Tag: Procrastination

Perfection is Boring, Let’s Be Imperfect!

Image Credit: Pixabay

For years I wanted to create something. Something people would find interesting and exciting. At first I thought it was a business. I was going to be a titan of industry, creating a startup, and “disrupting” the world but I never found the “right” idea. Then I thought it would be a podcast. They seemed easy to do and I found the “perfect” partner to make it happen. Unfortunately, we had different life goals which killed our project. Realizing I might need to go in alone, I thought a blog might be the best way to start. Still it took me almost two years to get started. It wasn’t until I let go and started was I able to make progress.

So, what happened? How did I go from a serial project procrastinator to publishing over 40 blog posts? Honestly, I got pissed off and feed up with myself and stopped fighting the resistance. I stopped coming up with excuses to push my project back another week. I stopped trying to be perfect.

I consider myself to be a fairly rational person. I can see the world for how it is, warts and all. Unfortunately, being able to think rationally doesn’t stop me from acting irrationally. Sometimes the mind goes on autopilot and the body is only along for the ride. (I’m sure I’m not alone in this respect). So when I decided I wanted to start some kind of project, creative or otherwise, I KNEW I was going to suck at it no matter what I thought I knew. I was a beginner, a white belt, a N00B, if you will. I wasn’t going to be the next Mark Zuckerberg in business, Joe Rogan in podcasting, or Steven King with writing. I knew they weren’t great out of the gate either. It took years for them to develop the skills they needed to get where they are today. I knew even if I did make it to their level, it would take me years of hard, continuous work.

I knew all of this but still didn’t start. Why? I wanted, whatever I was doing, to be perfect. I was afraid of what people might say. I didn’t want to show the world my imperfect product to be judged as garbage. If it was perfect, however, no one could say anything!

It wasn’t until I read Linchpin by Seth Godin, it clicked. I realized perfection is impossible. Perfection is boring. Sure I don’t want to put garbage into the world (there’s already enough out there) but I didn’t know why I was waiting, either. Perfection is a made up word the resistance created to keep us complacent. Keep us in fear. Keep us from reaching our potential.

Think about it. Who out there is perfect? Who out there is without flaws? Brad Pitt might be extremely attractive but his relationships are a complete mess. (That’s right, I said it… Brad Pitt is attractive). Robin Williams was a great comedian and actor but he took his life when his demons finally caught up with him. And don’t get me started on the Kardashians or all of the people we see on Facebook.

Still, we seek perfection in our own lives. We want things to be flawless before they are shown to the world, much like this Apple Commercial. The problem is perfection is boring. It’s the imperfections which make us, and our work, unique. We aren’t some cog on the assembly line needing to be exactly the same as the one before it. We are supposed to be the square peg trying to fit into the round hole. We are, by nature, imperfect so let’s act accordingly.

Once I figured this out progress became much easier. I’ve create significantly more when I let go. When I leave in the flaws. When I accept what I made will be imperfect. This doesn’t mean I’m trying to product something of low quality. I care about what I write and what I’m putting out into the universe. I also know it can be a quality product and imperfect at the same time.

I am giving each of us a challenge today. We need to share something we’ve created, especially if it is incomplete or unfinished. Take a picture or share the blog post, or whatever, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Nextdoor, or a blog. Whatever way gets the imperfection out there into the universe. Then post the link in the comments section.

*Remember we always suck at the beginning but with some practice we get better, faster. It’s far easier to make progress when we are first starting out (learning the first 80% of a new skill), then later on (learning the last 20%).*

5 Ways to Get Your Post-Holiday Motivation Back

It’s the Monday after the long Thanksgiving weekend and I’m dragging. I started working out with a friend last week and when he texted this morning to see if we were working out, I almost told him no. Then was the normal mad dash out the door followed by the post-holiday work lethargy. My energy and motivation are shot. All I want to do is close my office door, crawl under the desk, and go to sleep. I’ve even been hit by the struggle bus trying to write this article.

This feeling isn’t new is it? It’s probably not the first time we’ve wanted to hit the pause button on life for a moment because we aren’t looking forward to what’s next. So what do we do? We check our email, remember we need to text a friend something really quick, fall down a social media or YouTube rabbit hole, or find basically anything else to do instead of the tasks at hand. “If I don’t think about what I need to do, then they don’t need to get done right?”

The problem with this lack of motivation is even when we are “relaxing” we don’t feel relaxed because of the stuff looming over our head. Then we’re twice as stress out when we finally get around to doing when needs to be done.

Here are 5 things I do when I’m feeling stuck and unmotivated to get the ball rolling again:

Make a List – Lists can be overwhelming to look at but they also give us clarity about the things we need to get done. They can help us rely less on our fickle minds to remember what needs to get done. Though I don’t believe we should be used daily, when we are lacking motivation they can be extremely helpful.

Take five minutes to write down everything needing to be done both today and during the week. Then rank them in order of importance to focus on the highest value tasks first. Then check the list to see which items can be delegated, delayed, or deleted, removing them from the list. What’s left are all of the most important tasks we have to complete.

Pick a Small Win – Once we have the list of tasks, we need a small win. This means we find something quick and easy to check off the list getting the motivation ball rolling. This could be writing an email, making a phone call, or any other task which will take you 10 minutes or less. If you don’t have a quick task on your list grab one from those you delegated, delayed, or deleted.

What this does it trick you into feeling good about yourself. This feeling of, “oh thank God that’s done,” is extremely satisfying even if it’s quick and minimal. Once you get past the “oh fuck, I don’t want to do anything,” you can move onto higher value items off the list.

10/10/10 – This is something I’ve picked up from the Nerd Fitness website and I’ve used it a few times myself. (Yes, this means I’m doing push-ups and lounges in a button down shirt and slacks… because I can!) What I’ve found this does, for me, is get the blood flowing and kicks up the endorphins, getting me out of any funk I might be in at the moment.

If you aren’t able to regular push-ups, you can modify them by doing them on your knees or doing them off the desk or chair. If the lounges are an issue, you can do squats, jumping jacks, or skip them all together. While the push-ups and lounges help get more of the body’s muscles revved up, it’s all about getting the body moving. Go try it for yourself.

Remove Distractions – This can be easier said than done but you want to eliminated as many distractions as you can. Turn off your phone, close the door to your office, put on sound machine, use a website blocker, or any combination of the above to ensure you aren’t bothered. If some of these things are “too important” for you job or the task you’re working on, then obviously don’t eliminate them. The point is to remove as many distractions as humanly possible. We want to get into a flow state, while working, and any distraction will take us out of this flow. Then we are forced to fight to get back into the flow.

30 Minute Rule – I’ve found this extremely helpful when I need to work on a project. After I remove as many distractions as possible, I institute the 30-minute rule. I set a timer for 30 minutes and work as hard as I can for the entire time. Once the timer goes off, I take a 5-minute break. I can check email, mess around Facebook, play a mobile game, or anything else I want to do. After the 5 minutes are up, I set the timer again for 30 minutes, and start working again. If I happen to be in a flow state and want to continue passed the 30 minutes, I can but this process ensures I’m getting at least 30 minutes of productive work done.

Feel free to try one or try them all. The goal here is to break through the funk to get to the productivity on the other side. The longer we indulge the slump the harder it is to break free. I hope you find these as helpful as I have today. Now go kick some ass.