| A few thoughts. 1. For me, being physical is important. It isn’t for everyone, but if it is for you, don’t ignore it. It brings perspective, clarity, and renewed energy. I don’t enjoy the gym rat thing, though. For me, I’ve really loved tennis & climbing. I set myself goals in each and work up to them. I use them as toys to work on mental fitness. I’ve been surprised at how much it has helped in work & life. 2. I’ve worked with a bunch of very smart people right out of school who worry about perfection. One thing I have learned that’s helpful to point out is that the school format is great for teaching a lot of information fast, and measuring a certain type of achievement, school is not life. In fact, it’s counterproductive to work/adult life. A perspective shift is needed. Think of this as a developmental phase of life. Most people experience it. In school, you are being trained to be a perfectionist. You get one shot, and then are judged, with finality. In this game, it’s worth it to overinvest in everything to maximize your one-shot score. In life, you can generally control the clock, and the world offers multiple rounds. So, you can play with an idea over a long time, iterating it towards more and more usefulness / perfectness. Note that the real world is much messier than school, and often the problem itself changes over time. It’s important to let go of the idea that you’ve been trained on, that there is one perfect answer to each question. “Perfect is the enemy of done” is a great quote here. — For your side projects, if I were you, I’d pick any one and just finish it. Not perfectly, just done. Enjoy the process, appreciate the result. Don’t judge yourself on the outcome as much as the process you used to get there. Good luck! |