Episode 39 - The Perfectionist's Time Trap: Why 'Good Enough' Is Your Secret to Success
Welcome to Episode 39 of the Time for Living Podcast!
TRANSCRIPT
show notes
If you've ever caught yourself spending hours perfecting something that could have been done in minutes—all while your personal dreams collect dust—this episode is exactly what you need. Today, we're breaking down the Perfectionist's Time Paradox and why "good enough" isn't settling—it's actually your secret weapon for reclaiming 10+ hours per week and finally making space for what truly matters.
What You’ll Learn:
Why perfectionism isn't about excellence—it's about fear, and how it's secretly sabotaging your time
Why perfectionism isn't about excellence—it's about fear, and how it's secretly sabotaging your time
The three-step strategy to shift from perfectionism to strategic excellence: • The Good Enough Audit: Identify what actually needs your full attention vs. what just needs to get done • The 80/20 Time Rule: Focus your energy on the 20% that creates real impact • Progress Over Perfection Mindset: Build confidence by celebrating completion over flawlessness
How to distinguish between high-stakes moments that deserve excellence and routine tasks that need efficiency
Why most of what we perfect never gets noticed—and what to focus on instead
By the end of this episode, you'll have a clear framework for breaking free from perfectionist paralysis so you can stop overworking and start over-achieving.
Free Resource:
Ready to identify exactly where perfectionism is stealing your time? Download your free Time Audit Workbook and discover your biggest time drains, create personal "good enough" standards, and build a system that lets you be strategic about where you place your energy: timeforliving.co/takingcontrol
Join my email list at timeforliving.co for weekly quick-win tips, exclusive resources, and a supportive community of ambitious women who get it.
Let’s Connect:
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Final Thought:
Your dreams don't need you to be perfect—they need you to be present. Pick one thing you over-perfect and cut your usual time in half. Because progress beats perfection every single time, and you deserve a life that's not just successful, but fulfilling. You've got this!
TRANSCRIPT - The Perfectionist's Time Trap: Why 'Good Enough' Is Your Secret to Success
IntroductioN
Hey there, ambitious woman welcome back to Time For Living, or if you’re new here, welcome to the Time For Living family and I’m so glad you’re here with me today.
Can I tell you something? I was talking to a client this week – brilliant executive, runs a team of 15, makes incredible money – and she said something that just broke my heart. She said, "I spend three hours perfecting a presentation that could have been done in 45 minutes, and then I wonder why I never have time for anything else."
Does that sound familiar? Because I'm willing to bet that right now, you're thinking about that project you've been tweaking for weeks, or that email you rewrote five times before sending, or maybe you're even listening to this while you're supposed to be working on something that you keep putting off because it's not quite perfect yet.
And here's the thing – you probably started listening to this podcast because you want more time, right? You want to feel less overwhelmed, less scattered, less like you're constantly running behind. But what if I told you that the very trait that got you where you are today – that attention to detail, that drive for excellence – is actually the thing that's keeping you trapped in this cycle of never having enough time?
Let me paint you a picture of what this looks like in real life. I had a client tell me she spent four hours crafting the "perfect" email to her team about a policy change. Four hours! Meanwhile, her daughter's school play rehearsal schedule was sitting in her inbox unopened, and she missed signing up to volunteer because she was too busy wordsmithing.
Or maybe you can relate to this: You sit down to knock out a quick task – maybe updating a simple report or responding to a colleague's question – and somehow two hours later, you're still there, tweaking and adjusting and making it "just right." Meanwhile, your to-do list keeps growing, your personal commitments keep getting pushed to tomorrow, and you're wondering why everyone else seems to have it figured out when you're drowning.
Here's what I know about you – you're incredibly capable. You wouldn't be in the position you're in if you weren't. But somewhere along the way, your superpower of excellence became your kryptonite. And now perfectionism isn't just stealing your time – it's stealing want you want out of your life.
Today we're talking about what I call the Perfectionist's Time Paradox. It's this crazy cycle where the very thing that helped you succeed is now the thing that's keeping you stuck, overwhelmed, and constantly behind. And I'm going to show you why "good enough" isn't settling – it's actually the secret to getting further, faster.
If you've ever felt like you're spinning your wheels, working harder than everyone around you but somehow still feeling like you're not getting ahead, this episode is for you. We're going to break this cycle today, and by the end of our time together, you're going to have a clear strategy for reclaiming hours of your week without compromising your standards.
Perfectionist’s Time Paradox
So let's talk about what's really happening here. You think perfectionism is about having high standards, right? But here's the truth – perfectionism isn't just about excellence. It's about fear.
Think about it. When you spend three hours on that presentation instead of 45 minutes, what are you really afraid of? You're afraid of judgment. You're afraid of not being seen as capable. You're afraid that if it's not perfect, people will think you don't know what you're doing.
And I get it. As women in professional spaces, we often feel like we have to work twice as hard to prove ourselves. We feel like any mistake, any imperfection, will be used as evidence that we don't belong in that room or that role. So we overcompensate by making everything flawless.
But here's the kicker – and this is where the paradox comes in – while you're busy perfecting that one thing, everything else in your life is falling behind. Your inbox is exploding. Your personal projects are on the back burner. Your dreams are collecting dust because you're too busy making sure everything you touch is flawless.
I call this the Perfectionist's Time Paradox because perfectionists actually accomplish less than people who embrace "good enough." Sounds backwards, doesn't it? But here's why it's true.
The perfectionist spends 100% of their energy on making one thing 100% perfect. Meanwhile, the person who embraces "good enough" spends 80% of their energy on making something 90% great, and then they move on to the next thing. At the end of the day, who do you think has accomplished more?
And here's what's really happening in your brain – every time you perfect something beyond what's actually needed, you're training your brain that everything requires that level of intensity. You're literally rewiring yourself to believe that anything less than perfect isn't acceptable. No wonder you feel exhausted.
The truth is, most of what we perfect never even gets noticed by others. That email you rewrote five times? Your colleague read it in 30 seconds. That report you stayed up late polishing? Your boss skimmed the summary and moved on.
I had a client who's a project manager tell me she was staying until 8 PM every night perfecting status reports. Meanwhile, her gym membership went unused and she was surviving on takeout because she "didn't have time" to meal prep. When we dug deeper, her team leads told her they barely glanced at those beautiful reports – they just needed to know if projects were on track or not.
Here's another way to think about it: perfectionism is actually a form of procrastination. When you're spending hours making something 5% better, you're avoiding the harder work of moving on to the next thing, taking on bigger challenges, or pursuing those dreams that feel scarier because the outcome isn't guaranteed.
So the question becomes: what's the real cost of your perfectionism? It's not just time – it's opportunity. It's growth. It's the life you could be living if you weren't stuck in this cycle.
Perfectionism to ‘Strategic Excellence’
Okay, so how do we break this cycle? I'm going to give you my three-step strategy for shifting from perfectionism to what I call "strategic excellence." This isn't about lowering your standards – it's about being strategic about where you place them.
And before we go any further, I want you to know that this process takes practice. You didn't become a perfectionist overnight, and you won't break the habit overnight either. But every small step you take is going to compound into massive time savings and, more importantly, a more fulfilling life.
Step One: The Good Enough Audit
For the next week, I want you to identify everything you do and ask yourself: "What's the minimum viable version of this that still meets the need?"
Let me give you some examples. That weekly team update email? Instead of crafting the perfect prose, use bullet points. Takes five minutes instead of 30. Your presentation slides? Use a template instead of creating custom graphics. Your meeting notes? Capture key decisions and action items, not every word spoken.
But here's where most people get stuck – they don't know what "good enough" looks like because they've been operating in perfectionist mode for so long. So let me give you a framework.
For any task, ask yourself these three questions: First, what's the core purpose of this? Second, who's my audience and what do they actually need? And third, what's the minimum effort that achieves the maximum impact?
Let's walk through a real example. Say you're writing a project proposal. The core purpose is to get approval and resources. Your audience is decision-makers who are busy and want key information quickly. The minimum effort for maximum impact? A clear executive summary, main benefits, timeline, and budget. That's it. You don't need to anticipate every possible question or create a document that could be published in a business journal.
The key here is asking: "What's the real purpose of this task?" Usually, it's to communicate information, make a decision, or move something forward. It's rarely to create a masterpiece.
Now, I know what you're thinking – "But what if they have questions? What if it's not comprehensive enough?" Here's the thing: questions are good. Questions mean engagement. Questions give you the opportunity to have a conversation instead of just delivering a monologue. Stop trying to prevent every possible question and start welcoming them as part of the process.
Step Two: The 80/20 Time Rule
This is where we get strategic. I want you to identify the 20% of your work that creates 80% of your impact. These are your high-stakes moments – the client presentation that could land a major deal, the proposal that could change your career, the project that your boss specifically said is a priority. Creating the email sales funnel for your online business.
For these items, yes, you can aim for excellence. But here's the thing – even excellence doesn't mean perfection. Excellence means meeting the need exceptionally well, not eliminating every possible flaw.
Here's how to identify your 20%: look for tasks that have significant consequences if they go poorly, high visibility with important stakeholders, or direct impact on your key goals. Everything else? That's your 80%, and that's where "good enough" becomes your superpower.
For everything else – and this is probably 80% of what you do – good enough is not just acceptable, it's smart. It's strategic. It's what allows you to show up fully for the things that really matter.
But here's what I see happen all the time: people treat everything like it's in the 20%. Every email feels urgent. Every report feels critical. Every task feels like it could make or break their career or business. And that's just not true. Most of what we do on a daily basis is maintenance work, routine communication, or incremental progress. It doesn't all need to be perfect.
Step Three: The Progress Over Perfection Mindset
This is the hardest part, but it's also the most important. You need to start celebrating progress instead of perfection. Every time you create something that's good enough instead of perfect, you're building a new neural pathway. You're proving to yourself that the world doesn't end when things aren't flawless.
Start small. Send that email after one review instead of three. Submit that report when it's complete instead of when it's perfect. Share that idea in the meeting even if you haven't thought through every possible objection.
Each time you do this, you're not just saving time – you're building confidence. You're proving to yourself that your worth isn't tied to perfection. And you're creating space for the things that actually matter to you.
But I want to give you a warning: the first few times you do this, it's going to feel uncomfortable. Your brain is going to tell you that you're being lazy or sloppy. That's normal. That's just your old perfectionist programming trying to keep you safe. Acknowledge it, thank it for trying to protect you, and do it anyway.
Remember, done is better than perfect. And good enough, done consistently, will always beat perfect that never sees the light of day.
Summary
Alright, let's get you started with some immediate action.
I want you to pick one thing you do regularly that you typically over-perfect. Maybe it's your emails, maybe it's your reports, maybe it's how you prep for meetings. This week, I want you to cut your usual time in half. Set a timer if you have to.
When that timer goes off, you're done. Send it. Move on. And then – this is crucial – pay attention to what happens. I guarantee you'll discover that the world doesn't end. People don't think less of you. And you've just bought yourself back hours of your life.
Here's what one of my clients discovered when she did this exercise. She usually spent two hours preparing for her weekly team meeting – creating detailed agendas, anticipating every possible question, preparing backup slides she never used. I challenged her to spend 30 minutes instead. You know what happened? Her team said it was the best meeting they'd had in months because she was more present and spontaneous instead of rigidly following a script.
But here's where this gets really exciting. What are you going to do with all that time you're getting back? Because this isn't just about being more efficient at work – this is about reclaiming your life.
If you stopped spending entire weekends perfecting your presentations, you could use those reclaimed hours to finally renovate your guest room or spend more quality time with your family, like having regular coffee dates with your sister again, because you aren't bringing work home every night anymore.
Maybe you'll finally start that side project you've been dreaming about. Maybe you'll have energy left for your partner. Maybe you'll actually make time for those hobbies that light you up.
This is what Time For Living is all about – not just managing your time better, but creating space for what truly matters.
If you're ready to go deeper with this, I've created something specifically for ambitious women like you who are ready to break free from perfectionism and reclaim their time. It's my Time Audit Workbook, and it's going to help you identify exactly where perfectionism is stealing your time and how to get it back.
In this workbook, you'll discover your biggest time drains, create your personal "good enough" standards for different types of tasks, and build a system that lets you be strategic about where you place your energy. You can grab it completely free at timeforliving.co/takingcontrol, I’ll link it in the show notes.
Because here's the thing – your dreams don't need you to be perfect. They need you to be present. They need you to show up. And they need you to have the time and energy to pursue them.
You're incredible, and you deserve a life that's not just successful, but fulfilling. Not just busy, but meaningful. Not just perfect, but real.
I'll see you next week, and remember – progress over perfection, always.