The “Just-in-Case” Trap: Why Your Stuff is Owning You

Done is Better Than Perfect: Lessons from the Midnight Deadline
I have spent half my life watching brilliant writers stare at a blinking cursor. They are paralyzed. Why? Because they have a masterpiece in their head, and they are terrified that the words on the screen will be a “betrayal” of that vision.

In the newsroom, we don’t have the luxury of the “Tortured Artist” routine. If the front page is blank, I lose my job. This pressure taught me a secret: Perfectionism is just a high-end form of procrastination.

1. The 80% Rule
In editing, we know that 80% of the impact comes from 20% of the work—the lead, the headline, and the core argument. The rest is just polishing the silverware.

Most people spend weeks agonising over the last 5% of a project, whether it’s a business proposal or a home renovation. In the meantime, the opportunity has passed. The news has moved on. Launch at 80%, then iterate. A living, breathing “okay” project is worth more than a “perfect” one that never leaves your hard drive.

2. Failure is Just a “First Draft”
No one sees the messy first draft of a front-page scoop. They see the final, polished version. We tend to compare our “behind-the-scenes” footage with everyone else’s “highlight reel.”

If a story fails to land, we don’t shut down the newspaper. We find a better angle and publish again tomorrow. Treat your mistakes like a typo: acknowledge them, fix them in the next edition, and keep moving.

3. Constraints are Your Best Friend
Give a writer three months to write a feature, and they’ll take three months. Give them three hours, and they’ll still give you a feature—and it’ll probably be punchier.

If you want to get something done, stop asking for more time. Set a shorter deadline. Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” If you want to finish that book or start that business, give yourself a “press time.”