15 days ago, I was asked if I wanted to join in a greeting video for a friend whose birthday is next month. Her husband is collecting short videos from friends and relatives, to edit them together and show her on her birthday.

I filmed mine yesterday and when I was finished I wondered how could I have waited two weeks to do this. Well, I wanted it to be perfect. And the previous days I would always find an excuse not to do it. I look bad today. My hair is a mess. My energy is low. It’s raining. I forgot.

The embarrassment of missing a deadline was a powerful thing for me when I was in school, and still sets me in action sometimes. Yesterday at 16:00, with two hours of daylight left, I wrote a draft of what I wanted to say in my notes app and went to the park near my house. I brought my Panasonic Lumix DC-GF9, a camera I use when I want to take quality photos but don’t want to carry something as big as the DSLR. But I quickly decided I wouldn’t film the video with it because, carrying the camera at arm’s length, the shot was not flattering at all. So, I switched to my Google Pixel 6a, found a nice spot with some trees in the background, and talked to the front camera.

I took three takes of about 10 seconds where I say something like “Hi! Happy birthday, I hope you’re having a beautiful day with your family. I’m sending you a big hug, and I hope we get to see each other a lot this year.” *sends kiss to the camera*

And just like that, I had another reminder that when I postpone something, it’s not because of laziness. Just a fear that a first step is not worth it if the result is not going to be perfect. But these are tasks that don’t need to be perfect. I’m not checking the pieces of a rocket I’m sending to the moon or performing brain surgery. I’m making a video. My friend will be happy to see people who love her in it and won’t care about any flaw. The video doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be done.