You want to write an article, so you gather references. You want to make a small product, so you compare tools. A week later, the folder is full, but there is still no first version.
Preparation has a purpose. The harder question is knowing when you have enough to begin.
Why read this: give preparation a stopping point
Anne-Laure Le Cunff describes her own experience of overpreparing. Her article is useful when you keep waiting to feel ready: it invites you to replace that feeling with a starting condition you can actually check.
Bring one project that has been sitting in your plans. As you read, ask what you still need to know before taking a small step, and what you can learn by taking it.
The core idea: a small attempt produces information
Le Cunff describes how extensive preparation delayed her project. Setting a limit on preparation and seeking a little feedback helped her move forward. Some problems only become concrete once a first version exists.
Consider your next piece of research. Will it change how you act, or mainly make you feel that you are making progress? Find the part of the project for which you already have enough information, and begin there.
Apply it to something you are already trying to do
Read with two questions beside you:
- Would the missing information change my next step?
- What is the smallest version I could make today?
Suppose you want to create a collection of English reading recommendations. You could spend a long time choosing its name and colors. A useful first version is one reading card: the original link, the reader's question it addresses, and your reason for recommending it. Making that card will show you what information the collection actually needs.
Try this today: leave a first version behind
Give yourself 15 minutes and define what “done” will mean: an opening paragraph, one recommendation card, or a small demonstration.
Afterward, record three things:
- What you made.
- The specific obstacle you encountered.
- The one information gap to investigate next.
The result gives the next round of preparation a purpose.
Return in two or three days
Was a lack of information stopping you, or was the first step too large? What did making a version reveal that further preparation had not?
If starting still feels heavy, continue with How can you make the first step easy enough to take?.
Original article and author
Beyond Overpreparation: How to Start Before You Feel Ready · Anne-Laure Le Cunff · Ness Labs.