More and Worse

I don’t have trouble doing a thing perfectly.
Any monkey with time can achieve perfection.

But time…
Most of us just don’t get enough time for perfect.

4,732 weeks is the time most of us get.
We’re asleep for a third of that.
We’re barely awake for the rest.
And if we have anything else going on,
There’s very little time for our work — the work that makes us feel fulfilled.

Dieter Rams famously coined “less but better” as his pinnacle principle for good design.

It’s provocative.
It appeals to the part of me that believed I’d dedicate to a craft like Japanese swordsmithing.

But I’m not there.

Marriage, bills, kids — one with cancer, and a prematurely widowed mother…
At 35, I have to realize that
Now is not a time for “less but better”.

Games, recitals, campouts, publishDates, birthdays, conferences, volunteering, and family gatherings…
These are the components of my life.
When I’m lucky,
I get a brief moments to push the needle on speaking, writing, or asking the perfect question.

I’m stuck with “more and worse”.
But I’m starting to identify the potential.

I’m learning how to focus.
I’m leaning what to prioritize.
I’m training to be ready for those briefs moments of better.

I see them more clearly and strike more accurately.

After this time, I can’t be sure how many “less but butter” momentss I’ll have.
But I know they won’t escape me.

⏳ chantastic

Question: Where in your life is an ideal holding you back?
Can you do something you love worse, today?