Adds post "Embracing imperfection"

content-org/blog.org

@@ -2,6 +2,74 @@
 #+hugo_section: blog
 #+options: author:nil
 
+* Embracing imperfection
+:PROPERTIES:
+:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: embracing-imperfection
+:EXPORT_DATE: 2024-06-31
+:END:
+
+Lately, I've been doing some exploratory work, both with my pet
+projects and as part of my job, and I've struggled with it a bit more
+than I expected. It could be because of my personal circumstances (I'm
+more tired and distracted than usual), but I think it has more to do
+with self-awareness and how it affects my approach to problem-solving.
+
+Back in my college days, I was much more relaxed about how I tackled
+my assignments. There wasn't a lot of consistency, but the process
+more or less followed these steps:
+
+- Read the problem a couple of times until you fully understand it.
+- Draft a possible solution, iterate a couple of times until it looks
+  good enough.
+- Do something else and forget about the problem completely until the
+  last responsible moment (or just the last possible moment, as
+  responsibility was sometimes lacking).
+- Sit down and fully focus on the problem until you solve it, often
+  for more hours than was healthy.
+
+This wasn't the best way to get through college, but it was the one I
+opted for. As imperfect as it was, it only required me to focus on the
+problem while I was working on it, I could free my mind during the
+rest of the time. And most importantly, /it worked/. I got good grades
+and enjoyed most of the time I spent learning.
+
+Now, back to the present day, things have changed a bit. I'm older
+(duh), I have more experience, and I'm much more aware of all the
+things I don't know or am not an expert on. So every time a problem
+comes my way, my brain uses the first cycles to diligently list all
+the areas I need to explore and all the books I should read before
+even thinking about starting to solve it.
+
+This should help me have a well-informed, structured, and reasonable
+amount of knowledge so I'm able to solve the problem to the best of my
+ability, right?
+
+...
+
+right?
+
+Well, wrong. Usually, there are two possible paths from here: either I
+have a proper amount of time to invest, so I start studying and
+building that knowledge, and at some point, I surrender to the
+evidence that I can't learn everything about the subject before the
+deadline inevitably arrives; or, if I don't have much time, I have to
+come to terms with the fact that I'm going to face the problem knowing
+that I'm not ready, which is basically the same outcome as in the
+first case but without even starting to prepare.
+
+This might be obvious for most people: we are not perfect, we are not
+expected to know everything about something to be able to work on
+it. Not only is imperfection normal, even failing is. But lately, the
+fear of making mistakes, of not doing everything to the best of my
+ability, has been an issue for me more often than not. Maybe it's a
+mild case of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis][analysis paralysis]], who knows.
+
+I have to go back to my university days and remember the mindset I had
+then: that most of the time, the stakes are not that high, that good
+and honest effort is great even if it's not perfect, and that there
+are other (most of the time more important) things in life besides the
+problem that I currently have in front of me.
+
 * TODO ¿Por qué escribo?
 :PROPERTIES:
 :EXPORT_FILE_NAME: por-que-escribo

content/blog/embracing-imperfection.md

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+---
+title: "Embracing imperfection"
+date: 2024-06-31
+lastmod: 2024-07-31T10:42:01+02:00
+draft: false
+---
+
+Lately, I've been doing some exploratory work, both with my pet
+projects and as part of my job, and I've struggled with it a bit more
+than I expected. It could be because of my personal circumstances (I'm
+more tired and distracted than usual), but I think it has more to do
+with self-awareness and how it affects my approach to problem-solving.
+
+Back in my college days, I was much more relaxed about how I tackled
+my assignments. There wasn't a lot of consistency, but the process
+more or less followed these steps:
+
+-   Read the problem a couple of times until you fully understand it.
+-   Draft a possible solution, iterate a couple of times until it looks
+    good enough.
+-   Do something else and forget about the problem completely until the
+    last responsible moment (or just the last possible moment, as
+    responsibility was sometimes lacking).
+-   Sit down and fully focus on the problem until you solve it, often
+    for more hours than was healthy.
+
+This wasn't the best way to get through college, but it was the one I
+opted for. As imperfect as it was, it only required me to focus on the
+problem while I was working on it, I could free my mind during the
+rest of the time. And most importantly, _it worked_. I got good grades
+and enjoyed most of the time I spent learning.
+
+Now, back to the present day, things have changed a bit. I'm older
+(duh), I have more experience, and I'm much more aware of all the
+things I don't know or am not an expert on. So every time a problem
+comes my way, my brain uses the first cycles to diligently list all
+the areas I need to explore and all the books I should read before
+even thinking about starting to solve it.
+
+This should help me have a well-informed, structured, and reasonable
+amount of knowledge so I'm able to solve the problem to the best of my
+ability, right?
+
+...
+
+right?
+
+Well, wrong. Usually, there are two possible paths from here: either I
+have a proper amount of time to invest, so I start studying and
+building that knowledge, and at some point, I surrender to the
+evidence that I can't learn everything about the subject before the
+deadline inevitably arrives; or, if I don't have much time, I have to
+come to terms with the fact that I'm going to face the problem knowing
+that I'm not ready, which is basically the same outcome as in the
+first case but without even starting to prepare.
+
+This might be obvious for most people: we are not perfect, we are not
+expected to know everything about something to be able to work on
+it. Not only is imperfection normal, even failing is. But lately, the
+fear of making mistakes, of not doing everything to the best of my
+ability, has been an issue for me more often than not. Maybe it's a
+mild case of [analysis paralysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis), who knows.
+
+I have to go back to my university days and remember the mindset I had
+then: that most of the time, the stakes are not that high, that good
+and honest effort is great even if it's not perfect, and that there
+are other (most of the time more important) things in life besides the
+problem that I currently have in front of me.
+