Tip Tuesday – Progress Over Perfection

Every day I remind my clients, and myself, of the mantra: “Good and DONE is better than perfect and ​NONE!”​ What do I mean by this? That it’s more beneficial to get started on a task, and get something accomplished, than to put a task off until it can be executed absolutely “perfectly.”

So be pragmatic, and focus on PROGRESS over PERFECTION. Survey the tasks at hand where precision matters, like taxes, and complete them incrementally. But for other to-dos, like thanking a friend or relative for a gift, a quick text or call will do. While a hand-delivered bouquet of flowers and calligraphy note may be the “perfect” demonstrations of gratitude, if they don’t get sent until weeks later—or at all—these “perfect” gestures are as good as “none.”

Of course, when you bake your child’s birthday cake, it’s worth it to get the measurements just right. But when you make a stew in the Crock-Pot, it’s okay to estimate and substitute—better to just get dinner done!

​And do ALL your clothes need to be perfectly folded every time you do laundry? I suggest that any articles of clothing that don’t wrinkle (socks, underwear, workout clothes) just get tossed in your drawers. It’s important to get the laundry done and put away, instead of dressing out of your clean-laundry basket each week.

​Remember: ​Perfection is the enemy of progress. Let me know how you’re going to incorporate this mantra into your daily tasks!