It’s been one of those days.
You know the kind. The ones where you feel like you’re fighting a losing battle with yourself, constantly working against the clock, only to end up with that nagging feeling that you haven’t accomplished anything.
It’s a frustrating cycle that leaves me completely out of sync.
Frankly, it’s exhausting.
I get bogged down in trying to make everything perfect. I keep making inaccurate estimates of how long tasks will take, which leads to a constant feeling of never catching up.
It’s hard to put into words, but it feels like I am the problem.
And this is impacting me way too much.
That’s why I want to share some thoughts on those productivity struggles and an exercise I’ll try.
Maybe it resonates with you, too.
Honest thoughts on my productivity struggles
I’m constantly battling with inaccurate time estimates. I work all day, yet feel like I’ve achieved zero.
It’s a classic case of “busy but not productive.”
But I get it now.
My problem is not laziness or distraction.
My problem is that I want to do everything well.
That perfectionism creates a never-ending loop of revisions, tweaks, and rewrites until time stretches on and on.
(And this constant pressure can be a fast track to burnout. My friend Patrice wrote an excellent guide on founder’s burnout that’s worth checking out if you’re feeling the strain.)
Here’s the breakdown of what’s going on.
It’s not a productivity problem; it’s about the “acceptance threshold.”
The real issue is that, for me, a task isn’t “done” until it’s “good enough”.
Simple.
Except “good enough” is like a moving target that shifts further and further out, so the task never feels finished.
And time constraints are meaningless because they don’t magically lower my standards.
Deep down, I still crave that flawless outcome.
Case in point: this very blog post! It was supposed to be a stream-of-consciousness, not a polished masterpiece. And yet… here I am, obsessing it. (*)
Is there a cure for this madness?
The stakes feel incredibly high (even when they’re not)
Here’s another layer to this onion.
If I perceive a task—even a simple email—as super important (maybe because the outcome feels like a key step in my future), my brain reacts as if it were a high-risk operation.
It flips out.
It goes into full-blown “PERFECT EVERYTHING, DON’T SCREW THIS UP” mode.
Logically, I know I should finish it, but emotionally, every single detail seems to carry the weight of the world. It’s a 10x pressure, completely self-imposed.
Is it possible to break free from this self-sabotage?
Finding a way out: a “good enough” experiment
Look, I’ve heard it all before. And the advice, the hacks… they’re like bandaids on a broken leg.
Helpful, perhaps, but they don’t address the root cause.
- Time management techniques? Nope.
- Fake timers? Useless.
- “Just do it!”? Thanks, Captain Obvious.
What I actually need is a way to lower my internal “acceptance threshold” and manage my (often irrational) perception of risk.
So, even if I’m not sure if that works, I’m trying a new exercise this week.
A practical approach.
And it might sound a little ridiculous…
The “Two Versions” experiment
Bear with me here.
I’m going to create two versions of every task.
- The “Publish in 5 Minutes” version, like writing a draft email that I could send right now, even if it isn’t perfect.
- The “Refined” version, where I allow myself to indulge in all the tweaks and revisions my perfectionist heart desires.
It’s a simple process.
After creating both, I’ll compare them.
My hope is that the “5-minute” version won’t be as terrible as I fear. That maybe, just maybe, my “imperfect” first attempt is often good enough from the start.
Because I’m so done with trailing behind.
…
Now, I left a note before.
Did you notice? It was a simple (*).
Well, I was supposed to write this post for 30 minutes and publish it. I actually spent 90 more minutes improving it…