One of the tensions I’ve long battled with is the outer demand to get things done versus the inner desire to get things right. Sometimes the latter has been so strong in me that I’ve ended up doing absolutely nothing.
A good friend of mine used to say (quoting G. K. Chesterton), “If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” With some caveats, I’m coming round to his way of thinking. And if it does go badly, there’s always D. L. Moody’s famous retort: “I prefer my way of doing things, to your way of not doing things.”
Doug Wilson offers some thoughts on the subject.
And incidentally, if you’re in London next week, come and hear Dr Richard Winter talking about a related subject, Perfectionism.
Future Perfect // Present Tense 
I once knew a man that said that too! Funny that! I have found it very liberating at times!
maybe “If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing as well as you can in a limited and specified timeframe.”
Not as snappy granted 🙂
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I once spent about an hour debating the phrase with a friend. We concluded that the only construction that made sense was ‘if a job’s worth doing, do it.’ Then we wondered whether we could have spent that hour more constructively.
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