Precision vs. Tolerance: The Balance Between Details That Matter and Those That Don’t

On March 1st 2025, I sent out the first issue of The Lantern. Or at least, I thought I did.

I had spent time refining the content, ensuring it aligned with the vision I had for this new iteration of my newsletter. But as I scanned the email after sending, I noticed something: it read “Vol. 1, Issue 5.”

A minor mistake. One that, in the grand scheme of things, didn’t change the value of the email. The insights, the links, the structure—everything else was as intended. But still, it nagged at me.

And that moment—of noticing but choosing to move forward—got me thinking about the larger relationship we have with details, precision, and tolerance. When do details matter enough to warrant a correction? When do they serve as distractions from meaningful progress? And how do we balance the pursuit of accuracy with the acceptance of imperfection in our relationship with time?

This is where the interplay between precision and tolerance comes into focus.

Defining Precision and Tolerance in the Context of Productiveness

In technical fields—engineering, machining, architecture—precision is paramount. A few millimeters can mean the difference between a bridge standing for a century or collapsing under pressure. Tolerance, in these contexts, is defined as the acceptable margin of error within which something can still function as intended.

But what about in our personal lives? In our work? In how we craft our time?

• Precision in productivity might look like scheduling work in 25-minute increments, color-coding projects, or meticulously maintaining a system like PARA or GTD.
• Tolerance allows for adaptability, ensuring that slight deviations don’t derail momentum. It’s the built-in buffer that lets us move forward even when things aren’t perfect.

Both matter. But the art of managing time productively lies in knowing when to lean on precision and when to embrace tolerance.

When Precision Serves Us and When It Becomes a Hindrance

We live in a culture that overvalues precision in some areas while neglecting it in others.

• We agonize over inbox zero while failing to build a sustainable email routine.
• We strive for the “perfect” to-do list while delaying the actual doing.
• We hesitate to launch a project because the website font isn’t quite right.

This is where precision becomes a trap—when it moves from being a tool for clarity to an excuse for avoidance.

In my case, would fixing “Issue 5” to say “Issue 1” change anything for my readers? No. But would obsessing over it, resending an email, and overcorrecting slow down meaningful progress? Absolutely.

However, there are times when precision is vital:

• If I miswrote a date for an upcoming webinar, that’s a detail that must be corrected.
• If I were publishing The Productivity Diet and mislabeled a key framework, that could cause confusion.
• If I failed to double-check the math in an ROI model, it could mislead people into poor decisions.

The question to ask is: Does this detail meaningfully affect the outcome?

If yes, refine. If not, move forward.

Tolerance: The Often-Ignored Key to Managing Time Effectively

If precision is about control, tolerance is about trust. Trusting that a minor imperfection won’t undermine the larger goal. Trusting that time well spent is about alignment, not accuracy.

I’ve often said that time isn’t something we manage—it’s something we have a relationship with. And like any good relationship, it thrives not on rigid precision but on thoughtful balance.

Tolerance in time management means structuring a day without micromanaging every minute. It means setting a theme for the day, knowing that small deviations won’t break the system. It’s about allowing for the natural ebb and flow of work and energy, rather than forcing productivity into an unrealistic mold.

A well-crafted time system—like TimeCrafting—embraces tolerance. It doesn’t demand strict adherence to every detail. Instead, it allows for flexibility, ensuring that precision serves the bigger picture rather than dictating it.

The Relationship Between Tolerance and Attention

Another way to look at this is through the lens of attention.

Where we direct our attention determines the level of precision we apply. The challenge is that modern information systems weaponize our attention, forcing precision where it isn’t needed and eroding tolerance where it is.

Think about it: Social media notifications pull our attention to insignificant precision—whether a comment was liked, whether an algorithm boosted a post, whether we replied fast enough. Meanwhile, we fail to build tolerance for deep work, becoming impatient when focus isn’t immediate.

This is why reclaiming control over our attention is key to mastering the interplay between precision and tolerance. By choosing where to apply detail-oriented focus and where to embrace imperfection, we gain clarity in how we spend our time.

How to Apply This to Your Relationship with Time

So how do we apply this? Here are a few guiding principles:

What details, if incorrect, would meaningfully impact your work? What time commitments must remain fixed? What elements of your system require consistency to function well?

These are the areas where precision is essential.

Does your day need to start exactly at 9 AM, or can you allow for variation based on energy? Can you work in 50-minute blocks instead of precisely 45? Is it more important to follow a writing routine than to write for an exact word count?

These are areas where tolerance can prevent rigidity from stalling progress.

Are you spending too much energy on formatting a to-do list rather than doing the tasks? Are you obsessing over minor details that don’t change the outcome? Are you neglecting areas where attention to detail would make a difference?

Redirect your attention accordingly.

Time theming creates structured flexibility: Precision in themes, tolerance in execution. Attention Paths help define where focus should go, ensuring that energy isn’t wasted on unimportant precision. A form of reflective practice ensures precision in reflection while allowing tolerance in adjustments.

By designing systems that embrace both, we create a more sustainable approach to managing our relationship with time.

The Lantern’s “Issue 5” and the Bigger Picture

If there’s one takeaway from the Issue 5 mishap, it’s this: Mistakes are often magnified in our minds more than they are in reality.

No one unsubscribed because of the numbering. No one called it out. And yet, the impulse to correct it was strong.

This is the challenge we all face in managing our time: learning to distinguish between the details that deserve our attention and the ones we can let go.

We don’t need to be precise about everything. But we do need to be precise about what matters.

And if we can develop that skill—the ability to hold precision and tolerance in harmony—our relationship with time will be far more effective, intentional, and ultimately, productive.