Perfection works very well as a guiding light, but you should never expect to arrive there. The desire to attain perfection can be overwhelming, but it’s vital that you keep that temptation in check. As you get closer to perfection, the effort and time required to make meaningful progress rises exponentially. If you’re getting close to perfection, take it as a warning that you’re wasting time. The same resources required to bring a project from 90% to 95% can often bring a different project from 0% to 80%. Is that extra 5% really worth it?

It’s important to periodically take a step back from your work and ask yourself if what you’re working on is good enough. It can be painful to ship something that’s just good enough, especially when you know it has the potential to be better, but getting your work out the door is often the best course of action.

Keeping something to yourself while you futilely pursue perfection benefits no one. Releasing something that’s good enough helps the people you made it for, and it helps you. The reactions of others, once your work is set free, will give you clarity and perspective that you simply can’t get anywhere else.

Remember, good enough really is good enough.