Are you prone to take too long doing your work or tasks, tweaking and perfecting things to the n’th degree?
What impact does this have on your life?
I’d wager you
– miss out on opportunities because you’re slow to act
– get overly concerned about getting things just right, increasing your stress levels
– sometimes never send your work out as it’s “just not good enough”
Am I right?
There is another way…don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good!
If you identify with the scenario above I’ve got some techniques that can help.
But before we get to that, I’d like to ask you…
How good does something need to be in order to be effective?
If you’re prone to perfectionism then the chances are your standards are very high. You’ve put in the hours to hone your craft, to master the skills needed to do your work well.
You know the difference between mediocre and good already.
It’s also likely you’ve been told your standards are very high by people you trust. If that’s true then your level of ‘good’ will most likely far outstrip most people’s best efforts. You’ve got to learn to trust yourself.
So, what can you do?
The 80:20 Rule – focus on the 20%
You’ve probably heard about the 80:20 rule already (also known as the Pareto Principle), it’s the one that maintains 80% of outcomes (outputs) come from 20% of causes (inputs).
So what does this mean in your scenario?
If 80% of the value of what you do comes from 20% of the input AND you’re good at what you do, you can get something that’s pretty damn good from the first chunk of time you devote to it.
If this was university degree level work, 80% would be a first or distinction grade. How good is that?
So again, how good does it have to be?
To keep going, putting in the remaining 80% of effort will only yield minimal gains in the quality of your output. It’s the law of diminishing returns.
Invoke Parkinson’s Law – Give yourself a deadline.
The more you can learn to trust yourself, the more you can utilise this technique…
Parkinson’s Law is a principle that states “the time required to perform a task tends to extend to all the time available to perform it”.
Once we know this, we can use this to our advantage
By setting an endpoint that shortens or compresses the time you think you’ll need to get something done, the work (or effort) will condense to fit the time available. Your focus will become sharper and you’ll make clearer decisions about the essential elements…feeding into the 80:20 rule stated previously.
Commit to sending the item out to whoever needs it as soon as your time is up and you increase the power of this technique.
Make the commitment before you start work. Share your commitment with another if it helps you to be accountable. The important thing is to put constraints on yourself for the amount of time you give to the task.
Use a trusted friend to let you know when it’s “good enough”
If you’re not quite ready to “Just send it” went your time is up, how about planning a check-in with a trusted friend or colleague when the initial time is up. By setting up an appointment to review it you’re helping to enforce the deadline for yourself and also getting the benefit of someone else giving you feedback on whether it’s ‘good enough’.
This technique can massively short-circuit your tendency to keep going and going at something until there’s nothing left to give.
Again, make the commitment with yourself and your trusted person that if they, as an objective observer, say it’s good enough then that’s it, you stop. Now you can send the work.
Be willing to experiment – put work out and pay attention to the feedback
Test the effectiveness of your work by putting it out before you’re ready.
See what happens.
Use that feedback to calibrate your effort for next time.
Did you receive positive comments about the work? Did you get appreciation for turning it around quickly? Were there any complaints about the quality?
Really look at the evidence. Treat it like a scientific experiment and scrutinise the results.
After all is said and done…
Remember… good enough is good enough and progress beats perfection
Building good habits to support your progress is simple but not necessarily easy. Having a coach can make all the difference. Someone there to be a source of support and means of getting the best from you and for you.
Check out my coaching packages here and see what help is available.
If you like the sound of having someone in your corner to help you achieve great things then get in touch and let’s talk.
Best wishes
Andrew
Disclaimer: The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article. Andrew Marshman disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article.
