103. On software updates, “do good and talk about it”, and procrastination.

Hi everyone and welcome to Project Mindset, the channel for all those who know that with the right mindset, anything is possible. Before I get to today’s topic, procrastination, I have two really random topics I’d like to briefly address. Random because I only recently came across them. One is a quote, and the other is a thought process I had recently. First, the quote.

And it went something like this, I think I saw it recently on Instagram. The saying, or rather the quote, was: “Meditations are like software updates, workouts are like hardware updates.” I think that’s incredibly powerful; it perfectly describes what’s really going on. I truly believe that when you do workouts, I mean athletic workouts, they help you at least maintain your current physical level. If not, and in most cases, even improve it.

I also think you usually see physical progress relatively quickly. If someone trains a lot or is just starting out, you notice certain physical differences. If someone has been training for a long time, you can see that – they’re really fit, muscular, and so on. With meditation, I’d say you don’t see the progress as visually at first. Instead, you notice it more in how someone feels, how they present themselves to the outside world.

Meditation as an update for the mind

So, in my experience, someone who meditates a lot is usually a bit more relaxed. You get the impression that the person is also a bit happier in life. They have their life under control, they’re content and at peace with themselves. And you don’t necessarily notice that visually, but it’s more about the way you interact with that person. I just wanted to briefly mention that meditations are like software updates, workouts are like hardware updates.

I think that’s incredibly powerful. The second point, that was a thought I had recently. I find it really interesting that when something bad happens, everyone immediately talks about it and all you hear is what awful things happened, how people behaved, for example, what stupid things were said, and so on and so forth. But when someone does something good, you don’t hear about it at all. And that’s usually because the person doing the good thing simply doesn’t talk about it.

I find it incredibly interesting, and I recently noticed it in connection with the topic of donations. When someone donates money, it’s simply not something people talk about. I recently met with a woman from the foundation. We talked about donations, and I found it fascinating. It was about fundraising campaigns for sick children. What she told me was very moving for me. It was truly heartbreaking for me, what I heard. And of course, the conversation then turns to donations and so on.

Why we know so little about donations

And then I noticed, yeah, it’s crazy, I mean, most people—I basically don’t know anyone who donates anything. You hear about it, like there was some unknown donor who gave a large sum, and so on. But you usually don’t hear about it because those people don’t want to talk about it. And when you really think about it, it’s culturally completely broken in our society that we only talk about the bad things, but not about the good things.

So, I don’t talk about it either, I have to, I don’t talk about it when I donate, because then I feel like, yeah, that’s not right. But actually, we should completely change our culture and say, no, as soon as I donate something, as soon as I do something good, and so on and so forth, then I’ll talk about it, because it inspires other people too. If I know that my best friend here, for example, one of my best friends here, is donating something, yeah, cool, I found out about it, I want to do that too.

Do good and talk about it.

So, I think something’s gone wrong culturally in our society, especially when it comes to donating, doing good, and so on. Because we always have this idea that we just don’t talk about it, when it should actually be the other way around. If you’re doing something good, you should be constantly encouraging others. So, I’m currently trying to change my mindset a bit. If you hear me in the next few podcast episodes mentioning things like, “I’ve done this and that,” it’s not to show off, but rather, hey, maybe we can shift the culture a little so that we do good things, talk about them, and inspire others to do good, anything at all.

Continued

And then we would definitely have taken a step towards a better world together. So, those were the two random topics I wanted to briefly touch on before I get to the main topic. The main topic is procrastination. You’re probably familiar with the term “procrastination” or “there’s always tomorrow.” There are a thousand terms and phrases you can use when it comes to not doing the work that needs doing right now. I came across this topic recently because I keep encountering it in meetings, especially with real go-getters—and here I’m including women, of course, go-getter women and go-getter men.

I’ve noticed that these go-getters, when we discuss something in meetings, usually reach for their phones immediately, even during the meeting itself, to gather information, initiate certain things, or delegate tasks—it all happens instantly in the meeting. And that really impresses me. And now I also know, for example, which people in my network I need to contact if I want to get something done right away. So, whether it’s about an event or other things I’m doing, I know for sure that if I call that person, something will be done immediately.

Learn from people who act immediately

In these cases. This is the exact opposite of fascination or procrastination, or “I’ll do it tomorrow when I have time,” and so on. And when I think about this person, I’ve noticed—well, I always try to work in this mode, too—that I get something done immediately because then it’s off my to-do list and I have a clear head for other things. But with these people, or I would argue that I work this way too, I know very well that—and this is the first point about how to overcome procrastination—there are no perfect conditions one can wait for before completing a task.

So, with perfect conditions—I don’t know what many people expect—a very simple example is going out to exercise. If we see this as a task for ourselves because we want to be healthier, physically healthier—workouts being like hardware upgrades—then, from my perspective, when you’re fully immersed in your career, when you have kids, when you have friends, when you have family, when you simply have a lot to do, private, administrative tasks—when are there perfect conditions in the sense of, when do I actually have time to do something? Because there’s always something to do.

Don’t wait for perfect conditions

So, if someone expects things to be a little less hectic with the kids right now, a little less going on at home, or that they have a little less work to do, and therefore their mind is clear enough to tackle this task—I don’t believe in this whole “perfect conditions” thing at all. Waiting for them is pointless. These perfect conditions never materialize because we simply live in, let’s say, an imperfect world. When was the last time I woke up in the morning and thought, “Wow, amazing, I have absolutely nothing to do today, I don’t have to take care of anyone, I just have the whole day off and actually feel like doing the task?”

From my perspective, this means that one of the most important mindsets when it comes to procrastination is that there are no perfect conditions. So I don’t wait for them and I just do it now. The second pitfall of procrastination is doing tasks when I feel like it. For example, I have a task in front of me right now, but I just don’t feel like doing it. I have a bit of a headache, my back hurts, or something else isn’t quite right. I’ll do it when I feel like it.

Feelings and the decision to act

Right now I’m just incredibly busy, which brings us back to topic 1. But I just don’t feel like it. I think that’s a misconception we’ve somehow been taught. I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, but when you feel like it, you do it. My view is completely different. I think you don’t have to feel like it to get something done, because the task simply has to be completed. I mean, I remember my student days—when do you ever feel like reading through the most boring economics textbook ever to prepare for an exam?

There are probably a few economists out there who would say, “Yes, I found it incredibly interesting,” but I’d say for most people—at least from my own degree program, I’m fairly certain—it was all about statistics and so on. I was never interested in learning statistics, except for the basics, of course, so I could apply them in some way in my life. But the really deep, complex statistics—I was never interested in learning that. And so, at some point, I got into the habit of saying that I don’t even pay attention to whether I feel like doing a task or not. If I know the task needs to be done, then I do it regardless of how I feel.

Perfectionism as a hindrance

The third reason why I think so many people are so fixated on this topic at Schiberites is that many strive for a kind of perfectionism. We know that absolute perfection is impossible, in any form, but many think, “I’ll do it if I know that the outcome I’m producing is practically perfect.” And there’s a great saying here, it’s super simple, and probably everyone knows it. But it’s really true in my view: “Better than perfect.” And that means. I’ve seen this in my teams, the people who got things done, who made progress, who got the pairs off the ground, have always gone further than the people who tried to complete a task perfectly.

Continued

There are countless examples; let me use a podcast example since we’re on the topic. Imagine someone who talks into a microphone for five minutes a day to improve their skills. And let me say that five minutes a day for a year, meaning 365 five-minute sessions, is very likely to be far better than someone who, for example, prepares a podcast episode once a year and works exclusively towards that one episode to make it perfect.

It’s obvious that someone who does something small every day for a year will ultimately be better than someone who has trained or practiced for a long time beforehand. So, to summarize briefly: When we talk about procrastination, about not feeling like doing the task right now, or thinking I’m too busy, too preoccupied, and don’t want to do it, then in my view there are three mindset tools we can all use. The first is that we mustn’t wait for perfect conditions; in my opinion, such conditions don’t exist.

Start with the existing conditions

So, waiting for it to be a little less stressful right now, a little less busy, a little less to do at work – from my point of view, there are no perfect conditions. But you just do it now, see the example of what I said earlier with these go-getters, when I’m in meetings with them, that they immediately pick up the phone and say, I’m going to do the task now, or I’m going to get the information now, or whatever it may be, that’s the first mindset tool.

The second thing, this thing, I only do tasks when I have a bit of a headache, I might be getting a cold soon, I don’t feel like it right now, I want to completely put this attitude aside, I don’t know when there were days when I felt completely, completely, completely healthy, well-rested, fit, not tired, I think it’s normal to be in some way perhaps a little impaired because you’re tired, because the kids haven’t let you sleep, so if you feel like it, I want to completely put that aside, I don’t pay any attention to how I feel or if I feel like it at all.

Done is better than perfect

And the last point, my last tool for today, is Better Than Perfect. Getting something done is better than spending hours or weeks preparing something and then trying to achieve perfection. In my experience, the people—at least in my business network—who have come the furthest have mostly just completed one task after another. They know perfectly well that there’s no such thing as perfection. They didn’t expect to act perfectly. The goal was simply to get the tasks done.

And these people actually do progress, in my opinion. Great guys, that’s it for today’s episode. I hope you enjoyed it. This is the last part of the Spotify request: please leave me a short review, because that’s the only way ProjectMindset can continue to grow. Thank you for listening, we’ll talk again soon. Mindset is everything.