I’ve come across a concept recently via several blogs and podcasts that sometimes “Good enough” really is good enough. Perfection can be overrated. I kind of tie in the idea of the 80/20 rule into this. The 80/20 rule was introduced by Vilfredo Pareto, in 1895, in regards to economics and the idea of income distribution. In essence, Pareto’s principle noted that 80% of the wealth (in his example, 80% of the land in Italy) was controlled and owned by about the top 20% of society. This 80/20 rule, though, can be extrapolated to other areas of life. Including the efforts to accomplish goals and be productive.
Take an example of the work it takes to perfect a hobby, like playing a piano piece. You can spend a manageable amount of time (e.g. 20%)to get to about 80% mastery. The piece, when played, sounds pretty decent, and you can recognize the melody, but there are some errors. You are by no means a concert pianist, but the song when played makes you happy and is pleasing to your ears. The effort required, however, to get the extra 20% of mastery can be huge.
And, in reality, is that extra 80% effort worth it? With professionals (i.e. the top 20% of performers), I could see that yes, this can make a difference between sounding mediocre and sounding excellent. And for them, I think the extra blood, sweat, and tears makes a difference. But for the many (i.e. the 80% of the rest of us who see piano playing as an enjoyable hobby), the extra effort may not really be worth it for the goal we are trying to accomplish.
Another way to interpret the 80/20 principle is in our “to-do” lists. I have found this concept of productivity to be crucial and helpful for accomplishing what I want to do. Instead of blindly checking boxes off of my list, I try to prioritize tasks with the most lasting impact and things that will truly accomplish goals in my life that I value. Is the task on my list in the 80% (i.e. accomplish 80% of the effect) or the 20%?
Going back to the analogy of learning to play a song on the piano, is it something crucial to be able to “hear” a good tune, or is it simply “something nice to have” that cleans up the rough edges and corrects subtle errors? It may feel good to cross this task off the list and follow the task all the way from 0% to 100%, i.e. from start to finish. But for the majority of us, that extra 80% of effort really won’t make a big audible change in how good our song sounds. Instead, we could have spent just 20% of our time and energy to get to “good enough.”
So instead of always striving for perfection, I have tried to instead focus most of my efforts on getting too good, i.e. the 80% mark. And then, in a select few circumstances, if I feel the extra effort and hours to get the extra 20% is time well spent and important to me or my career or my family, great. But, if I think 80% is pretty darn good, and good enough for my purposes, then it is time to move on.
I am slowly learning to let go of perfection, and value my time and energy. Live to fight another fight. If my current accomplishment is getting me to where I need to go, it is time to put aside my “good enough” project, and move on to the next goal in my life. My acceptance of “good enough” in my work is a work in progress and I am still learning how to do this properly and consistently. But it is definitely liberating, and has helped me to get more done, in less time, and with less stress and worry.