Author: Martin

Celebrating university life in all its diversity. Helping to achieve a full, entertaining, productive, and successful experience.

Good Enough is Better Than Perfect – TUB-Thump 024

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In those moments when I feel like I’m trying too hard, I have to take a step back.

If I didn’t, I’d fall into perfectionism. And I don’t like how that feels.

If you suffer from those feelings of wanting to make everything spot on…blemish free…without a single flaw…it’s time to burst that perfection bubble.

First off, nobody is perfect. You know that, but that doesn’t always stop us trying.

And, in a way, there’s no harm in trying. But there’s a fine line between doing your best and obsessing over immaculate execution.

Episode 024 of TUB-Thump uses academic grades to point out that a First class mark at 70% may well be 30% off of perfect, but it’s still a First. It’s good enough.

“Here is to making everything as good enough as we possibly can.”

Here are the show notes for the 4-min episode:

  • 01:20 – Perfectionism takes up too much time.
  • 01:40 – You’ll never be perfect for everyone. But how do you get over that?
  • 02:10 – Someone who excels where you don’t will lack in areas where you excel. “We’re all as weak as we are strong.”
  • 02:40 – Think in terms of academic marks. If 70% is a First, you won’t be disappointed when you get 74%. It’s not 100%…It’s not even 80%. And that’s because it doesn’t work that way. A First is, essentially, a long way from perfect. But it’s still a First. It’s definitely good enough.
  • 03:00 – Since nobody can achieve perfection, why does the worry build up? It’s not possible. Good enough, however, is always possible.

Music for TUB-Thump is Life, by Tobu, which is released under a Creative Commons license. Check out more of Tobu’s great sounds on Soundcloud, YouTube, and his official site.

TUB-Thump is part of the Learning Always Network.

Keep being awesome!

Avoid the Trap of Consuming Everything Before You Start Creating

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How much research do you do for your coursework?

Do you power through and consume as much stuff as possible before getting on with the creation bit?

The more you can create out of what you consume, the more validation you give to consuming content. You won’t use all of it, but there comes a time when you stop looking.

But what if the search doesn’t seem to end?

The more you consume without creating anything from it, the more worrying the situation gets. Snacking on information without an end in sight.

Munch, munch, munch. One book here, another paper there, and a final web search just for luck. Maybe I’ll check the library one more time.

And maybe another time after that…

And it goes on.

When you consume far more than you create, you face a bottleneck at best. The reality is likely worse.

Words like “perfectionism” and “procrastination” start to rear their ugly heads.

Consuming without getting anything valuable out of the process is wasteful. It happens to all of us on occasion, but it shouldn’t be a standard part of your research process.

And you can easily fall into that consumption trap. So watch out.

It feels productive to find lots to read in the library and online, but it merely gets in the way when you’re not using that content for your work.

Keep an eye on why you’re still researching. There are times when you need to look at far more than you’ll refer to, because you’re looking for inspiration or perspective. Or perhaps you’re considering several arguments before you put your own stamp on proceedings.

But make sure you’re not still consuming ALL THE THINGS simply because:

  • You’re scared to start creating;
  • You think you need to cover every possible angle that exists (hint: you don’t);
  • You’re putting off the next stage of your work;
  • You need to find a better research process to work with.

Reasons like those above aren’t good enough to keep you looking for more. Work with what you’ve got, or improve your process so it’s not so time-consuming.

You may have to be brutally honest with yourself. It’s not easy to admit, especially when you are afraid to start.

But when the pressure gets too much, remember that you can always start off without doing any in-depth research at all.

Work with what you’ve got. So long as you’ve had some input from lectures, seminars, set texts, and so on, you should have enough to get started.

And writing your own thoughts and ideas on the page is much better than staring at a blank screen. Or, worse, not even reaching the blank screen stage because you’re busy feeling overwhelmed by how much information is already out there.

When you do your research, go in with the aim of creating something soon. No need to get hold of all the research materials and quotations before you start your own creation.

Banish those bottlenecks. Find a flow that doesn’t involve all the writing at the very end of the process.

A drip-feed of research helps a lot of the information stay at the top of your mind. That, in turn, will get you engaging (and referring) to more of that research.

The more you practice this flow, the more you will create out of what you have consumed.

How to Change Your Perspective and Why That Change is Good – TUB-Thump 023

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A friend of mine was invited as a guest on a podcast and was so worried about sounding nervous, rambling and unintelligent.

The interview was fine. But regardless of that, many listeners wouldn’t have noticed anyway.

Why not? Because a growing number of us speed up podcast audio as we listen. Some apps also take out some of the gaps in between speech. Even a nervous or slow performance can sound confident and well-paced.

This is an example of how everything we experience requires our perspective.

We don’t simply consume external voices. We use our current internal state of mood and perspective to translate those external events into our own internal experiences.

That means we can shape our mood and perspective to engage with the same content in different ways.

You may already know this, but it’s easy to take for granted. Unless you constantly meditate on the moment and have a deep awareness of your surroundings, life probably happens without you checking in every few minutes. Your perspective feels fixed, even though it’s constantly changing throughout the day.

But it’s good to change your perspective. Familiar things can feel fresh and new. Give it a try.

On episode 023 of TUB-Thump, I talk about this in terms of audio. Try listening to podcasts faster or slower than usual. How does it make you feel? How do you engage with the information, with the personalities, with the setup?

Where will your new perspective take you today?

Here are the show notes for the 7-min episode:

  • 00:40 – What speed do you listen to your audio?
  • 01:40 – People sound far more confident and competent when you hear them at a faster speed.
  • 03:00 – What is your perspective when experiencing at a normal speed versus a faster speed?
  • 04:30 – Can you find new perspectives and viewpoints when you immerse yourself in other things that you are otherwise used to?
  • 05:50 – Find new ways to engage so you can find something new. The content hasn’t changed, but your analysis might.
  • 06:30 – You don’t always need to up your game. Sometimes you just need to change it.

Music for TUB-Thump is Life, by Tobu, which is released under a Creative Commons license. Check out more of Tobu’s great sounds on Soundcloud, YouTube, and his official site.

TUB-Thump is part of the Learning Always Network.

Keep being awesome!

Career Goals Trump Career Roles – TUB-Thump 022

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You’ve probably heard at least one person say that many of today’s jobs won’t necessarily exist in 10 or 20 years, while many jobs in the future simply don’t exist right now. So what’s the point, they argue, in chasing a particular role when it may soon be obsolete?

You could take it further. What if your dream role sticks around? Should you chase that job/career no matter what?

The reality may be to skip thinking about an individual route to a specific job.

In today’s TUB-Thump, I suggest that it’s more important to set career goals than it is to seek specific roles.

No matter what the job market looks like in years to come, you can build tangible, relevant skills right now. As you build your goals and list your growing achievements, you can shape yourself into whatever areas make most sense when the right time comes.

  • Each small career goal is attention to detail. Work on these now and keep taking more steps as you go.
  • Your career path is the bigger picture. Keep the path wide open until it’s time to pounce.

You may not be graduating for a few years. But you can start chasing career goals right now.

Much better than latching on to the possibility of a role that may or may not exist when you do graduate.

Here are the show notes for the 4-min episode:

  • 00:35 – Instead of thinking about your future career roles, think about your future career goals.
  • 01:00 – Roles can change over the years. By looking at goals, you can start right now. Better still, you can adapt as necessary.
  • 01:50 – There are many goals to work on right now. Achieve as much as possible while you’ve got a chance.

Music for TUB-Thump is Life, by Tobu, which is released under a Creative Commons license. Check out more of Tobu’s great sounds on Soundcloud, YouTube, and his official site.

TUB-Thump is part of the Learning Always Network.

Keep being awesome!