Momentum Over Mastery

The Power of Moving Forward

You know, when you’re working on a project and things start to get complicated, it’s so easy to lose yourself in the technical weeds. You’re staring at your screen, and suddenly you’re caught up in all the little details—the kind that can freeze you in your tracks. But here’s the thing: in those moments, what really matters is taking a step back and focusing on what you can do next. What’s the next actionable step? Because, believe it or not, momentum is everything. When you keep things moving, you create the space for productive outcomes. It’s about making progress, not getting hung up on perfection.

This idea came up in this week’s episode of Runtime Rundown, a weekly web development podcast that, by the way, is pretty great.

On the surface, it sounds so simple, right? Just keep moving. But we all have that little voice inside our heads. The one that says, “Why not take your time and build it from scratch?” or “Maybe you should refactor this with that new framework everyone’s talking about.” Or even, “Let’s optimize this for the best time and space complexity.”

And sure, you’re probably thinking, “Well, what’s wrong with that? Building from scratch will teach me so much.” Or, “If I refactor now, it’ll save me a headache down the road.” Or, “Why wouldn’t I want to write the most performant code I possibly can?”

And yes, those are all good instincts.

But here’s the thing—this mindset, while valuable, doesn’t apply to every situation. As developers, one of the key skills we need to develop is the ability to make trade-offs when necessary. It’s about understanding when to aim for perfection and when to prioritize progress.

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Now, I get it. You might be thinking, “Okay, that makes sense for work projects where there are deadlines and stakeholders. But what about my personal projects? Why not take my time and get everything just right?”

But here’s why I think it matters even for personal projects. Progress over perfection is a skill you have to practice. The more you do it, the more you learn, the more you grow, and the stronger your craft becomes. In a way, the more you prioritize progress, the closer you get to that elusive perfection.

Take my own experience with writing a newsletter. I’ve been discovering all these amazing writers, these newsletters that are just beautifully crafted. And I have to tell you, it’s inspiring—but also a little paralyzing. I have all these ideas for making the perfect newsletter, but time is limited, and my goal is to share something meaningful with you. So, there might be a typo here and there, or maybe an image I pulled from MidJourney that’s a bit random. But I’m committed to putting something out there, week by week, and improving it as I go.

And I’m glad you’re here with me on this journey.

🎧 If you want to dive deeper, check out the full episode of the Runtime Rundown podcast:

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