3 Steps to Combat Perfection (Speed Up Progress and Compound Results)

Read time: 5 minutes

You’re either a starter or a finisher.

No matter which one you are, you both fight a familiar opponent: Perfection.

In the battle for progress, perfection has the upper hand.

As a business owner, you must find a way to secure the advantage…otherwise, perfection will dominate you.

I say this because I’ve lost nearly every battle.

I wasted so much time and energy.

But I finally grabbed the upper hand.

Have I won? No, absolutely not, because it’s a tireless enemy.

Improvement? Definitely, this newsletter and the 16 posts before it is proof.

The only way to beat perfection is to ship your work, whether it’s creative or professional (i.e., business).

It doesn’t mean haphazardly shipping low-quality work; that’s not the point. It means finding the “enough” mark so you can send it to your audience, clients, or customers to get feedback…and make it better next time.

Here are the 3 steps I used this year to combat perfection, speed up progress, and compound results:

1. Equip yourself with the tools to fight

2. Spare with an accountability partner to put in the reps

3. Install a routine (process) in your creative and professional work

Step 1: Equip yourself with the tools to fight

There are powerful forces that you can use to help you fight perfection.

You already know them but haven’t used them to their full potential.

Think of them as your coaches that help you mentally prepare.

The Pareto Principle

Also known as the 80/20 rule, it reveals that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.

Economist Vilfredo Pareto observed this principle by analyzing wealth in society. He noticed 20% of the population owned 80% of the land in Italy. Similarly, he discovered that 20% of the peapods in his garden produced 80% of the peas.

Use this principle to identify high-impact activities and avoid low-impact ones.

The Law of Diminishing Returns

It says there is a point when putting in more effort and time doesn’t lead to much more improvement. In other words, for every extra minute or dollar you add, there are smaller increases in the output.

And at some point, each additional unit starts to impact you negatively.

Use this principle to identify when you’ve used enough resources and avoid waste.

Opportunity Cost

It’s the potential value you lose by choosing one option over another. Every decision you make involves trade-offs and opportunity costs.

Use this principle to value alternative choices and avoid tunnel-vision

When you strive for perfection, you ignore these powerful mental forces.

Step 2: Spare with an accountability partner to put in the reps

No matter how disciplined you may be, it’s hard to shake perfection’s grip.

You fear judgment and incompetence.

I learned I had to put in the reps, even bad ones.

Sparing with an accountability partner will speed up the process. You form muscle memory and build the early stages of habit,

For me, my accountability partner was an activity: Ship 30 for 30. I signed up for this writing program with two goals:

• learn how to write online

• hold myself accountable by forced action

(part of the process is to publish 30 short posts online for 30 consecutive days)

I wish I had done it sooner.

Finding someone (or something) to push you will show the value of progress because it leads to building a habit.

Step 3: Install a routine into your creative and professional work

It’s about building a simple way to reinforce the habit you’ve made with steps 1 and 2. Then install it into your daily work to generate consistency.

I’ll show you the two routines (processes) I built for creative and professional work so that you can see it from an actionable lens.

Steal them or craft your methods.

Creative Work Routine (I wish I had started sooner)

I failed to start for a long time…and when I did start, I’d make 1,000 tweaks before publishing my work.

Once I internalized the principles and went through Ship 30 for 30 (accountability partner), I was able to see more clearly:

I’m in the business of thinking. And if my goal is to deliver and share high-value, I’d better also be in the business of writing and editing.

So I hacked my time and shifted my attention to publishing and getting feedback on my work. I use engagement, analytics, and direct feedback as indicators.

I write from the not-so-perfect lens of “enough.”

Here’s my process (newsletter as an example):

1. Write an ugly first draft through a brain dump

2. Riff aloud to capture thoughts (faster and organically) through a transcription app

3. Edit

   1. Ask myself: “What am I trying to say to the reader in a few sentences?”

   2. Find the 20% (in the ugly draft and riff) that holds 80% of what I’m trying to say, then edit like crazy.

   3. Identify my “enough” point using the law of diminishing returns

   4. Assess opportunity cost: “Would further refining past the point of diminishing returns benefit me more than doing something else?”

4. Read aloud for the desired tone and point of view

5. Make final tweaks

6. Schedule post

I must publish it every Thursday.

I put this process on repeat.

It still takes about 4-5 hours to write about 1,000 words, but it used to take 6-8 hours.

Professional Work Routine

For context, I run a consulting business to help service-based businesses grow profits with simple operating strategies. The process requires clear thinking and communication.

I used to separate the “information in” and “report out” phases. I’d craft this elegant, detailed, “perfect” report and present it at the end.

It was an award-worthy report, but the process wasn’t as helpful as I thought.

I chose perfection over effectiveness.

I’ve learned it’s better to involve people throughout the process, even if that process seems messy. They understand the strategic nuances more (plus they give you the information you need along the way to do a better job).

So, I pivoted. It’s no longer a presentation to clients but a conversation with partners.

When we’re done, they have an actionable, simple-to-use playbook we created together.

Here’s my high-level process (profit playbook as an example)

1. Vacuum – Consume important business information and problem

2. Analyze – Conduct various analyses (plus more throughout 3-6)

3. Brain Dump – Write down unedited draft findings and takeaways, then share and discuss

4. Write the 75-Report – Prepare a report that is 75% of the way complete, then share and discuss

5. Write the 95-Report – Prepare a report that is 95% of the way complete and discuss, then share and discuss

6. Finalize the Playbook – Incorporate the final 5% from the previous discussion and distribute the final playbook

The content in each report is authentic and transparent. If it’s a half-baked thought, I tell them it’s a half-baked thought…but it’s in there so long as it provides value.

No big reveal, just an iterative and open communicative process.

Overcoming perfectionism is a powerful step toward unlocking your creative and professional potential.

Sources: Investopedia, Super Thinking, Entrepreneur

New to the newsletter?

Welcome to the Solopreneur Playbook.

Hi, I’m Peter. I quit my highly-regarded, 6-figure job at Harvard to become a full-time solopreneur in 2019. This newsletter helps you become an impact thinker. Ditch the noise, spor the signal, and think with impact.

Subscribe here:

Get access to exclusive content every Thursday in your inbox.