But If Your Goal Is Removing a Brain Tumor, I'd Say Set the Bar a Little Higher

230 pages, 71,000 words, and 3 million seconds of doubt later, I’m done with the first draft of the memoir. Let’s honor my achievement with a moment of silence.

Now. Make me a margarita.

Ha ha! I’m afraid the margarita has to wait, because a) I’m writing this at 8 a.m., b) drinking one’s breakfast sets a bad example for the students of my morning Intro to Creative Writing class, and c) I’m not actually the lush I’m made out to be, despite that unfortunate video on YouTube.

But hoo boy, am I happy. The draft is far from perfect, and good lord does it need a lot of work, but for now, it’s good enough. What happens next is my advisor reads the manuscript and gives me detailed notes, then it’s my job to revise it from good enough to better than good enough. I’ll even go out on a limb and say I’m shooting for decent with this first revision.

2010: The Year of Setting the Bar Low.

Seriously though, what about you? Do you have a goal you’re not hitting because you’re attempting perfection, when you really need to get it good enough for now? Because you can get it better than good enough a little later?