The 80% Approach.

Last Monday I put together my monthly business newsletter. In it, I had an inspiring client success story to share, as well as details about an upcoming free webinar on creating effective cover letters. I love writing, and organizing the newsletter is mostly fun for me. “How can I present this in a motivating, helpful way?” I asked myself as I happily put it together.

But then, as usual, I ran into a wall. Some of the hotlinks weren’t working properly, and the setup it takes to get it launched to my email lists and social media accounts is a bit too detailed for me. Plus I dislike proofreading.

I used to knuckle through these steps to get it done until I read “The 80% Approach” by coach Dan Sullivan. He advises, rather than drain my energy on tasks that don’t inspire me, to instead get it to a point of 80% done, and then pass it on to someone who has strengths in my areas of weaknesses. For me, that’s my coworker Eugena Bellamy-Green, and that’s what I did. She got the newsletter buttoned up and shipped off successfully, and I avoided pulling out my hair in frustration.

Lately, I’ve been applying this 80% approach to more areas of my life. My aim is to focus my time and efforts primarily on activities that are energizing for me, and collaborate with others to take on the tasks that aren’t my forte. It’s raised me to a new level of productivity. Instead of thinking, “I need to grit my teeth through these steps,” I tell myself, “Just get it 80% done, pass it on to the next specialist, and then start your next energizing project.”

It’s a freeing experience, as I no longer struggle to be a perfectionist (that wasn’t working out too well anyway).  So the next time you’re faced with an activity, ask yourself, “In which parts of this do I shine and excel, and which parts are a challenge for me?” Then find some productivity partners to get your jobs done faster and better than ever before.

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