or Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly!
Ok. After posting yesterday, the way went downhill. The exercise regimen didn't start up. Ate junk food for dinner. BUT the dogs were carried for a walk, so I was able to salvage some parts of my schedule.
The good thing about having a fixed schedule is that when things start to fall apart, it becomes possible to perform triage (I always wanted to use this word). I was able to look at my schedule and decide what was going to be saved and what was just not going to happen.
The first things to go were the optional tasks - going to get some pictures framed, looking for new sandals.
By the time I realised things were far downhill, I already knew I was heading towards a (non) schedule where I would eat junk food, read for two hours, miss my exercise class, not walk the dogs and feed them very late.
Rather than try to get everything back in place, stress myself out, and fail at getting anything I want done, I chose damage control and compromise. I still ate junk food, but at somewhere closer to home. I decided to walk the dogs later - but still walk them. They'd still get fed pretty late, but at least they'd get fed and walked - which they and I would prefer.
The exercise class just didn't happen. But you can't win them all and I was at least able to call the instructor to say not to expect me.
This is one of those glass half full situations. I could agonise about that I screwed up my diet, didn't get my scheduled tasks done, missed my exercise class. I could be stressed that I'm falling into depression and failing again.
Or, I could congratulate myself for still getting the dogs walked and working hard to ensure the situation didn't degenerate further. And trust me, it took a lot of hard work and a lot of focus and a lot of effort to hold even the partial schedule together.
I refused to be stressed out. My current way of thinking is - ah well, tomorrow is another day. What didn't get done will get done when it gets done. I'll be back on my diet again, and I can join the exercise class next week. And I know that things take a little longer when you are bipolar, so why stress about any of this.
I'll celebrate the victories that I have. I eventually ended up on my porch last night watching the full moon rising. Gorgeous. Life is good.
Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly
[text] If something is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly rather than not at all. self.GetMotivated
Submitted 6 hours ago by Crazy_ManMan
I find many people do this where they continue to procrastinate on something until they feel they are good enough at it to get it perfect, but they never reach that unrealistic ideal of perfect in their head and thus miss out. If something is worth doing it is worth giving it a shot and not getting it perfect. It will make one better at it in the future, and it feels good to get tasks completed rather than putting them off indefinitely. This also holds true of depression, it is better to half heartedly try and go outside than it is to not go outside at all, poorly clean up than not clean up at all, etc. It will help one feel better. Perfectionism is not our friend, it slows us down and exhausts our energy. We can get more done if we do not obsess over every little detail.
The following two items are helpful but Doesn’t work with people who have depression See page Books about Organising
2. From Forbes
Things That Are Worth Doing Are Worth Doing Poorly
Have you ever had an idea that truly excited you, but you waited to act on it, only to find that when you did eventually take action it wasn’t all it seemed cracked up to be? Or worse, you never acted on it at all because you never got around to it?
Throughout your life, how many inspired and worthy ideas ended up in the trash heap of discarded possibility? How many of those ideas would you have liked to have implemented? Why didn’t you take action the moment you felt the excitement of possibility course through your body?
For most of us, we fail to take action on an idea for one of three reasons:
1. The timing is "inconvenient," so we tell ourselves we’ll do it later.
2. We believe we don’t have enough resources to properly execute the idea now.
3. We want to test the feasibility of an idea before we do anything about it.
Often, we want certainty that the idea will work, and we have rules and ideas about what needs to happen in order for it to be successful. We believe we may suffer a loss of some kind if we fail to execute our idea well, so we often fail to execute at all. But at what cost?
When it comes to implementing an idea, things that are worth doing are worth doing poorly.
If you’re a perfectionist, you may vehemently protest this idea. You may even cringe. “Anything worth doing is worth doing well” is the truism so many of us were brought up with. If you’re not going to do it properly, you may as well not even do it at all.
But how many things don’t get done at all because the concern for perfection trumps the practice of “just do it?"
Here's why that might happen:
1. Overthinking: Overthinking is the bane of the high achiever. Paralysis by analysis is a real thing. Overthinking leads to the death of ideas, opportunities and in many cases, relationships.
2. Self-doubt: Perfectionism breeds self-doubt like summer in South Florida breeds mosquitos. When you wait for conditions to be right before you act, there is always a reason not to act.
3. Procrastination: As the saying goes, “A year from now you will wish you had started today.” While procrastination can sometimes be productive, it is more often than not destructive. How many times in your life have you said “later,” and “later” eventually became never?
4. Self-criticism: When you lead by the adage “anything worth doing is worth doing well,” who defines what constitutes “well?" Most of the time, it's you, and you are your own worst critic. The problem with focusing on the need to do it well is that you end up focusing on why it’s not good enough, and this begins a vicious spiral that can lead to stress, frustration and depression.
5. Indecision: Indecision is a silent killer that can slowly suffocate creativity, self-confidence, focus and performance. Indecision and anxiety often go hand-in-hand and may lead to sleep and depressive disorders, impaired concentration and memory loss. Indecision is guaranteed to significantly slow your career progress.
In the words of Arthur Ashe: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." If you need any more convincing, here’s the flip side: "Screw it, let's do it" — one of Richard Branson's favorite sayings.
Five Reasons Why Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Doing Poorly
1. Clarity comes from action, not thinking.
In any business, clarity is a key factor of success. A clear outcome backed by a clear and compelling purpose lays the groundwork for massive action. Yet it’s the action, not the plan, that provides feedback and lets you know if you’re on the right path or not.
2. Creativity flows when you don’t block it.
According to Peter Drucker, the father of business consulting, all business boils down to two functions: marketing and innovation. Creativity is the author of innovation. When an inspired idea comes in, the willingness and ability to put it quickly into forward motion is what keeps the river of creativity flowing.
3. Energy is created from action.
There’s a direct link between energy, success and fulfillment. When we’re low on energy, it negatively affects our outlook, focus and actions. Yet, energy is not something we "have," it's something we create. Have you ever dragged yourself to the gym feeling tired and lethargic only to come out an hour later feeling pumped and ready to go? Action creates energy.
4. Growth comes from progress, not perfection.
We want to know the whole road in advance of the first step, but the only way to know the whole road in advance is to keep doing the exact same thing you’ve done in the past. If you want to reap the greatest harvest, you have to be willing to get messy and embrace a little uncertainty.
5. Momentum becomes self-generating when you stay focused on the immediate next step.
The most successful people in the world are those who are present, fully engaged and can pivot in response to life’s moment-to-moment feedback. When you take a step forward without knowing where it will lead, you stay in the space of co-creation, curiosity and excitement: momentum. As John Maxwell said, “Momentum is really a leader’s best friend. Sometimes it’s the only difference between winning and losing.”
Next time you have an idea, take small immediate action on it without worrying about the end result. Remember, things that are worth doing are worth doing poorly.