Grasping at Control in a World That Won’t Cooperate

I’m a perfectionist. Always have been.
It doesn’t help that I can spot a double space from a mile away, or tell that a picture is a pixel off-center. All this despite being literally short-sighted.

But here’s the kicker: I work in event organization. And if there’s one universal truth in events, it’s that something will go wrong. Always. The only thing you can expect is the unexpected. A speaker gets food poisoning. The mics got locked in another room. The Wi-Fi collapses out of protest. You can’t plan for all of it. You just watch, adapt, and put out fires.

Maybe that’s why I cling so hard to the things I can control — the spacing in a graphic, the formatting of a post, the timing of a tweet. Maybe perfectionism isn’t a quirk. Maybe it’s my attempt to make peace with a world where 98% of things are gloriously out of my hands.

The Myth of the Perfect Plan

Back when I worked as a product manager, I was a firm believer in agile. Do, ship, test, break, fix, repeat. Don’t overthink it. Just move. But lately? Even agile feels like it’s been kidnapped by middle managers and held hostage in Jira. Counting story points. Sitting in infinite calls. The vibe is gone. The new meme is born.

Making plans feels amazing. You get that little dopamine kick. Everything’s clear, organized, achievable. On paper. Maybe you’ve got a clean page in your favorite notebook and your Muji pen. You write down all your brilliant thoughts. You work hard. Done? Congrats. Time to scroll Instagram as a reward. Oh, look, more inspiration! Better make some new plans.

Planning feels like doing. And I’m not saying that making notes is wrong — writing things down can help. But let’s be honest: sometimes it can be a trap. A beautiful, well-organized trap with bullet points and stickers.

Let It Be Messy

So how do I get out? I’m not sure yet. Honestly, I’m not even sure it’s safe out there. Maybe the world really does fall apart when you make a typo . But I’ve been testing that theory lately, especially when it’s someone else’s responsibility. Yes, that last graphic had uneven spacing. And you know what? The event still happened. People showed up. And the world was still here, last time I checked.

So here’s where I’m at:
Stop making grand plans.
Go f****** do something.
One step at a time.
Let it be imperfect.
Watch it compound.

Perfection is slow death. Motion is freedom.