The Iguana Effect

why it is important to get your sh*t done

The story:
My friend owns an iguana. Beautiful animal, which above all needs warmth.
The animal has a cage, with a flap as a door.
Wouldn’t it be cool to have some kind of gate instead of this stupid flap?
Something like a rolling gate.
It’s nice and compact and could be controlled with a motor.

In short: a tiny motorized rolling gate, with timers and other nice features.

He asked me, if i could build something like that.
I was enthusiastic about the project and started to work on it (a bit).
And after a while a little less. Parts ordered… and put those into a drawer, because some parts where still missing.
The project was resting (aka: rotting) in the drawer. I got back to it, put it away again … and so on.
Some measurements got lost, because not everything was written down, “I’ll sort it out next time I see you.”
Finally finished, except for a few small things,
i needed to visit my friend to take some final measurements.

The iguana died in the meantime. Yep.
This is exactly the “iguana effect”.

Get your sh*t done, before it gets useless.

My (new) method is quite simple:
Every now and then I write down what I haven’t finished yet.
Everything on the list that hasn’t been done by the end of the year goes into the garbage can.
Otherwise it’s just ballast that won’t let you go.

It was apparently neither important nor interesting enough to be worth any more time anyway.
Procastinating is just an excuse not to get off your ass.
There are always reasons to prefer something. But if you don’t finish something, it’s usually based on a vague excuse.

Understanding. Get rid of it. Next project.
(and yes, we are still friends)