If A Thing Is Worth Doing, It’s Worth Doing Poorly
Because some progress is better than none.
One of my most dearly held beliefs got turned around during the pandemic, and I can never go back. I think it was my grandfather who first told me that if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. I took it to heart. And then some. I told myself that everything worth doing was worth doing well. Not just well, but as near perfect as possible. For a long time, I never wanted to half-ass anything. If I was going to do something, you could bet I was putting my whole ass into it. Work, education, parenting: All these things needed to be done pretty much perfectly, because why do anything important poorly?
Then a worldwide pandemic hit, a lack of control seeped through every aspect of life, and mental health suffered, for me, and almost everyone I know. Routines were shattered. Everyday life became more challenging. Perfection seemed pointless. And an interesting thought occurred to me. Doing important, worthwhile things, at any level, is better than not doing them at all. I realised that in the vast majority of cases and circumstances, if a thing is worth doing, it really is worth doing poorly.
I set a new, scary and liberating set of rules for myself:
