Keep it simple, stupid — Tip #24
A reminder to myself 🤓
Today marks the fifth month that I have been continuously traveling with just one luggage aka “life in a box”. Feeling a bit fatigued and wishing for a base to call “home” again. At the same time, the considerations feel endless: which place would be best at this time of year? Which offers the best value for money? Which has the best air quality until I move? And the list goes on.
It’s easy, especially if you tend to overthink, to start weighing countless variables and factors, both foreseen and unforeseen, until you end up in a state of analysis paralysis.
This is a good reminder of one of the best computer science classes I had at university. During a software engineering course, our professor said, “When dealing with complex requirements, make sure to keep it simple. Actually, make sure to keep it simple, stupid.” Coming from a generally serious professor who rarely cracked a joke, that sentence stuck with me. I later discovered it’s attributed to Lockheed aircraft engineer Kelly Johnson.
The anecdote goes that, when designing a jet aircraft, Kelly threw a bunch of tools on the table and asked his design team to make sure the jet they were building could be repaired using only those tools and nothing else. That reflects a typical combat situation, where not everything will be available. Keep it simple, stupid, or you may lose the battle.
I’m in a similar situation now: a handful of tools and the risk of over-engineering a solution that I’m going to change again soon anyway. As highlighted in the last tip, “Be water, my friend” is another angle from which to look at it. Being flexible right now, is more important than making the perfect decision.
Your weekly tip: Many popular sayings capture the idea that “done is better than perfect”. So keep it simple, stupid, and move on to the next thing.
Don’t forget to share this tip with a friend who overthinks 🫰(feel free to send it back to me 🤡)
See you next week, until then…
Don’t Panic 😱