I have a problem! Well, I have many problems. This is today's that I was thinking about. I like coming up with ideas. I'll research and plan for them, letting myself get excited and caught up in the what-if daydreams. Stuff like games, aquaponics, inventions - just about anything sparks my interest. Planning is not progress, however. I find it hard to separate the two. I get caught up in making something perfect and end up making....nothing.
Yup, nothing at all. I have my research and meticulously laid out plans only to freeze up when it's time to put pen to paper. Many people seem to have this issue and I'm no different. Even on blog posts like this, I can stare at the blank screen for awhile and be frozen with thoughts of "where do I even begin?" It's gotten to the point that I've found myself shutting down ideas before I dream of them. That's dangerous.
To combat this, I've started attempts at making things terribly. Instead of getting caught up in figuring out which way is perfect, I try to start with literally anything and work from there. I can always make changes later if something is really out of place. Worst case scenario, I scrap it and start over. As long as I keep moving forward*, I'll at least gain experience in whatever craft I'm spending time doing. In the long run, that persistence pays off in the form of knowing where pitfalls are or simply having the muscle memory to realize I'm facing the wrong direction.
This also helps me to realize when I don't have the skills to complete a project. Between making something terribly and being able to come back to things works nicely together. Yes, I want to finish my projects but sometimes I've made my scope too big and need to rethink my goals. Video game projects are a good example of this. It's easy to come up with a huge game mechanic, have no idea of how to implement it and get frustrated towards the point of giving up.
Giving up doesn't get me closer to my goals so my options are realistically one of these:
Hold on - take a break and work on something else? Isn't that the same thing? Yes and no. When I say work on something else, I really mean work on something similar to gain experience. Reducing the goal scope is great as long as it makes sense. If my goal is to make a lasagna from scratch though, anything smaller isn't lasagna. Working on something else in this case would be to make a dish with homemade noodles. It gives me experience in one step of the process of making scratch lasagna. With enough of these, making that lasagna feels more and more achievable until I'm ready to tackle it again.
When I do tackle that lasagna, it's alright if it doesn't turn out. Sometimes that's what happens when you make something terrible. Next time you can be a bit better at it. Regardless, I'm hungry now so I'm going to grab some leftover chili.
*To reference our recently watched movie, Meet the Robinsons - highly recommend giving that a watch