229: Why 'Done is Better Than Perfect' is the Ultimate Productivity Hack (Stop Perfectionism Paralysis)

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Why 'Done is Better Than Perfect' is the Ultimate Productivity Hack (Stop Perfectionism Paralysis)

Perfectionism killing your productivity as an entrepreneur? You're not alone. In this episode of The Overwhelmed Entrepreneur, execution coach Cindy Gordon reveals why 'done is better than perfect' is the ultimate productivity hack for overwhelmed business owners.

Discover why perfectionism leads to procrastination and paralysis, and how the Reality Check Method helps you break free from perfectionism's grip. Perfect for female entrepreneurs and small business owners who are tired of waiting for the 'perfect moment' to take action.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why perfectionism is actually fear in disguise
• The hidden cost of perfectionism for overwhelmed entrepreneurs
• How to reality-check when 'perfect' is actually necessary (spoiler: almost never)
• The 80/20 rule for perfectionism that gets things done without sacrificing quality
• Real examples from business owners who shipped imperfect work and won

If you're stuck in perfectionism paralysis, this episode will help you embrace progress over perfection and start making real progress in your business.

Resources mentioned:

• The Reality Check Method at ExclusivelyCindy.com
• The Growth Collective - $1/day business support system
• Weekly productivity tips (link in show notes)

Keywords: perfectionism productivity, overcome perfectionism entrepreneur, done is better than perfect, perfectionism procrastination, productivity for overwhelmed entrepreneurs

🎯 You don't have to figure this out alone! The Growth Collective is your $1/day business support community with weekly office hours, strategic frameworks, and entrepreneurs who get it. Less than your coffee, more than a mastermind. Details at https://exclusivelycindy.thrivecart.com/the-growth-collective/

💡 Don't forget to subscribe for more quick productivity tips for overwhelmed business owners and female entrepreneurs!

💌 Join 1,400+ entrepreneurs getting exclusive overwhelm solutions and productivity strategies straight to their inbox - sign up now! https://cindygordon.myflodesk.com/countmein

Connect with Cindy Gordon - Reality Check Method Coach for Overwhelmed Entrepreneurs:

• Website: ExclusivelyCindy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exclusivelycindy/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cindygordon

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Are you waiting for the perfecttime, the perfect caption for
that social media Post theperfect moment to send that
pitch email.
Here's your reality check today.
Perfectionism isn't protectingyour quality, it's killing your
progress.
Hi, I'm Cindy Gordon, aself-made entrepreneur, busy mom
and execution coach.

(00:20):
I built and sold multipledigital businesses, and I'm the
founder of the GrowthCollective, which is a dollar a
day business support systemwhere entrepreneurs get weekly
office hours.
Actionable courses and acommunity that values progress
over perfection.
And here's what I've learnedalong the way.
Done is better than perfect.
It's not just a catchy saying,it's the ultimate productivity

(00:43):
hack for overwhelmedentrepreneurs.
And before we dive in, if youare not getting my weekly
productivity tips yet, grab themusing the link in the show
notes.
They're the behind the scenessystems that I use to stay
productive while running mybusiness.
In the next seven minutes, I ambreaking down exactly why
perfectionism is destroying yourproductivity and how to reality

(01:04):
check your way out ofperfectionism paralysis if you
want access to frameworks likethis, plus my weekly
productivity strategies, makesure you are on that email list.
This is something that comes upagain and again with the clients
that I work with.
You sit down to work onsomething important, a launch, a
sales page, an email topotential client, and then

(01:26):
suddenly you are tweaking thesame sentence for 20 minutes.
You don't start at all becauseyou are waiting for the perfect
moment when you'll have moretime, more clarity, and more
energy.
The truth is that perfectionismthat you think is making you
more professional, it's actuallyprocrastination, wearing a
productivity costume, and foroverwhelmed entrepreneurs.

(01:49):
Perfectionism doesn't just slowyou down.
It creates the exact overwhelmthat you are trying to avoid.
When everything needs to beperfect, everything starts to
feel urgent.
And when everything feelsurgent, you know what's coming.
Nothing really is.
Here's something fascinatingabout how our brains work when

(02:10):
it comes to perfectionism andproductivity.
Your brain thinks perfectionismequals safety.
If you make everything perfect,you won't get judged.
You won't fail, you won't lookincompetent.
But here's what actuallyhappens.
Perfectionism leads toprocrastination, which leads to
paralysis.
You're so worried about doing itperfectly that you either don't

(02:32):
start or you get stuck endlesslyrevising instead of just doing
the thing.
The psychology of this issimpler than you think.
Perfectionism is just fear indisguise, and for entrepreneurs,
the cost is massive.
That perfect offer, you'redesigning, your competitor just
launched their imperfect versionand made money.

(02:55):
That flawless social mediastrategy.
You're planning.
Someone else just posted theirmessy, authentic content and
built a real connection.
So how do you break free from.
Perfectionism paralysis.
Let me walk you through what Iteach first.
With anything, you are going toreality check it.
You need to reality check whatactually needs to be excellent

(03:18):
versus what just needs to bedone.
Not everything deserves the samelevel of polish, your brand
messaging that matters, theformatting of your internal
checklist.
That can be messy.
Start by asking yourself, what'sthe real standard here?
Most of the time, good enough isactually perfect.

(03:39):
Next, use what I call the 80 20rule for perfectionism.
If something is 80% done, that'sgood enough for most things.
The reality check, what's the20% that truly matters for a
client proposal?
The pricing and deliverablesmatter.
The font choice, not so much.

(04:00):
Focus your perfectionism on that20% that actually moves the
needle, the game changer.
Give yourself permission to dothe imperfect work.
I mean it launch the offerbefore the sales page is
flawless.
Post the content before thecaption is poetry.
Send the pitch before you'verewritten it five times.

(04:22):
But here's what I've learnedfrom building multiple
businesses.
Imperfect action beats perfectplanning.
Every single time when theresistant shows up, remind
yourself that done is betterthan perfect because perfect is
never actually done.
Let me say that again.

(04:42):
Remind yourself that done isbetter than perfect because
perfect is never actually done.
Perfectionism doesn't have afinish line.
You could be tweaking that thingforever.
Build this into your existingroutine.
Set a timer for your worksessions when the timer goes
off, whatever state it's in.

(05:03):
That's your good enough marker.
So whatever your end result is,do the thing, publish it, send
it, ship it.
Don't give yourself the optionto keep polishing.
The most common obstacle I hearis, but what if it's not good
enough?
Your reality check is, yourstandards are probably way
higher than your audience'sexpectations.

(05:25):
What you think is just okay.
Work is usually impressive toeveryone else.
The only person judging yourwork as harshly as you are,
well, that's you.
To maintain momentum, celebrateimperfect wins every time you,
publish it, ship it, et cetera.
Something that's not perfect,but it's done.
That's a victory.

(05:46):
You are breaking the cycle ofperfectionism.
One imperfect action at a time.
Let me give you some realexamples of what this looks like
in business.
I've had clients launch offerswith imperfect sales pages that
convert beautifully because themessaging was clear even if the
design wasn't magazine worthy.
I've seen entrepreneurs postmessy behind the scenes social

(06:09):
content that built moreconnection than their polished,
perfect feed ever did.
One client delivered good enoughwork to her clients on time and
got rave reviews while hercompetitor's perfect work was
constantly late and frustratedeveryone, another entrepreneur
built imperfect systems thatactually got used versus the

(06:31):
perfect systems that she neverimplemented because they were
too complicated.
This approach has become secondnature in my daily routine, I
constantly do imperfect things.
This podcast probably hasimperfect moments.
If you listen close enough, Isend imperfect emails.
I post imperfect content becauseyou know what?

(06:52):
It gets done, it still helpspeople, and my business keeps
moving forward because I'm notstuck in that perfectionism
cycle.
This is actually one of the coreprinciples that I teach inside
the Growth Collective, my dollara day support system where we
focus on progress overperfection and getting real
results in your business.

(07:13):
Here's what I want you toremember today.
Perfectionism productivity is anoxymoron.
You can be a perfectionist oryou can be productive.
It's pretty hard to be both.
So your challenge this week isto do one imperfect thing, just
one is all I'm asking.
One post or one email or onetask that you've been putting

(07:37):
off because it isn't quite rightyet.
Just get it done and get it outin the world because progress
over perfection isn't just amindset, it is a business
strategy.
If you're ready to break theoverwhelm cycle with frameworks
just like this, you can find andfollow me on Instagram at
exclusively Cindy, where Iconstantly share daily reality

(08:01):
checks for overwhelmedentrepreneurs.
And remember when everythingfeels like it needs to be
perfect reality, check whatactually matters Most of the
time.
Done beats perfect every singletime you've got this.

Speaker (08:17):
Thanks for spending these few minutes with me today.
Remember, overwhelm isn'tpermanent.
It's simply your brain's way ofsaying pause and take a little
reality check.
If this was helpful, you'll lovemy weekly email tips where I
share the systems that keep meand hundreds of other
entrepreneurs on Track Link inthe show notes.
If you got value in today'sepisode, please share it with

(08:39):
another entrepreneur who needsthat reminder.
If you're loving the show, I'dbe so grateful if you could
leave me a quick review.
It helps other overwhelmedentrepreneurs find us.
Make sure you hit subscribe soyou never miss your weekly dose
of clarity.
For more resources and toconnect with me, visit
exclusively cindy.com.
Until next time, remember you'vegot this.