What Would You Do Differently?

I was asked today about a project, “If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently?”

The answer was that there were no big pieces I would do differently. There are always 5% of the small details that I plan to do differently next time. But in terms of big, foundational pieces? No, those were all in the right place.

I think that’s a good model for any project. Get the big pieces where you need them, then accept that you’re going to need to continue to adjust and change details over time, every time. I think that’s true for my writing process, for my career path, for my teaching, for every aspect of my life.