Oops, I Refactored Again

Okay. Deep breath. I was just going to fix one thing.

A label. A typo. A harmless little div.

But then I noticed the padding was off.

And the button component felt… weird?

So I opened the file. Then another file. Then—

“While you’re in here, might as well rename those props…”

says my brain. Loudly. Uninvited.

And now Buffer’s chiming in, too.

Buffer’s the mascot for Almost Done.

Sticky-note-covered, hoodie-wearing, deeply chaotic.

They mostly live in my head, offering commentary I didn’t ask for — but now they’ve been given form. And a job. (Mascot, not project manager. Let’s be clear.)

They’re not alone, either.

There’s Ping, who insists we clean up the folder structure.

Echo, whispering affirmations while I spiral.

And Zap… well, Zap is why things get shipped at 1:47 AM with zero tests and maximum vibes.

More on them later.

Right now, I need to admit something:

This issue was meant to be simple.

A short essay. Quick draft. Hit publish.

But then I rewrote the outline.

Tweaked the voice. Rethought the structure.

Refactored... the entire point.

So here we are.

Talking about why we do this.

Why “just one quick fix” turns into a 4-hour spiral.

And how perfectionism in dev clothes still counts as procrastination.

Let’s unpack it. Slowly. Before Buffer adds another comment.

It always starts innocent.

I open the editor to fix one thing.
A label. A little spacing bug. A quick win.

But then I notice the button props are inconsistent.
Which reminds me that the design tokens are still using the old naming scheme.
Which means I need to update the spacing scale.
Which… oh no. I’m in a refactor loop again.

“You said this would take five minutes.”
— Famous last words, starring me and my deeply unreliable sense of scope

Refactoring is one of those dev rituals that feels like progress.
And sometimes it is!
Sometimes the code gets cleaner. Faster. Simpler.
But if I’m honest? A lot of the time I’m not refactoring to improve the code.
I’m doing it to avoid starting something harder.

🧠 It’s Not Laziness — It’s Safety

Writing new features is full of unknowns.
Refactoring is familiar.

It’s like the difference between building IKEA furniture vs. rearranging the living room.
One requires decisions. The other gives you just enough control to feel productive without risk.

When I’m overwhelmed, tired, or creatively fried — I reach for the safe chaos of a refactor.
Because it has:

• A defined start and end
• A satisfying visual result
• And most importantly… no scary blank page

🔁 The Spiral

It starts like this:

I think, “Hmm. Should be _text, not _label.”
Easy fix.

But then I notice this file still uses _classnames instead of _clsx.
And the margin utilities are inconsistent.
And wait… why is this component in a folder called _ui-old/?

So I rename the prop, refactor the styles, delete some legacy files, break four things, and now I’m three hours deep and forgot what I opened the editor for.

⚡️ Enter: Zap

“One time I started renaming theme colors and accidentally broke dark mode. I told the team it was intentional. Called it 'Mood-Based Rendering.'”
— Zap, probably

🪞 When to Catch Yourself

You’re not wrong for wanting clean code.
But here are some signs it might be a delay disguise:

• You haven’t written any new logic yet, but you’re already in “cleanup mode”
• You’re renaming things because “they feel off,” not because they’re broken
• You’ve restructured the same file twice in one sitting
• You’re convincing yourself the Real Task™ isn’t possible until this is perfect

🧯 Interrupt the Loop

If this is familiar, try this:

Before refactoring, ask:

“What did I open this file to do?”

If the answer isn’t what you’re currently doing…
hit undo. Stash. Walk away. Write a sticky note.
Whatever works.

You don’t have to finish the refactor before you start the real thing.

You don’t have to earn your progress with perfect structure.

Refactoring is not the enemy.
But it can be a very tidy form of avoidance.

So the next time you catch yourself deep in a rename spiral, be kind.
You’re not broken — your brain’s just looking for safety.

But maybe…
just maybe…

ship it first.

You can always refactor it again tomorrow.

👋 See you next Tuesday,

Simen
Buffer is currently trying to rename all my folders to “You’re doing your best.”
I might let them.