We human beings live short, uncertain lives. It’s only natural to want to make the most of the time and energy we have. At its core, optimization is about front-loading effort so things run more smoothly and efficiently later. With that kind of upside, why wouldn’t we choose to optimize when solving a problem? Some of the smartest people I know are busy optimizing.
But optimization isn’t free. It’s operationally expensive. It has diminishing returns. It costs us time, focus, and momentum in tackling complexity. And it assumes we understand the problem well enough to optimize it in the first place.
Imagine two outcomes for the same task: recording an album. One is rough and imperfect, but finished and out in the world. The other is polished, precise, and optimized—theoretically closer to perfect. But still sitting unfinished. Which one made more impact?
A Personal Story
In 2019, I spent 6 months writing a four track EP that garnered over 100,000 streams and led to thousands of dollars in writing deals, all because it existed and people could hear it. I also really nailed the guerilla marketing by getting everything out quickly.
Since 2023, I’ve spent over 2 years painstakingly assembling a full album that, as of this writing, still hasn’t come out yet. Granted, art is not always about return on investment. For me, it never really has been. And it will be released this year. Letting it go will be cathartic. But I often wonder: how much more could I have done with my music in the last few years if I had just gotten out of my own way? What if I had valued impact over optimization and perfectionism?
The Core Issue
There comes a point when optimizing is holding you back from the impact you’re looking to create. You start chasing after the perfect setup. Once you’ve achieved that setup, surely you will reap the benefits of your hard work. But often, that payoff never arrives. Optimization becomes a never-ending loop. We start looking for ways to optimize further. The more obsessive among us, myself included, might start to believe the next optimization is the one that will finally deliver us satisfaction. It never does.
In no way, shape, or form can we actually achieve the perfection we seek. There are too many conditions that are out of our control. And this lack of control breeds dissatisfaction. We’ve put in all of this effort only to be disappointed with the outcome.
It might be a useful skill to recognize when optimization might actually be procrastination in disguise.
A Software Engineering Perspective
I know a lot of software developers who fall into the trap of updating their terminal setups, dotfiles, and editor configs. I’ve invested countless hours trying to make sure my workflows are dialed in, my tools are the latest and most modern, and my color schemes speak to my soul. But here’s the sad truth about all this optimizing—my value as a software developer doesn’t come from the tools I use, but the code I ship. Now I don’t regret all of the tinkering and optimizing I’ve done in this space, because I had fun doing it and learned some things along the way. But there are surely some hours I’ll never get back from diving down the rabbit hole on tools I didn’t end up getting much value from in the long run.
Be Flexible
More important than optimization is being present, being mindful, being engaged, and flexible.
Life is chaotic, and requirements might shift under your feet. Most real-world problems are ambiguous. They are difficult. They take time and investment to understand, let alone optimize for. Spending too much time purposely optimizing leads to paralysis, sunk costs, and missed opportunities.
The best kind of optimization comes naturally—often when we’re not intentionally looking to optimize something. Humans are good at optimizing things they do frequently. It seems like our brains are hard-wired for these sorts of optimizations to take shape over many repetitions. Organic optimization is a sign of mastery, something that is earned after we put in the practice.
Being flexible will create far more value for us than our ability to optimize. It creates more value than any form of perceived perfection. Working within ambiguity and limitations forces us to use our creativity to solve problems, and that’s how some of the best things get made.
Sometimes it’s better to release the rough version, learn, and improve for the next time. Optimization can be a powerful tool, but only if you know when to stop.