Make decisions, not perfection

The first website I ever tried to launch took me an embarrassing 18 months. Like, I could have grown two entire humans in the time it took me to finish and send a whopping three pages to my production server.

While potential clients were out there probably frantically Googling for accounting services (let a girl dream, okay?), I was hemming and hawing over the perfect font and not becoming their search result.

Fast forward eight years. In 2017 I launched six entire websites for various projects. None of them are perfect, I’m sure. But you know what they are? Launched. Out there in the world. Existing. Helping me gain traction, helping me get feedback so I can iterate the site and the product it is offering. Most importantly, they’re progress.

In those eight years, I learned that nothing is ever perfect and change is constant. So make a decision on that font, any decision. Maybe not Comic Sans, but anything else. You can change it later. In fact, not only can you change it later, but it’s easier to change it later.

You ever sat in a stopped car and tried to turn the steering wheel? Kinda tough, resistant. Now take your foot off the brake. Look, you don’t even have to hit the gas. Just let it creep along, and then turn. Much easier, right? You have inertia helping you along. The friction of the ground hasn’t changed really, but it’s relation to your own movement has.

In short: the friction ain’t shit compared to your progress.

Whatever you’re not getting done right now because of some idea you have that “it’s not perfect” — get it done.

Launch without your dream logo. Publish that post even though you feel like it’s not perfect. Stop caring that someone else has slightly more reach and authority on that topic and start presenting yourself as the expert you are.

Originally published at ragstobitch.es on February 1, 2018.