---
title: 'Done is better than perfect' for overloaded, busy managers
description: In many cases, you get 80 percent of the value from 20 percent of the work. Done is better than perfect and avoid the dangers of perfectionism.
image: https://geekboss.com/hubfs/here-rolls-the-sea-1-1.jpg
---

[Productivity](https://geekboss.com/blog/tag/productivity)

# Done is better than perfect

[ By Matthew Stibbe ![Matthew Stibbe](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/c0fe13642b2329271b9ce0a5b41d744a) ](https://geekboss.com/blog/author/matthew-stibbe)

 Published 17/Apr/2018  Updated December 12 2022

![Poem on a plaque at Dartington Hall](https://geekboss.com/hs-fs/hubfs/here-rolls-the-sea-1-1.jpg?width=1600&height=1000&name=here-rolls-the-sea-1-1.jpg)

> Here rolls the sea  
> And even here  
> Lies the other shore  
> Waiting to be reached  
> Yes here  
> Is the everlasting present  
> Not distant  
> Not anywhere else

These words are engraved in the gatehouse at [Dartington Hall](https://www.dartington.org/), near where I grew up. They made a big impression on me and I remembered them last week when I read about Facebook’s motto ‘**Done is better than perfect**’ in Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In.

How many times do we let perfection get in the way?

## Tips to avoid perfectionism

- [Just write that first draft now](https://www.articulatemarketing.com/blog/how-to-write-faster). You can edit later.
- Don’t wait for a website redesign. [Improve your existing site now](https://www.articulatemarketing.com/blog/new-b2b-website-design).
- Action today is better than a plan for tomorrow.
- Decisions, even suboptimal ones, are generally better than indecision.
- [Synthetic happiness](https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_the_surprising_science_of_happiness) is more satisfying than natural unhappiness.
- If you stay at home, you know exactly what is going to happen but if you go out, anything could happen.
- Ask him/her out. Get over your loss aversion. According to economist Tim Harford, the cost of rejection is much less than the potential gain of a successful date.
- There is no correlation between the number of pages in your business plan and the likely success of your start-up.
- Remember: [non-existent code doesn’t crash](https://geekboss.com/blog/non-existent-code-doesnt-crash).
- Go with the [90 per cent solution](https://geekboss.com/blog/the-90-percent-solution) rather than double the length and cost of the project aiming for 100 per cent.
- And yes, done is better than perfect.

In many cases, you get 80 per cent of the value from 20 per cent of the work. Often, just showing up or getting started or **doing something **is enough. You’re closer to the other shore than you think.

[![How to choose an agency for your new website](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/289742/aab369e3-a371-48eb-a47f-85895833e378.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/289742/aab369e3-a371-48eb-a47f-85895833e378)

Share

[![Share on linkedin](https://geekboss.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/GeekBoss%20theme/images/icons/linkedin.svg) ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://geekboss.com/blog/done-is-better-than-perfect&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin) [![Share on facebook](https://geekboss.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/GeekBoss%20theme/images/icons/facebook.svg) ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://geekboss.com/blog/done-is-better-than-perfect&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook)

![Copy to clipboard](https://geekboss.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/GeekBoss%20theme/images/icons/copy.svg)

## Related articles

![Two people handshaking in agreement](https://geekboss.com/hs-fs/hubfs/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668859.jpg?width=800&height=500&name=pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668859.jpg)

### [40 Essential rules for stress-free client management](https://geekboss.com/blog/client-management)

 For the last decade, I’ve been compiling a list of ‘rules’ for client management based on very personal, subjective reactions to things...

By Matthew Stibbe

[Entrepreneurship](https://geekboss.com/blog/tag/entrepreneurship)

![Bottle with a man inside it pushing at the cork](https://geekboss.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AdobeStock_2516036-1-1-1.jpg?width=800&height=500&name=AdobeStock_2516036-1-1-1.jpg)

### [12 things that make me more productive](https://geekboss.com/blog/12-things-that-make-me-more-productive)

 Productivity is the result of habits and practices that we learn. Change them and we can become more productive. Ignore them and you get...

By Matthew Stibbe

[Productivity](https://geekboss.com/blog/tag/productivity)

![Chess board with chess pieces](https://geekboss.com/hs-fs/hubfs/pexels-pixabay-163427.jpg?width=800&height=500&name=pexels-pixabay-163427.jpg)

### [What’s your ‘profit to pain’ ratio for client management?](https://geekboss.com/blog/profit-to-pain-ratio)

 I love my current clients – this isn’t about them. But in the past, mainly when I was a freelance journalist, I have had to deal with a few...

By Matthew Stibbe

[Entrepreneurship](https://geekboss.com/blog/tag/entrepreneurship)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Matthew Stibbe",
    "url" : "https://geekboss.com/blog/author/matthew-stibbe"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2022-09-02T07:19:56.722Z",
  "datePublished" : "2018-04-17T10:00:30.000Z",
  "headline" : "'Done is better than perfect' for overloaded, busy managers",
  "image" : [ "https://geekboss.com/hubfs/here-rolls-the-sea-1-1.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://geekboss.com/blog/done-is-better-than-perfect",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://geekboss.com/hubfs/Geek-Boss-logo_Geek-Boss-logo-thin-1.png"
    },
    "name" : "Articulate Marketing"
  }
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org/",
  "@type" : "Person",
  "image" : "https://www.stibbe.net/hs-fs/hubfs/IMG_0612.jpeg?width=4032&height=3024&name=IMG_0612.jpeg",
  "jobTitle" : "CEO",
  "name" : "Matthew Stibbe",
  "sameAs" : [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewstibbe/", "https://www.facebook.com/matthew.stibbe" ],
  "url" : "https://geekboss.com",
  "worksFor" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "name" : "Articulate Marketing"
  }
}
```