Embrace the Volume and Chase Perfection One Step at a Time!

Embrace the Volume and Chase Perfection One Step at a Time!

So lately I have been feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of all the things I need to get done!  As is often the case I caught a couple podcasts as well as a couple “inspirational” posts on social media that proved to be a great help in getting started on new items as well as pushing forward on the work we are already doing.

So first and foremost our minds struggle with large tasks, we see this everyday in our office.  Patients have lived with pain or health concerns for many years, and the thought of the total changes that need to be made can be paralyzing.  These changes may be lifestyle or their healthcare, but the overall picture can be a lot to process.  We see it in our own loves as business owners, as there are so many projects to work on you end up doing nothing or just “planning” what you’re going to do at some point.

In addition to being overwhelmed by the sheer volume we also get hung up by striving for perfection.  I am very guilty of this; I want things to be 100% perfect before it goes out or anyone sees it, this is true in what we do online as well within our office and how we treat and care for our patients.

Some of the things I am working on to combat these things are:

Identifying the smaller projects within the project, looking for the little tasks I can work on to chip away and get the project pushed along.  As you start putting these smaller task together the bigger picture always seems to come together.  In the office we are always looking to improve our marketing plans and our patient experience.  Not having a functional and optimized website built and online has been a project needing to be addressed for some time.  By just taking the time to work on this we have found ways to improve the overall projects of both marketing and our patient experience.

Accepting the fact that especially in the beginning it is primarily a volume game in getting these projects moving forwards.  We often strive for quality instead and end up paralyzed because we are worried that our product is not good enough.  I have a mentor of sorts who always says “done is better than perfect,” and while this may not be a unique idea or quote it is worth remembering.  Just start getting things done and worry about improving and perfecting them as you go.  There was a study involving a pottery class divided into two groups.  The first group was told they would receive their grade based on sheer number of pieces produced, the second group was told their grade would be based one single piece and to turn in only the best piece they made.  As it turned out not only did the first group produce more pieces but they also produced the highest quality pieces.  The greatest authors didn’t just write the books they were famous for they also wrote some things that no one has ever heard of.  Very few people start out with every thing they do is perfect!  It is only by sheer volume of work that your quality improves, that’s true no matter what your career or trade is.

Realize that when you first start very few people are paying attention and more than likely these people are already your biggest fans or they wouldn’t be paying attention at this point.  Producing volume is the “grind,” we all see the people who have “made it” talking about the grind and everything seems so perfect.  The “grind” is all the volume of work that went into getting them to where they are now.  In the beginning it wasn’t perfect, probably wasn’t pretty and for most people it down right SUCKED! 

Every piece, every try, every task, every step all work together to make it better each time!