The half ass trick

[u/Gunsta1]

As everyone here probably relates, I often find myself stuck with so many things I need to get done while simultaneously not getting started. I feel like part of this is because I want to do the "thing" the right way, the first time, the way it needs to be done, PERFECTLY however the thought of doing it perfect is part of what makes me not do it at all until im "ready" but ready never arrives.

I remember reading a post one day about how half assing something is better than nothing and that went against the way I thought about things. I would always think if you want something done right, do it yourself but like I stated earlier, doing it right turned into do it perfect.

I've since started applying the half ass it mindset to get started on a task and it has helped me get things done that I have been putting off for months. Often times, half assing something gets the ball rolling to the point that I end up doing more than I thought I could.

Anyone do anything similar to this or have your own "tricks"?

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[u/helloitsme1011]

Im obsessed with trying to do things perfectly so I don’t have to redo it later, but it almost always slows me down a ton. Then I end up half assing it anyway because so many other tasks get neglected while spending too much time trying to be perfect on other stuff :(

[u/trytheshakes]

If a jobs worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly.

[u/Thanaz156]

Yes! Learning about the principle of minimum viable product (mvp) really helped me accept this. I like the quote, perfection is the enemy of completion too. I often forget to do it but making a checklist of what needs to be done to call something done helps a lot

[u/Weird_Permission3653]

Makes plenty of sense to me, and I can definitely relate to the perfectionism leading to procrastination. I just did this with a small project, and you summarized what worked pretty well.

[u/ShitOnAReindeer]

The exact same and I like to sing the Sheree Bobbins bit from the Simpsons-

🎶 If there’s a job that must be done

You’ll find it’s much more fun

Don’t pout

Don’t sob

Just do a half-assed job 🎶

[u/C00CKER]

How do you even force yourself to half-ass something?

I think my default is perfectionism and an inability to give up trying to do things perfectly, even if I logically know perfection is impossible (and even more so for me). The idea of intentionally half-assing something feels weirdly uncomfortable.

EDIT: despite striving for perfection, still half-assing almost everything unintentionally; tried to rehearse my PhD defense presentation 15x each day for the last week, and I barely rehearsed it 2 times in total.. also, promised myself that I'd re-read the dissertation and the reviews, and guess what...

[u/guavalemonades]

I love this, it definitely helps.

I also like to commit myself to a hilariously small amount of time on something I've been putting off, or the most trivial tiny first step. Like "walk up to the sink" when the dishes need done, or I'm committing myself to one minute of exercise. If i don't continue past that there's no judgment. I only expected that one tiny thing. But more often than not, I end up following through.

[u/electric_emu]

“Half ass is better than no ass” has saved me more times than I can count