In and Out of the Zone

Andrew said last night that I had been “in the zone” for a week or two, meaning that I had been completely immersed in my work. I’m sure Kim would agree with that; I know that I certainly can. And, while it’s nice to be focused, it’s important not to sacrifice people in the process.

I was right to put so much energy into SET Consulting, but I need to figure out how to do it without losing myself. It sounds silly, but it’s very possibe to forget about the world and live mechanically. It reminds me of when I was in ninth grade and I made my first website–I hardly ever came out of my bedroom for seven days. But times have changed: I have more responsibilties to both others and myself.

One can’t be a total perfectionist with anything. Think about it: have you ever thought about a project and dreamed about how perfect it would come out? Maybe it was a semester-long project or a work-out plan or even a relationship? Well, try as you might, it’s not going to work out exactly as you want. The semester long project is going to be different than you’d planned, and you know it could be improved. The work-out plan might be stuck to, but you’re likely not going to meet every landmark. And the relationship, well, imperfect people can’t live a perfect relationship.

It’s the same thing with my company. One of two things can happen: I can either finish fairly good versions for a specific date or I can finish *perfect* versions sometimes in the year 2004, which will, of course, need to be revised up until 2010. No, the real world isn’t perfect and, while I hope to be contented, I can’t expect perfection.

I’m not settling, and I’m not advocating settling. What I’m saying is that, while one should aim for perfection, there comes a time when one has to pause and be content with where they are. And during that pause one needs to live the rest of their life. So, I’m just going to make sure that my breaks really are breaks and that I can meet my reasonable expectations.

Thank you, Kim, for such a great vacation in New Hampshire–for clearing my mind and showing me that there’s no such thing as focus without a background. I like my background and I don’t want it to go anywhere.