Small Tweaks, Big Trouble: Why Chasing Perfection Can Lead Away From It?

Sometimes, a project that started with energy and clarity turns into something else — a relentless checklist of small changes, back-and-forth comments, and decisions made by preference rather than purpose.

When that happens, it’s hard to stay sharp. I want to give you my best work, but constant tiny adjustments (changing corner radii, tweaking font sizes, adjusting logo positions) can drain the creative energy that’s needed to tackle the real problems that got the project started.

I know these changes can seem small and feel important, like quick improvements that should be easy to make. But in reality, most changes aren’t isolated. A tweak in one place often creates ripple effects elsewhere. It can disrupt the logic of the layout, introduce inconsistencies, or even make the overall user experience weaker in other areas. So while it might look like a five-minute task, it often takes much more time. Not just to implement, but to rethink and rebalance the whole system.

Over time, too many of these requests shift the focus away from the real problem and drain the energy that was meant for solving it. Instead of addressing your users’ needs or hitting business targets, we end up chasing visual perfection. That can slow everything down, increase costs, and dilute the final result.

Here’s what I try to do when I feel that shift happening:
I pause. I go back to the beginning. I ask myself:

• What was the initial challenge we set out to solve?
• What pain points did we identify at the start?
• How does this design decision improve the overall user experience?
• Are these adjustments really essential to achieving our business goals?

You can do the same. If a change isn’t clearly helping us reach that goal, maybe we don’t need it.

What helps most?

• Clarity over perfection. Every decision should bring us closer to the goal, not just make something “look better.”
• Trust. You hired us to bring a mix of logic, experience, and creativity. Let’s lean on that.
• Focused feedback. Not every detail needs discussion. Often, the most constructive response is simply acknowledging that a decision works and doesn’t need changing.
• Shared purpose. When we’re both aiming at the same thing, the process is smoother and more fun.

Great results come from energy, clarity, and trust. When that spark is protected, the work gets better, the process gets faster, and we all leave feeling good about what we made.

That’s always the goal.

Oskar Mihhailov (oskar@rethink.ee) Liis Viljar (liis@rethink.ee)

UX/UI design