Ask what a mistake would cost before you do it badly

You may have taken in the line that anything worth doing is worth doing badly, and for some people it was a relief: the room that stayed dirty because it could not be done properly, the workout skipped because it would not be an hour. This page is about where that advice stops. If you are about to use it on a job where a mistake could hurt someone, it is for you. If your trouble is the opposite, and every job feels like that kind, it is not, and the pages linked at the end are a better start.

Do it badly when the worst that can happen is a redo; when a mistake could hurt someone or hide a fault you cannot see, do that part properly or get someone qualified to do it.

Where people say it stops

Some people, replying to the advice, say plainly that it does not cover everything. They name wiring, pipes, structures, surgery and aircraft: jobs where a mistake can injure or kill someone, or sit unseen in a wall until it causes a fire or rot. Some people say a half-done job on wiring or pipes can be worse than none, because the danger is hidden. One person says that when someone else relies on your work being right, doing it badly becomes a safety problem.

Some people add a condition even for ordinary jobs: a rough attempt only beats doing nothing if it still points the right way. Otherwise it makes more work, or an injury. One person’s example is a fence that has to hold animals in; a bad fence is wasted effort. The person who offered the advice answered that a bad start builds the routine, and that it was meant for personal tasks like hygiene and homework, where failing costs a redo.

What careful people keep

One reply draws the line like this: do the part that keeps people safe properly, and cut only the steps that save effort.

It also meets an objection. In the same exchange, one reply says that in high-stakes work the alternative to a rough version is often no version at all, so what matters is knowing the compromise is temporary. That is one person’s view, and the warnings above still stand: it does not cover wiring, gas or anything where a hidden fault can hurt someone. One person’s example is a patch on rotted wood to stop damage that is happening now, understood not to be the repair. Another person warns that temporary fixes become permanent if you forget they were temporary.

Two jobs at home

Wiring and pipes come up in what people warn about. One person says not to do electrical wiring or pipe work yourself without the skill, because a hidden fault or leak can ruin the house.

For electrical work, Electrical Safety First, a UK charity, says any electrical work should be left to competent professionals. It says work in a bathroom, or a new circuit, must be done or reviewed and signed off by a registered competent electrician, and that a lot of home electrical work is notifiable to the local authority under Part P of the Building Regulations. It recommends a registered electrician for any electrical work in the home. In the US, permit and licensing rules vary by state and town, and this page could not check yours. For gas, the NHS says boilers, heaters and cookers should be serviced regularly by a qualified and registered engineer. If something electrical or gas-fired seems wrong, the safe rough step costs nothing: stop using it, and call a qualified person. If you think a gas appliance is leaking carbon monoxide, stop using it, get outside and stay out, then call the National Gas Helpline on 0800 111 999 (UK) or 911 (US). If you smell gas, do not flip any light switch or use anything that could make a spark, and put out any flame. In the UK, SGN, one of the gas networks, says to open doors and windows, turn the gas off at the meter if you can reach it without going into a cellar, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999, free at any hour. In the US, Connecticut’s utility regulator says to leave if the smell is strong, tell others to leave, and call your gas company or 911 from a phone away from the smell. If anyone is hurt, or there is fire or smoke, call 999 or 911.

Work other people finish

At a job, the picture changes because someone else picks up what you leave. Some people say half-done work often gets redone by a colleague, and causes friction. Others, in research and software, say waiting for a perfect design or perfect data stops progress, and that a preliminary version is how you move. One person says messy code becomes unreadable later, so clarity matters if there is time.

One exception to the exception

One person lists CPR among the jobs where a rough effort does not count. The guidance reads the other way. St John Ambulance’s steps for an adult who is unresponsive and not breathing normally are to have someone call 999 or 112 while you start, to push at 100 to 120 compressions a minute, and, if you cannot or will not give rescue breaths, to give continuous chest compressions. That includes a route for a person with no training, so by that guidance fear of doing it badly is not a reason to stand back. Babies and children need different steps, which a first-aid course covers.

A physical skill is different again

One person warns that staying sloppy in a physical skill can lead to injury, and that good enough has to grow into better over time, so the bad first version is a start and not a place to stay.

Who this page is not for

If your work is one of the safety-critical jobs, this was never your permission slip, and you already know it. If the trouble is the other way round, if the dishes and the email have joined the list of high-stakes jobs, the page above does not mean they belong there. The person who offered the original advice kept it for tasks where a failure costs a redo.