First impressions are overrated. The real test of an interface is whether it gets out of the way the second time.

Start with the boring part

Most of what makes work good is invisible: naming things well, deciding what not to build, writing the empty state before the happy path. None of it photographs well, which is exactly why it is worth doing.

I keep a short list taped above my desk. Read it twice. Remove one thing. Ship on a Tuesday. It is not a philosophy, just a set of habits that have saved me more times than any tool.

What I would tell myself a year ago

Ask for the real deadline. Price the thinking, not the pixels. And when something feels finished, wait a day — it usually is not, and the fix is usually smaller than you fear.