The Most Harmful Waste Of Time
The Idea:
Overthinking is the most harmful, energy-draining activity you can engage in.
Why It Matters:
As entrepreneurs, creators, and side hustlers, trying to shoot for perfection destroys your creativity and motivation. It is the number one idea killer. The people who know how to balance quality and speed have a significant advantage in the creator economy. Learn how to do it by reading to the end.
The Story:
When it comes to the worst time-wasters, there are a lot of candidates to choose from. Excess entertainment at night, doom scrolling in bed, mindless chattering with a negative person, jealous hating your coworkers and neighbors, and engaging in hot debates with fellow anonymous fans on message boards about whether the star Small Forward can ever win a championship for your favorite NBA team (don’t ask me why this is so specific).
They all suck and need to be mowed down by a good old Habit Cleanser camp. But what would it be if you asked me what’s one time-waster that’s the most harmful to your career, ambitions, and creative energy?
My answer: overthinking
Yes, the act of spending hours thinking about the most minor details of an upcoming project, the possibility that 1 out of 20 customers might dislike your offering, or how your readers might perceive you when you write a sentence in the passive tense.
So you might ask: what’s the harm in being extra careful? How about anticipating and eliminating all the risks? And isn’t detail-oriented a great attribute for anyone?
Well, there is a lot of harm in overthinking. Below is what happened to me this past weekend.
Our church was hosting a baby shower for a family expecting their third child. Party, food, drink, silly games, opening gifts, social anxiety inducing small talks, you name it. On Friday, I asked the host if I could invite two people who are not regular attendees but would love to come. The host said, “of course! They are absolutely welcome!”
So I invited them.
Well, two hours later, our youth minister (we will call him Z) suddenly called me. The panic in his voice suggested something terrifying, like a snake or two-headed bat had been discovered in his house. My protected instinct wanted to rush me there and save his family from a horrific death.
Me: “What’s the problem?”
Z: “Jia, I heard you invited two more people to the baby shower.”
Me: “Yes. I asked the host, and he said no problem. Is everything OK?”
In my mind, all kinds of scenarios were running across. For example, one of these two people may be engaged in a love triangle with the would-be mother. Or perhaps the other one is deathly allergic to diapers. Who knows!
Z: “The game we are organizing is designed for 32 people. We are already at 32. We can’t have 2 more.”
Me: “What kind of game is it? Counting-to-32?”
Z: “No. Charades, with 4 teams of 8 people. Two more people will break the game.”
Me: “Wait. Who cares if a team has 8 or 9 people? If it has to be 8, can’t someone be a sub? And how do we know everyone would be playing? Can we show up first and figure it out then?”
Z: “The person organizing the game has already designed the game. It might be added stress to her if more people show up.”
Me: “So what do you want me to do? Uninviting them to the party over a game?”
Z: “That would be great. If they have to go, can you tell them beforehand they can’t play the game?”
For a split second, I thought about strangling him across my cellphone’s airwaves, like Darth Vader did to his eternal hated enemies. But violence, even imagined or deserved, is probably not sanctioned by my church, faith, or society. So I just stopped arguing and brought the two people anyway. As I predicted, no one was seriously injured or animals harmed due to having two more people. The game was fun. In fact, not everyone played the game or even showed up at the party.
This conversation sounded silly, but it actually occurred 72 hours ago. But in life, variations of these scenarios happen all the time. Whether organizing a party, writing a piece, or launching a product, we tend to plan, anticipate, and control. That desire for perfection often delays our progress. We overthink and treat future possibilities like scientific certainties.
But the real successful creators and entrepreneurs don’t overthink. They know reality is often messy, and you can’t anticipate everything. So they experiment, learn and adapt. In fact, the ability to reshape plans and adjust to reality is a much better predictor of a successful entrepreneur.
So how do you ensure proper planning without overthinking before a project?
I once learned this phrase from Craig Groeschel, a leadership expert. He uses a tool called GETMO, which stands for “Good Enough to Move On.”
When planning anything, he always asks his team, “are we at GETMO?” If the answer is yes, he would say, “let’s move on.” Any additional minute spent on the plan is overthinking and results in diminishing returns.
Do you have a problem with overthinking and analysis paralysis? Do you have areas of your life where you can use more GETMO? Share with me?
