Quit attempting to be perfect and begin to practice imperfection. Some tasks do not require your best effort. Learn to distinguish between tasks that deserve to be done with excellence, and tasks that just need to get done.
Perfectionism impairs judgment and it seriously kills productivity. If you have perfectionist tendencies, learn to tolerate “good enough” when appropriate.
Remember, done is better than perfect. Getting something done is far more gratifying than making it look just right. Quit adding unnecessary complexity to things that just don’t need it. This is an example of what Unnecessary Complexity looks like for a simple math equation:
1 + 1 = [((27/3) /3) – 1]
(source unknown – well, I cannot locate the original source for this, but I wanted to state that I did not personally create this)
This is what tweaking and adjusting and re-doing looks like. Things become complex and it wastes a lot of time. Quit doing this! Instead, try these tips:
- Practice imperfection in small ways, like allowing spelling mistakes in your to-do lists or letting your paper files get a little messy-looking.
- If you tend to lose yourself in a task, then try setting a limit on how much time you’re willing to spend on it. Set a timer and challenge yourself to just get it done.
- Adopt a mantra to help you stop the madness of perfectionism and unnecessary complexity like: ‘I like it JUST the way it is!’ (this one has saved me more times than I can reasonably count). Then let it go and move on to the next thing that needs your attention.
It’s a spiritual exercise that will help you make better judgments about how to spend your time.
Practice imperfection. Get more done.
