How All-or-Nothing Thinking Kills Your Productivity
One recent Sunday, I just couldn't do my weekly planning.
My A-plus version takes 1-2 hours. I have a whole system that looks at my work & family calendar, plans meals and workouts, and builds my grocery order. That Sunday, I didn't have the time or the energy for any of it.
Old me would have skipped it and spent the whole week scrambling.
Instead, I went to Trader Joe's with no list. Three proteins, some fruit and veggies, dog food. Done.
It wasn't my best week of planning. But it was so much better than nothing, and my week was totally doable.
Skipping it would have been all-or-nothing thinking, and all-or-nothing thinking quietly wrecks your productivity.
Here's what it looks like:
You skip the workout because you only have 20 minutes, not the full hour.
You don't start the closet because you can't finish it today.
You don't plan dinners for the week, so it's takeout by Wednesday.
The house needs a real cleaning, so you don't touch it until you have a free Saturday. That Saturday never comes.
You're not lazy. You have high standards. But when the only options are A-plus or nothing, nothing wins most weeks.
What B-minus work is
B-minus work is choosing, on purpose, to do a smaller, simpler version of something instead of skipping it. It's not giving up on your standards. It's deciding that done and decent beats perfect and never.
When you coach with me, you learn you to decide ahead of time where B-minus is good enough, so a busy week doesn't knock you off course.
A few B-minus ideas to steal
Mediocre meals. My sister and a friend get together once a month to make simple freezer meals: a protein, a vegetable, done. They call it mediocre meals, and I love it.
A B-minus workout. Take the walk instead of skipping the gym. Or go and do the easy version.
A B-minus kitchen. Wipe the counters every night instead of waiting for a Saturday deep clean.
A B-minus to-do list. Whatever doesn't get done in today's time block moves to tomorrow. It still gets done.
What changes
When B-minus is on the table, fewer things fall all the way through the cracks. You plan something instead of nothing. You move your body. Dinner happens. And you save your A-plus energy for the things you actually care about.
Something is always better than nothing.
PS If you know you should "just do B-minus" but can't make yourself do it, that's exactly what we work on in coaching. Book a free, no-pressure consultation here and we'll figure out where your A-plus actually belongs.
HOT OFF THE PRESS
“We measure ourselves against where we think we should be, so no matter how much we check off, we come up short.”
You can be making meaningful progress and still feel like a failure if you're constantly comparing your life to where you think you should be.
Here’s the thing: there's always going to be another milestone to reach, another goal to accomplish, or another version of yourself you think you should become.
And if you only measure yourself against that imaginary finish line, you can spend your entire life feeling behind. But when you recognize how far you've come, something changes. You begin to see evidence that you're capable, that you're growing, and that your efforts actually count.
And that matters because feeling accomplished isn't just about being happier with your life. It can also influence whether you have the motivation and confidence to keep moving forward.
You deserve to experience the satisfaction of the life you're building, not just spend every day worrying about the life you haven't built yet.
Check out episode 298 here: https://tinyurl.com/OWWPod.
“When you try to really give A plus to everything, the people in your life who you care about most often end up getting the D minus version of you.”
Here's what I've come to realise: doing less isn't the same as caring less.
When you're a high-achieving woman, doing less can feel like failure. (Trust me, I get it.) But sometimes, trying to do everything at your best actually stops you from doing the things that matter most.
You don't need to lower your standards across the board. You need to recognize that not everything deserves your A-plus energy.
Some things need your very best.
Other things just need to get done.
And when you give yourself permission to do less in the places where perfection doesn't matter, you create more room for the people, work, and experiences that do.
Listen to episode 299 here: https://tinyurl.com/OWWPod!
WORK WITH ME
1:1 Coaching Spot Open 📅
Where is your A plus energy is going right now? Set up a free one-hour discovery session with me and we'll talk about what really needs your best and where you can strategically do less to save yourself from burnout.
