JUST GET IT DONE! Progress Over Perfection Wins Every Time

byGail-UK

3.8K followers

5 months ago

Morning lovely people.

I hope you are all well and making progress this week after Kyle's "Let's GOOOOO!! on Monday.

I've recently published a few updates on my own progress, and I wanted to pick up on something that I noticed from some of the comments I received and something that I've realised about my own work recently. (Thank you to everyone who commented, by the way.)

And that's this...

JUST GET IT DONE!

I’ve been running multiple websites for a while now, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way, it’s this:

Striving for perfection over progress is the biggest productivity killer out there.

I know I'm a perfectionist, and I'm used to waiting until everything is just right before I’d hit publish – the right title, the perfect font, the flawless alignment of alliteration! But I've realised that this is not productive.

In the world of blogging and online business, perfection is often just FEAR in disguise. Perhaps a fear of failure, or a fear of success, or just the age-old fear that you are not good enough or don't know enough. But it's a FEAR nonetheless. And fears are there to be conquered!

One thing I realised early on, especially when I was directing a play or a video, is that no matter how much effort and time you put into things, there will always be something you wish you could change when you watch it back or sit in the audience. I developed a strategic cough every time I was watching one of my videos and something was coming up that I didn't like...

This is human nature - we want to be perfect, but perfection doesn't exist. What one person loves, another hates - it's my old 'aubergine syndrome' again!

But you can change things

Even in professional theatre, even after the first night, there can be cast changes, updates and improvements. And you can do the same with your content. You can edit it, improve it or delete it altogether if you want to. Nothing is set in stone.

The longer you wait, the less you grow

You know that blog post you’ve been “working on” for weeks? The video script that’s sitting in your notes folder? Or the idea that is stuck in your head? Here's the blunt and unadulterated truth...

It’s helping no one - not you, your audience or your bank balance while it's stuck in your head!

Meanwhile, someone else with half the experience and twice the guts is out there building momentum – one imperfect post at a time. You know this is true because you read those posts and think "I could do better than that" all the time! Don't you?!

So this is a bit of a wake-up call to everyone who is currently sat on the fence about one thing or another...

GET OFF AND GET STARTED!

If you'd waited to be perfect at walking when you were a baby, you'd still be sat in the corner today!!

Now this might seem a bit harsh and it's definitely not my usual fluffy mindset post - it's got a bit more of a kick to it. I'm not apologising for this because it's exactly what I needed recently to get me out of the doldrums about my sites not getting much traffic, and get me working on a solution. So I've taken my own medicine and it's working. It's got me publishing like a Trojan, whether I feel like an idiot or not! I've just accepted that as my perfectly imperfect eternal self image!

Remember that your audience isn’t waiting for 'perfection'. They’re waiting for you.

Think about it. When was the last time you loved a piece of content because it was technically flawless?

Probably never. You most likely loved it because it made you feel something. Because it was useful. Because it was honest and it was what you needed at the time. I'm growing tomatoes and the best posts are from people who have their hands in the compost and the mud on their face!

That’s what we’re really here to create – connection, value, trust.

And you don’t need perfect fonts or polished graphics to do that. You can check your grammar and spelling with AI nowadays, so it's even easier than ever.

The shelf-life of content is short anyway

On social media, I've learned that my post lasts a day or two if I'm lucky. YouTube Shorts, maybe a week but no more.
Even blogs take time to climb the rankings.

So stop putting all your hopes on one “perfect” thing. You'll never find it because it doesn't exist.

Instead:
✔ Keep showing up
✔ Keep learning
✔ Keep publishing

OK, rant over!

I’ll leave you with this:

Striving for perfection doesn’t publish. Striving for progress does.

Let that be a mantra that gets you to post that blog, film that video, or start that new page on your site today.

You’ve got this. Make version one. You can improve it with versions 2, 3 and 4 later if you need to, but get off the blocks and into the race!

And let me know if I'm way off centre with this one, or it's something you needed a gentle nudge about today?

All the best, as always. You are all amazing!

Gail