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+---
+
+# perfectionism over hackathon fit
+
+## what happened
+
+spent 1-2 extra hours polishing when a rougher version would have been fine. was more intent on perfection than i should have been. those hours could have gone toward the pitch or the demo.
+
+## why it's a gotcha
+
+in a hackathon, time is the only resource that matters. polishing a feature that already works is a luxury you can't afford when you haven't practiced your presentation or tested the full flow. shipped and rough beats polished and unfinished every time.
+
+## the fix
+
+set a "code freeze" time — usually 1-2 hours before presentations. after that, you're only fixing critical bugs and prepping the demo. no new features, no refactoring, no "just one more thing."
+
+## see also
+
+- [[over-planning-trap]] — perfectionism's cousin: planning forever
+- [[just-one-more-feature-loop]] — the feature version of perfectionism
+- [[match-the-theme-track]] — make sure you're polishing the right thing
+- [[practice-presentation-once]] — what to do with the time you save
+- [[pitching-matters-as-much-as-product]] — polish the pitch, not the code
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