What idiot wrote this crap? Oh right. It was me.

When in doubt, start fresh.

Extensively revising a piece of work that isn’t working, is a waste of time and energy. There’s too much overhead. Too much dwelling on the past.

It’s more economical and more encouraging to simply begin anew. Clean slate. Fresh powder.

As long as you’re willing to ignore sunk costs, and willing to accept that the first version did its job by bringing you here, then you can start over with a fresh perspective. Otherwise you’ll feel bound by the limitations of your initial iteration. Constrained by existing structures.

I am amazed how often people want to go back to a project that was fundamentally flawed from the get go, and try to save it. They essentially work in reverse, laying incremental improvements over the vestiges of their original vision.

And it’s exhausting, because they’re burdened by the struggle to salvage what wasn’t working. Hell, if I’m going to put that much blood, sweat and tears into something, I may as well be moving in a forward direction.

The hard part about this approach is, you have to take into account variable change. Because perspectives shift. Growth happens. You have to embrace the shifting currents and adapt to your new landscape by executing new work.

Rubin, the gray bearded record producer of some of popular music’s finest albums, writes about this his book on creativity. Rick says:

The person who makes something today isn’t the same person who returns to the work tomorrow.

I love this insight, because it’s a modern version of the old proverb, you can’t step in the same river twice. This is true both for individuals and organizations alike.

When in doubt, start fresh. Don’t invest your finite time and energy extensively revising something you already made. Go make something new. Take into account variable change, and execute based on the person you’ve become since you made the last thing.

Do you really need to lay incremental improvements over the vestiges of your original vision?