EntrepreneurshipProductivity | 4 Min Read
#28 - That'll Do
Chasing perfection has its perks but if we're not careful it can cause serious damage to our ideas and goals. But, why do we need to be perfect anyway?
Hey Friends 👋
Welcome back to the newsletter with this week's more impromptu than normal edition.
Let me explain why.
Normally throughout the week, I jot down a few ideas, talking points, or a topic I'd like to cover for that week's newsletter so I avoid the ultimate pain for a writer; writer's block...
Well, as you can probably see where this is going already, this week I didn't do any of my usual prep and as it does every week, today (Sunday) came around but this time I wasn't prepared.
So while sitting here, wondering what to type as writer's block, sure enough, began to set in, I thought "what would be the perfect thing to write about this week?"
Then it hit me, "why does it need to be perfect?"
We spend so much time trying to be perfect; writing the perfect tweet, coding the perfect function, making a perfect newsletter edition or designing the perfect portfolio.
But, why do we do this?
What I define as perfect, you may define as a steaming pile of 💩.
So, why try to be perfect in a world that is very much imperfect?
This led me to think about how many ideas there have been that have died from stagnation? How many newsletters never saw the light of day, due to not being perfect? How much code was never published because it could've been better?
So much energy; so much potential; so much worth all thrown away in the pursuit of something that may not even be possible to achieve...
The lure of perfectionism is strong, no one wants to be wrong and no one wants to be judged as inferior so it's always tempting to hide away and work on something until no one can pick fault. But, as we just looked at it, is that even possible?
But, what's the alternative you may ask?
The alternative is to say "that'll do".
Finished your first newsletter but worried it's not good enough? Say "that'll do" and hit publish. Just finished the design of your portfolio and worried people will pick fault? Say "that'll do" and tweak it later.
Chasing perfection can be good, it makes us strive to be better and push ourselves past the point of what we thought possible. But, there comes a time when chasing perfection is just procrastinating and stopping us from making effective progress toward our goals. At that point, we need to say "that'll do" and move on to the next idea, project, or goal.
Don't let perfection kill your ideas, dreams, or work.
With that being said, I'm going to practise what I preach and say "that'll do".
I hope you enjoyed this edition and I hope you have an amazing week next week. I look forward to speaking to you again time this next week when I'll hopefully have some exciting news to share. 👀
Thank you for reading.
Coner x
Personal Website Redesign 💻
Officially less than a week to go now until the MVP of my website is due to launch (22nd of April in case you're wondering).
As it stands right now 12 issues are remaining to be closed on GitHub, of which a few of them are related and some are low-hanging fruit. But, there are one or two I'm a bit concerned about given the closeness of the deadline, the primary one being the contact form logic I still need to implement.
But, there is time and it's not over until it's over so I'm planning on putting in a good stint this week and seeing where I am closer to the deadline. Hopefully, it doesn't come down to the wire and there's time for some final testing before going live but we will see. 😅
Thought, Question, Challenge 🤔
- Thought: Chasing perfection is just procrastination all dressed up.
- Question: Have you ever let an idea, dream, or goal die due to it "not being perfect"? What can you learn from this experience?
- Challenge: This week, say "that'll do" to more things where you would chase perfection. See what happens as a result of it.
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