A good effort doesn't result in valuable software, but it could result in you learning to program better, increasing your human capital.
That's not necessarily false, but it's a dangerous thing to say to yourself. Mostly when I find myself thinking it, I've just wasted a great deal of time, and I'm trying to convince myself that it wasn't really wasted. It's easy to tell myself, hard to verify, and more pleasant than thinking my time-investment was for nothing.
Another month has passed and here is a new rationality quotes thread. The usual rules are: