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Accessibility is not a race

2 minutes read

When I tried getting in shape, I wanted to do it fast. I wanted to look my best and feel great after just a few days of going to the gym. Of course I was disappointed when the needle didn't move on the scale and I felt worse, not better.

The trick was to be consistent and trust that if I do it right, if I do it long enough and if it becomes part of my lifestyle, I'll get to be health and feel healthy.

A lot of people I've been speaking to want to either sweep accessibility under the rug (it's not my problem or it's not a problem), or they think they can get everything sorted in a sprint or two.

First off, shame on the first group!

Second, of course the other group will be disappointed when after a sprint or two, they've barely made a dent in the amount of accessibility issues they started with. What's worse, they probably discovered more of what they didn't know, so the list got even bigger.

All that is perfectly normal and okay. You can't expect to get it all done just like that. And you shouldn't either! It either leads to burnout or to just dealing with the surface issues. The low hanging fruit. And none of the deeply rooted issues like lack of awareness and training, or with the organisation's culture.

You need to do it consistently. Every feature. Every release. Every sprint. Every ticket. Every person on your team.

The truth is the best tool you have in your arsenal is time. Use it wisely and I guarantee you'll get ahead. If you're consistent, there's no way you will not achieve your accessibility goals.

Just remember.

Accessibility is not a race.

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