I'll admit now that most of this is just an epiphany I had while seeking sound metaphors to address your problem. Please don't revere me as someone who has rise

I'll admit now that most of this is just an epiphany I had while seeking sound metaphors to address your problem. Please don't revere me as someone who has risen above the struggle you feel mired in. One of our great motivators, by nature or as a cultural byproduct, is avoiding criticism. As we accrue expertise, we're also slowly filling an invisible backpack. We slip in a little stone of frustration every time we deal with something done "wrong". We feel powerful when we stand up with this hard-earned weight about us, but now we have to circle every mountain a few times, looking for the unimpeachable path to the summit; our backpack is too heavy for anything but the best route. Because we've learned most any quandary can be solved with some extra research and new knowledge, every choice can turn into its own mountain. This was probably a virtue and not a trap when there wasn't so much to read on even trivial choices to keep the studious engaged for weeks, months or years. When you work for someone else, it's clear they'd rather have an imperfect solution on time than a perfect solution two years late. It's also clear they'll only pay for one of these (if they know what they're doing...). But when you're doing unpaid work for yourself, you have a really naive boss who doesn't have the sense to call you off when you're in the weeds hunting perfection. So, here's the plot twist: you've learned this is a switch that seems to get flipped for you when the pressure is really on--let's call that pressure what it is: your desire to avoid criticism. Unpack this for a second. The motivation that drives you to optimize every decision is the same one that drives you to deliver when you must. You no doubt notice the healthy crowds refining productivity systems/tools, or looking for new ones to try; they are all searching for a boss by another name. They are all trying create a surrogate for fear of public failure out of paper or code or an egg timer. Don't be deceived by sugar-coating; people who extoll the virtues of getting an MVP into the hands of users and iterating are talking about giving people something good enough they will use but bad enough they will criticize. They are talking about manufacturing opportunities to fail and about leveraging that fear to succeed.