The sooner we understand this, the better we can make progress. We often obsess over finding a one-size-fits-all solution, but every choice comes with tradeoffs. The key is deciding what we can live with.
Let’s take a common example: building software for long-term maintainability. A well-architected solution can save countless hours of debugging and fixing bugs in the future.
But there’s a catch—it takes time.
If you’re working against a tight deadline, such as releasing a feature next week, this approach might not be feasible.
Instead, you might choose a quick fix. It solves the immediate problem, but it comes with a tradeoff, increased technical debt and the issues cropping up later.
Neither option is perfect. Both come with benefits and drawbacks.
This is where the idea of balancing the pros and cons steps in.
Whether in software or in life, every decision requires weighing what you gain against what you lose, and deciding what tradeoffs you’re willing to accept.
The goal isn’t perfection.
It’s progress and finding what works.