Stuck? Slime it!

If you're anything like me, you've dealt with Analysis Paralysis. That's the overwhelming feeling you get when you don't know what to pick or how to proceed, and you're stuck wading in an ocean of choice with no dry land in sight. What if I told you the way to avoid that was to just do anything?

I'm a big proponent of Test Driven Development, or TDD, whose major selling point is outlining how your code should work before you write it. I learned early on in my career the safety net that testing provides you with and how it can drive your code, and project as a whole, to a cleaner state.

But Felipe, what does TDD have to do with Analysis Paralysis and my inability to start something?

-You, probably

The answer is easy. It comes down to “slime”.

I first learned this concept from Jeffrey Way. I've learned so many things from Jeffrey, as have most of us in the Laravel community, but this piece of advice is something I come back to a lot.

When explaining TDD, he mentioned the concept of “slime-ing” a feature. This comes from the fact that running tests in your terminal typically either show red when there's an error, or green when they are passing.

The green, therefore, is the “slime”. But it's not just about the color, instead, it refers to “doing what you must to get a test to green”. What does that mean? Well, it means making any changes to the code, or building a feature in any way — regardless of cleanliness — to prove that something works. To do the bare minimum that gets your test passing and produces what you want!

Are you starting to see the connection?

Your goal, when stuck in paralysis, is to just do something. It may not be the prettiest thing, or the most optimal, or even the final solution! But by just doing something you'll learn enough to know how to take the next step.

• Not sure what outfit to wear? Open your closet and pick a random top and bottom!
• Not sure how to write that scary email or text? Start writing whatever comes to your head!
• Not sure what framework to use to finally build your next big project? Obviously, use Laravel, but for the sake of argument: just pick one and start writing!

Does this mean you'll walk out of the house with a dress shirt and swim trunks? No. Does it mean sending word-soup to your boss or loved one at 2 am? No, again. Does it mean writing your SaaS in anything outside of Laravel, hopefully not! But it does mean picking something and breaking through your paralysis!

The best decision you can make when you're stuck is any decision that gets you unstuck. You can always reevaluate later, make changes, and slime something else if you need to.

Once you make a choice, it should feel gross. It should make you want to pick something better. That's why it's called “slime-ing”, but at least you have something decent and can make adjustments instead of being stuck staring at a crossroad and not moving. You're putting yourself on a path so that the next choice you make is an improvement with clear constraints and not another paralyzing choice.

So, next time you're stuck at the start, go ahead and slime it. Get your internal test to green, you can always go back and clean it up.

But cleanup is step two, and I have thoughts on that as well 😅…

For now, keep moving and stay stable!