You’ve probably heard the rule before, or a variation of it:

Always leave the code better than you found it.

It’s an adaptation of an camping rule used made famous by the Boy Scouts of America:

Always leave the camp site cleaner than you found it.

I found myself explaining it today to my team, who was frustrated by the lack of progress they were making toward paying off some overwhelming technical debt.

My advice was: Don’t focus on the lofty goals, as good as they are. Instead, focus on daily making the code a little bit better. Soon, the technical debt won’t seem so overwhelming.