How to Take Imperfect Action
Have you ever been able to edit something before you've actually written a word?
Have you ever tried being more clear, or more thorough in your explanation without ever saying anything?
Or have you ever tried to make an organization or planning system work without ever implementing a thing?
It’s not possible, yet I see it all the time.
It's the story we tell ourselves about researching, about thinking, about preparing.
We think that with more research or more thinking we’ll be able to get it right. We think that reading or learning from experts is being productive when really, we learn by doing.
Inaction can be hard to spot, especially in ourselves. So I want to give you some examples so you can see why you're doing yourself a huge disservice and how, instead, you can take more imperfect action.
IT WILL NEVER BE PERFECT
This month, one of my goals is to create (or finally finish) a training about how to put together a successful to-do list. I get asked questions about this all the time and I want to share my process.
But the truth is, this has been a goal of mine for the last two months, maybe three. Now granted, a lot has been going on in the world and I'm giving myself a little bit of a break. But I also know that I’ve been researching, looking at what other trainings are out there, drafting and redrafting my words and recording lots of test videos.
What I know is that I will never get feedback, if I don't put it out there. I will never know if this is something you actually want if I don't let you try it.
It will never be perfect. And no amount of research will get it there. Only feedback from people like you who are interested in this and can use it and tell me what works and what doesn't.
DOING IS LEARNING
We were on a family walk recently when my son, who is almost six, noticed a row of small rainbow flags along the edge of the street. He asked what they were for. I knew that they were celebrating and marking the significance of the Supreme Court decision on LGBTQ rights that had come out earlier that week.
I thought we had already talked about this at another time, but clearly he still had questions. And I hesitated.
I thought maybe I should learn a little bit more about the best way to have this conversation. What do the experts say a six-year-old can comprehend? What stories or examples should I be sharing to help him put this in context?
Maybe I can table this conversation for later.
But if I did that, when would I feel ready to talk about this important topic with him? Would I actually follow through and make the time?
So instead, I dove in headfirst…
…And I stumbled. I stumbled through choosing the right words, helping him understand, and being direct.
BUT THAT IS THE LESSON
I would never have known where the gaps were in my knowledge, what I still needed to learn myself, or where I felt uncomfortable.
Now I can go broaden my own understanding and share what I'm learning with him.
The best way to learn in this scenario was to just do. To try.
TAKING IMPERFECT ACTION
Taking imperfect action is a muscle that you have to strengthen. To act instead of research, to do instead of think.
What is something that you’ve been putting off in the name of research?
When have you said, “I need some more time to think or ponder this.”
What is something that you've been wanting to create but it just needs one more round of edits?
Let's get out there and create that thing.
Let's try that new routine.
Let's experiment with the recipe.
Let's have the conversation.
You'll learn so much - from what you do really well to what you don't do really well - and then you can make it even better. Because you have data, experience, and results to be able to go back, learn, and do again.
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