Perfect or Good Enough? How to finish.

I was supposed to have the new Caveday homepage up and running by Black Friday. It’s now almost April.

I can usually get a lot done. But sometimes, when I get close to the finish line, I drag my metaphorical feet.

We all have two fears that usually get in the way.
The first fear is accountability. Because when we finish, we’ll have to show it to people and we’ll get criticism, judgment, and feedback. That can make us feel vulnerable, as we become more invested in our work. Criticism can feel personal. Being responsible for something you put out in the world is scary, especially if you know it could be better.

The second fear is the unknown.
Once we finish, all the time we spent on that project will now be empty. We’re conditioned to want to be busy and productive. So we often choose to keep working on something that is essentially done rather than ship it and figure out what to do next. You know that feeling of just noodling because it’s easier than being done?

Don’t get stuck dragging your feet in your last lap.
Here are two tips to help you finish:

1. Have a pre-mortem
   We’re used to post-mortems– meetings once something is done to discuss how the process or the product could’ve done better.
   
   But while your work is still not shipped, you have the opportunity to discover and fix what could go wrong and anticipate the criticism.

   First, define what you need to do to finish. And then make your own list of possible criticism, feedback and ways it might go wrong.
   
   What might you expect once this is shipped?
   How might this fail?
   
   It can be a quick meeting with your team, asynchronous work, or a short list you make yourself. But it will help you feel less fear around getting feedback and taking it personally.
   

2. Create an idea database
   Any time you have an inkling of an idea for a side project, task, or work that you could do, add it to your database.
   
   Remember: ideas don’t come out fully-formed. There’s a fragment of something from your dream last night and your conversation with your therapist and the billboard you saw this morning. It doesn’t have to make full sense. But start a habit of writing it down. Add it to this database (ok, list is fine too).

   
   Then, when you get close to finishing, check out the list and start getting excited about the next thing. That way, you’ll be more motivated to ship what you’re working on and move on.

Remember: perfectionism is just a fancy way of procrastinating. You started your project in order to finish it, not just to be busy.

So get to the finish line already.
We’re cheering you on!

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Caveday is a company aimed at improving your relationship to work. We write regular posts on Medium and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Jake Kahana is a cofounder of Caveday. Sign up for his personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.