What is Imperfect Practice?

Practice makes perfect.

That mantra has been drilled into us from our youth, meant to drive us forward. To encourage us to keep trying and not give up. It is meant to inspire, repeated over and over by well-intentioned adults. Adults who, I am certain, were told the same. It is a maxim so overused, we all just take it as fact.

I say it's rubbish.

Practice doesn't make perfect. But it can make better. And after nearly 5 decades, I've decided that better is the most we can ask for.

Welcome to Imperfect Practice. I'm Peter Jones, and I'm so glad you've stopped by. Over the years, I've found myself increasingly disillusioned with much of the content online that is meant to inspire. It promises quick fixes and perfect solutions. We are told that if we follow these simple steps, our lives will somehow, almost as if by magic, be better.

Perhaps they tell us that if we follow the formula they are going to spell out for us, we will become new people. Or they guarantee that the system they are selling will make all our dreams come true.

I don't believe it.

I don't believe it because in many cases I've tried it. I've followed the systems; I've put the quick fixes to the test. The perfect journaling prompts and ideal task management systems? Been there, done that, have the T-shirt. And I've taken the time to look into the research behind the claims.

Through my own trial and error, I've learned there is no perfect—just this messy, imperfect practice session we call life. It's on each of us to try, succeed, and, more often, fail. From that, we learn what we can, take what works, and make those lessons a part of our lives in an effort to become our own ideal selves.

That is why Imperfect Practice exists.

Why this? Why now?

That is the question, isn't it? Why do this? Why take the time to put this out there, and why, at this stage of my life, do I think I have anything unique to offer?

I'm a practicing surgeon, husband, and father of four.

I've managed to juggle full-time school and full-time work in my undergraduate education. I navigated a rigorous medical school with a young family, thousands of miles from our extended family and support structure. I completed a six-year surgical residency that was incredibly demanding while still maintaining those essential connections to the people that matter to me the most.

And over the past thirteen years, I've built a urology practice from scratch to become the premier practice in the region.

I've lived an amazing life, one I am grateful for every day.

But balancing all those different aspects has been extremely tough, and required that I constantly be willing to try new things to make it all work. Everything I share is something I have lived.

It's not just that I have the life experience.

More importantly, I'm a curious person. I have always had a desire to experiment, try new systems, new methods, and new tools. That curiosity pushes me to share this experience with others. My goal is to encourage every reader to do the same: experiment in their own lives, find what resonates with them, and use that to achieve what they most want.

Finding Purpose

Imperfect Practice is a place for me to share some of those experiments, those trials. Here I can share what worked, what didn't, and discuss the reasons behind both the successes and the failures.

This is where I can dive into the tools I have found, the tools that help me on my quest to become the person I want to be.

I'm not here to try and convince you that my ways are the right ones. Truth is, I plan to discuss more attempts that were unsuccessful than things that actually worked.

The road to success is paved with our past failures.

And while failure is often considered an ugly word that should be avoided, I believe it is something we should embrace. Failure is how we find our success.

You are going to fail. If you do it right, you will fail over and over throughout your life. Accept it now. Failure is a crucial part of success. No one ever lifted 500 pounds without failing over and over. Don’t be afraid of failure. Like discomfort, make failure your friend.

—Arnold Schwarzenegger

My focus will necessarily be broad. There are only so many articles and videos one can watch about how to build successful habits. Life is a mix of different experiences and emotions, and is in constant flux. Our tools, systems, and priorities must then be adaptable as well. And while I won't be confining what I cover to just a narrow window, there is intention behind every decision.

That's where the five pillars of Imperfect Practice come in.

The Five Pillars

The Foundation

The Foundation is all about the self. This is where I discuss key habits, tools, beliefs, and behaviors that make us who we are. Mindfulness, habit development, fitness, nutrition, sleep, and our essential downtime activities all rest on the Foundation.

The Instrument

The Instrument is how we get our work done. These are the tools we use: hardware and software. These are the systems that keep us on track, the workflows that get us through our days.

The Voice

I believe that each of us has a creative spark, which is often either neglected or doused out. I know at times in my life, mine has been some of both. The Voice is all about discovering that spark, fanning it so it becomes a flame that ignites a passion within us.

The Well

As we try new systems, tools, or work to build new habits, we need a well of knowledge, inspiration, and motivation to draw from. The Well embodies that by encouraging lifelong learning, reflection, and connection of the ideas we find and have.

The Practice

The Practice puts it all together. This is where the rubber meets the road. The Practice bears the weight of real life. These posts will be the most personal, and hopefully the most useful, as I reveal just how I live my life, supported by all five of these pillars.

Imperfect Practice exists and stands on its own.

But given the nature of many of the topics I'll discuss, visuals will be helpful, and pictures only go so far. The Imperfect Practice channel on YouTube complements this site, allowing more demonstrations and the ability to go hands-on with many of the topics I will discuss. With the different formats, the content won't be identical, but they will often mirror each other.

If you, too, are tired of empty promises and "easy" solutions—if you want grounded, real-world experiments on living a better life—you might feel at home here.

I invite you to subscribe, both here and over on YouTube. The synthesis of the written word and videos will provide the greatest benefit, offering the most insights. Feel free to reach out, comment, and share the results of your own experiments.

That's all we can do. Try our best, help others along the way, and make our way through life. Every day is another chance to practice imperfectly.

If you want to join me on this journey, subscribe, and let me know what you're experimenting with as well.