Building a birdhouse badly still gives a bird a house. Usefulness forgives a lot.

CREATIVITY

WHAT THIS MEANS

A certain kind of perfectionism forgets what the object is actually for. Crooked joints and visible screws mean nothing to the bird, which needs shelter and a hole the right size. Function sets a floor your skill level cannot drop below, and that is freeing, because the first attempt already works. Craft is what you add on top once the thing does its job.

Make the useful version this weekend rather than the good version eventually. Check the two or three things that genuinely have to be right, like the size of the opening and whether rain gets in. Then build a second one and let it be neater.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

What would you build badly if it still worked?

MORE IN CREATIVITY & ORIGINALITY

Free, with nothing to buy inside it.