Reduces stress from fiddling with stuff that really doesn't matter (ooh! a shiny new font!)
- Gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling of actually finishing something
Next time you're knee-deep in a project, ask yourself:
- What if I wasn’t there?
- What’s the ‘share it tomorrow’ version?