4 Simple Ways I Swapped Out Perfection For Productivity

“Just do it!” -Shia LaBeouf

“I had very high hopes of my future self being more capable than my present self”

What Is Perfection Anyway?

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard people say perfection does not exist or nobody’s perfect — courtesy of Hannah Montana. No matter what this idea of “perfection” still wreaked havoc on my everyday life. My brain had its own, impossible version, of perfection (one where the bar, seemingly, always was climbing higher).

I would put off tasks for as long as possible. Evidently, I had very high hopes of my future self being more capable than my present self. Until I worked to push away this idea of perfect, the other p-word never had a chance to shine. While this is very much easier said than done… it is certainly possible.

It’s Not About Doing More

It would be nice to cross every item off my To-Do list at the end of a long day. Is this realistic? Sometimes. Does it happen often? Absolutely not. You might be asking yourself… how is this girl qualified to write about productivity? Well… I’m not sure I have an answer for you.

Productivity means being efficient with your time. I believe quality is always a priority over quantity. If you can accomplish three out of ten tasks well, consider it an accomplishment. Let me correct that: if you can accomplish one out of your ten tasks, it is an achievement.

Enjoy the beauty of doing absolutely nothing

Being productive is fantastic, but really means nothing to me without adequate rest time. One of the definitions of “productive” is to yield benefits. When I get stuff done earlier, I am then able to truly soak in all my free-time. Enjoy the beauty of doing absolutely nothing.

To be honest, in the haze of these pandemic days, I’d say completing anything (besides a Netflix series) is quite commendable.

Stay Present

Multi-tasking used to be my specialty, until I realized this was seriously slowing me down. It is easy to believe you are getting more done at once, but this surely made me less efficient. The 100% attention I could have been giving to one assignment, was divided between 5 tasks.

“…my brain was always here-there-and-everywhere”

My advice: Stay in the moment. Set aside 30 minutes and devote it to one item on your list. If 30 minutes is too long, start with 15.

This idea is similar to the very popular, Pomodoro Technique by Francesco Cirillo. The method suggests working for 25 minutes straight, taking a 5 minute break, repeating four times, and finally rewarding yourself with a longer break.

My schedule is certainly not as regimented as the Pomodoro Technique, but if that strategy works for you… I say go for it!

The gist is not allowing your mind to wander off.

In high school, I had first heard of the term “free-write”. My creative writing teacher had implemented “Free-Write Fridays”, where we would sit and write anything and everything we could possibly think of.

This truly changed my perspective. Before that my brain was always here-there-and-everywhere. The pressure of writing in complete sentences or any grammatical sense was out the window. There was no page or word count to aim for, but we simply had to focus for a solid thirty minutes. It was not being graded, or even looked at. It reminded me of all the times I had attempted keeping a diary.

I had never got so much done, in one class, in my entire life.

Accomplish Small Tasks Immediately

As the final weeks of school approach, so do my (worth-almost-half-of-my-grade) final assignments. Yesterday, I dreaded the thought of cracking into such a large project. So instead of starting those, I had the “bright” idea of completing an easy, 200-word discussion post (which is conveniently due after my huge assignments). At first this seemed counter-productive, as I worked on something that was not yet due. Yet, finishing that small task first, gave me a real sense of achievement.

The hardest part is getting yourself to start.

Accomplishing a small task at the beginning of my work period gave me the motivation and boost I needed, in order to then dive into my larger (more important) tasks.

This is similar to the idea of making your bed first thing in the morning. It has significant benefits on your mental health and has shown to improve one’s overall well-being. It allows you to set the tone for your day.

If you can achieve one, small success early in the morning, imagine the possibilities your day can bring.

Just Do It

Here’s the truth. All of the things you like, love, or have to do eventually need to be completed. Whether you procrastinate or are an early-bird, items will still be left looming on your checklist.

Everything comes down to willpower. Are you willing to work for 30 minutes straight? Or are you going to pick your phone up seven times within your designated work period?

“Done is better than perfect” -Sheryl Sandberg

Some important things to remember: • Perfection does not exist • Your present self is perfectly capable of tackling your to-do list • Enjoy doing absolutely nothing (sometimes…) • Set aside designated work time or try out the Pomodoro Technique • Complete small tasks as soon as possible • Being done is always better than trying to achieve perfection

Does all of this mean I don’t sometimes procrastinate (the third p-word)? Certainly not. I have simply seen the benefits of using my time to my own advantage.

Finally, I will leave you with some plain motivation from my “good friend” Shia LaBeouf, because sometimes you have to:

“Just do it!” -Shia LaBeouf