#078 - If Done Is Better Than Perfect, Is Anything Better Than Nothing?
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[00:00:00] Welcome, welcome to the Heads Together podcast. I'm your host, Gill Moakes, and as always, I am very happy to have you here with me on this Thursday. I know. I'm usually there on a Monday. What happened? I will tell you what happened in just one moment. Let's dive in.
Welcome, welcome to the Heads Together podcast. I'm Gill Moakes and I am obsessed with cutting through the noise when it comes to growing your business. Each week, via intimate coaching conversations and inspirational stories, I share what it really takes to get the results you want in a way that feels right to you.
I am all about attracting higher ticket opportunities, building authentic [00:01:00] relationships and creating the abundant full fat version of your dream business. I mean, how many of us have beavered away creating a light version of what we really want? The thing is, I honestly believe when you're outstanding at what you do, there is no limit to what you can achieve.
So. Are you ready to put our heads together and make it happen? Let's go.
Okay, so there's probably a clue in the title of this podcast actually, as to why this is a later than anticipated episode. If done is better than perfect, is anything better than nothing? . So what do I mean by that? In the case of this podcast, I [00:02:00] had a bit of a blip in terms of content creation.
I had, oh, a good two to three week period where I was so engrossed in my writing. . , some of you know I'm writing a book. I also have a sub stack. I also write for my blog on occasion, and I go through different seasons in my business, in the way I feel about content creation. And I've been really engrossed in writing.
And so for the first time in over a year, and I think this is what episode 79 or something? 78 79. For the first time in over a year, I did not have an episode. Lined up, ready to go. I know. I'm sorry. I feel like I let you down, but all is not lost because here I am and I guess the point that I wanna make is that I could have filled the spot, so I toyed with the idea of just [00:03:00] doing another kind of like throwback episode.
Oh, here's one I recorded earlier. And then I thought, you know what? I'm letting my . Slavish commitment to consistency actually cloud my judgment in terms of putting out valuable content for you, and I don't ever want to do that. So this episode is a combination of things. One, it's that I don't want to let you down and I do promise an episode each week.
So I really wanted to get this episode out, number one. Number two, I've changed a little bit some of the tools I'm use using to produce the podcast. So there was a, a bit of a cycle of learning how how that will works. And, but now that's done. I feel ready to record now. Then the third thing is that I wrote
This article called, if Done Is Better Than Perfect, is Anything Better [00:04:00] Than Nothing For My ck And suddenly realized that this would be a perfect time to talk about this on the podcast too. So why not? So that's what I'm gonna do today. I am gonna take the content that I wrote as a sub stack post and share it with you now in my own usual podcasting way.
. I'm not just gonna read the article, I think that would be pretty lame. But I am just gonna talk about the topics that I covered in the article and my take on this. My view on whether done is better than perfect and whether anything is better than nothing. So this kind of phrase done is better than perfect.
We do hear this all the time. I feel like it's one of those things that the gurus have started to bully people about. So it's almost like anyone who wants to take their time and create with real intention and in a slow [00:05:00] way almost gets told off and pressure is put on those people, to get their work out there.
Just get it out there. Done's better than perfect. It's all about taking the action. Now take the action now. It's a bit like the shiny object syndrome. Bullies. I've talked about that before, where you feel a little bit pressurized into never look daring to look at a new project or a new tool or something for fear that someone's gonna come along and tell you've got shiny object syndrome.
I talk in the article about how these guru bullies, if you like, have this exaggerated sense of their own correctness. There's only one way And of course you know that isn't true. That isn't true. We all have different personalities. We all have different styles.
The thing that's important is to do business in a way that is authentically you. The key is to create content in a way that is [00:06:00] authentically you, that feels good to you. . So I think sometimes putting pressure on yourself to just hit that send button or post or publish button on what really, to be substandard content.
It's not great advice. It really isn't good advice. But at the same time, how long do you take? With intention before it might be classed as procrastination. The problem is no one else knows the answer to that. Only you. Only you. And I think it's like everything, it's balance. I get where the just do it comes from.
I get where the done is better than perfect comes from because we do go into this analysis paralysis, don't we? And this endless cycle of contemplation, and particularly for creators and creatives who [00:07:00] are . So committed to putting out their best work. I think, endlessly perfecting and tweaking your work can really hold you back.
I think in business a lot of us get stuck in that. Getting ready to get ready as my. Dear friend Rebecca calls it that phase of the comfort zone is in the getting ready. So sometimes a little push to start is what you need to give yourself and it can feel quite liberating. And of course, the more action you take, it does actually build momentum, so one.
Completed task really begets another. And that's how you make progress. That's, of course it's putting one foot in front of the other. And the third thing is , the case for just doing it is that we do learn through mistakes we make so, I guess it's only when we put our ideas and our content out into the world [00:08:00] that we can really, truly evaluate them.
That's when we really can learn and iterate and get better. . Procrastination really denies you that opportunity. If you will never put anything out there until it's the absolute final, perfect version, then you're limiting that cycle of action, feedback improvement.
But of course like everything, it's a balance, like I say, and there are some dangers of that. Anything for the sake of anything, mindset that is really dangerous. I really genuinely do not believe that anything is better than nothing. So there are sure, some pros for the done better than perfect column.
But actually I think most creators today are firmly in or want to be firmly in [00:09:00] the quality over quantity camp and. We all know how noisy the internet is, how crowded it is with content, right?
The last thing anyone needs in this world is more noise, and that is a risk where if I, for example, with this podcast had just thought to myself, oh, do you know what? I have to get something out on Monday? I'm just going to pick a topic, Eddie. Topic. Oh my God, it's terrible. This episode's awful.
I'm just gonna hit send it anyway because I can't possibly break my streak of an episode every Monday. A publish at all cost attitude can really, seriously dilute your brand and quite frankly, disappoint the, your listeners or your readers. . That's too big a risk for me.
I don't want to just put out anything. And actually I'd rather have a bit of a pause, I think putting out subpar work, [00:10:00] if I had just put out a really crap episode just to satisfy that, sticking with the streak mentality, that really erodes trust, right? Because you will start questioning. My expertise, my ability to show up and deliver you really good value each week.
I always want you to finish listening to an episode of the Heads Together podcast and think to yourself, gosh, that was handy. That was really useful. In fact, I wish I'd had a notebook with me for that episode. That's what I want. Those are the podcasts I love where by the end of it, I'm thinking to myself that's interesting.
How can I apply that? So if I even once, to be honest, but certainly anyone who consistently puts out subpar work is really risking alienating that audience and breaking their trust. [00:11:00] And I think the other thing, one, one of the other dangers of the, anything for the sake of anything is really wasted effort because, Not every single project is a good value driven stepping stone for your business, right?
Some projects that we . embrace, particularly just for the sake of getting something out. There can be a total time sink and actually in the end really not provide any value and simply distract from the more meaningful stuff that you wanna be working on, like the messaging that actually represents you and your brand and what you stand for in your opinions.
So I think, actually spending . Any time on that. Anything for the sake of anything side is actually wasted effort. You are much better taking that pause. And then regrouping. I think a few of the [00:12:00] things that. I I always try to do to really stay on the right side of procrastination whilst also permitting committing to putting my best work out there.
The first thing is really thinking about purpose before action. . So this one's a big E. This is about really stopping and thinking with intention before you create anything, before you take on any project, before you create a podcast episode, before you write a blog, post, record, a video, whatever it is you're working on, and really understand the purpose of that piece of content or project, will it bring value to your audience?
does it align with your bigger goals? And to be honest with you, if your answer is actually I'm doing it 'cause I feel I [00:13:00] should, or because it, I'm doing it 'cause my content calendar told me I had to, that's when you need to, that's a red flag. You need to stop there because every single piece of content you create needs to have a purpose behind it.
The purpose behind it doesn't always have to be the same. So certainly the purpose that it serves. For you in your business doesn't always have to be the same, but I do believe that those two questions, will it bring value to your audience and does it align with your larger goals? You have to be able to say yes to both of those things to know that you are putting out something that is going to be some of your best work, something worth publishing.
I also think that it's really important to acknowledge that perfection isn't the goal here. So going back to the done is better than perfect. Perfect was never the goal, [00:14:00] but I think it's done is better than perfect, is alluding to just getting it out there and actually I think you really do need to establish a, some kind of baseline or something that represents a minimum standard of acceptability for your work.
Like a personal set of guidelines that make sure that even if you are really in a rush to complete something. There are a few things that you never compromise on. I would highly recommend taking those two questions that I mentioned before. Will this content bring value to my audience and am I clear on how, don't just say yes to whatever, it's
You really think about this. What is the value that this piece of content is bringing to my audience? What is this story? Teaching. What is this tutorial showing them how to do? What is this joke? Is it funny? Is it gonna entertain [00:15:00] them? Not all content has to provide value in the same way, but it does need to provide value.
So that might be your minimum standards. As you ask yourself those two questions, does this bring value to my audience and does it align with my goals? And if you don't have goals, I will be letting you know about a new resource I have for you by the end of this episode. So put a marker in there. The other thing, and then this is the real one that's resonating for me right now because it's what I've just done is to embrace pauses.
Okay? This is really huge. Not all pauses are procrastination. Some are really necessary breathers that let us reflect and refine what we are doing and refocus on what we're doing. And I think there is value in these really [00:16:00] intentional pauses. There was a reason that I didn't have episodes lined up ready to go. I'd had this kind of shift in me, and I just had so much writing that needed to come out of me that I had to do that, and that was okay. That was in an intentional pause. I'm not procrastinating and. I didn't rush to put something out on Monday when I wasn't ready.
I've waited until now, and now I'm ready. Now I'm ready to share something of value with you. 'cause I believe this is a value, this lesson is of value. So I guess the real lesson it here is that done is better than perfect, just isn't like a one size fits all solution. It is a tool that sometimes is useful and sometimes it's potentially [00:17:00] damaging.
So it's really up to each of us to discern how we're going to use that expression. and how we're going to use it when we need to use it to motivate us to take action if we are genuinely procrastinating, and how we are going to actually take intentional pauses and take the amount of time that we need to take or want to take to create, rather than being bullied into getting something out there for the sake of it.
So sometimes something is better than nothing, but at other times the right nothing, a pause, a reflection, a reconsideration is gonna lead to a more meaningful something. . So I hope you have found this useful. I. I mentioned earlier that obviously, when we are creating that, [00:18:00] one of the really important questions to ask is, does this align with my vision and my goals for my business? Whenever we are creating anything and.
I have created a new free resource. First time I've created something new for a while. So all of this writing has really paid off actually, and I've created a new workbook bundle which is a vision and goal setting workbook bundle. It's actually five days of email support. And over those days, three workbooks get delivered, but there are.
There is also an option to request some other workbooks if you find them useful. And there's a few other ones that I've included. So if you would like to grab that bundle and the emails that come with that, you just need to head to https://www.gillmoakes.com/vision-and-goal-setting that rolls off the tongue.[00:19:00] And then you can grab your copy.
Okay, so I hope that's gonna be useful. I think you're gonna really like this freebie, haven't created one for ages, so do make sure you go and grab that. Like I say I'll pop the link in the show notes, but and I'll also include it in the email list. So if you are subscribe to my email list, then you'll get
This through. As a reminder anyway, if you are not subscribed to my email list, then obviously head to gillmoakes.com and you will be able to sign up there just by opting into any of the free support that is on there. But for this specific bundle of workbooks and email support, go to https://www.gillmoakes.com/vision-and-goal-setting I'm saying dash, I think hyphen. But anyway, you get the gist. So anyway, I will see you back here next [00:20:00] Monday.
As usual, back to our little Monday slot to set you up for the week. I think it's good that you get a good dose of heads together on a Monday morning.
So I shall see you then. Bye for now.
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