(I wish I had learned this much earlier in my life.)
Our dreams paint pictures of the future that are large and wide. We share our ambitions with others in stories that captivate and make others envy.
So like good soldiers, we set out to finish a project to accomplish multiple objectives.
This is where we always get into trouble. Trying to accomplish MANY objectives.
Many times multiple objectives compete with each other for resources, time, or direction. Trying to accomplish all of them becomes impossible. We don’t realize this and we keep going forward. We end up frustrated and discouraged because our efforts did not pan out.
Web designers face these same challenges all of the time. How many features to add? How many screens do you need to click through to get somewhere? Their collective experience has showed them that less is more.
It’s hard to fight with yourself towards an operating style that believes that less is more. It goes directly against our dreams and our ego. In group meetings the same thing happens. Everyone wants something. You know what happens in the end? Nothing gets done.
Narrowing your scope is something I try to apply first before beginning a new project. My odds of succeeding skyrocket when I narrow my goals to only one or two things. Most would view this work as being incomplete and unthoughtful. It’s not.
Perfection is an ideal that is foolish to seek. Moving the ball forward, inch by inch, is what matters. Remember the tortoise and the hare?
Guess what? The tortoise will win every time! And how did he or she do it? By narrowing the scope of anything they set out to do to one. And then doing it.