Often, the biggest reason for shoddy work is the belief that what we’re learning or doing will never come of use. We don’t like it, we perceive it useless and we try to do the minimum and move on.
I’ve found, however, that the world conspires (with unerring consistency) to make sure you have to do it again. I have so many comical instances where I put in the minimum required effort to get something done with the belief that I’ll never have to do so again and then found myself having to re-do it properly a few days/months down the line.
The enlightened approach to this is to just do things well. That is easier said than done, of course. Applying yourself to everything you do requires a consistency of effort and a commitment to focus and discipline that is unusual.
But, the benefit of doing things well is that, if and when you need to do them again (and you will) at a later time, you will remember the Steve Jobs line and say ‘Ah, the dots do connect.’
Because they do.
A Learning a Day 