
Coaching is so valuable for perfectionists because we often don’t see the perfectionist thinking that makes us give up right when we’re about to see results. When we think we’re not doing good enough or we’re tempted to quit, coaching helps you identify what’s going on so you can get out of your own way.
To see how powerful coaching can be for perfectionists, I’m sharing a snippet of a PGSD coaching call where I coached PGSDer Arielle on how to use Power Planning as a tool to support yourself to get things done (regardless of what comes up during the week).
I wanted to share this with you, because it might be the case that you hear about Power Planning and feel pressure to do it perfectly. You might be thinking ”I want to try Power Planning, but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do it right.” And that leads to feeling like Power Planning will be hard to do and using it against yourself.
That struggle is exactly what I coach Arielle on. On this call, coaching helps her drop the mental drama and exhaustion around planning perfectly and use Power Planning to intentionally plan in a way that works best for her.
Every week inside Perfectionists Getting Shit Done there is a group coaching call where you can watch other PGSDers get in-depth coaching on the same planning, productivity and persistence problems that have been making you get in your own way in your business. And you’ll have the opportunity to get coached too!
The weekly group coaching calls give you the opportunity to get the support you need to get out of your own way so you don’t stay stuck or fall off the wagon.
Thank you Arielle for giving me permission to share this call on the podcast.Find the full episode transcript and show notes at samlaurabrown.com/episode454.
Featured In The Episode:
- Arielle’s Instagram account – instagram.com/the.carryon.coach
- Sign up for Perfectionists Getting Shit Done (PGSD) – samlaurabrown.com/pgsd
- Take the perfectionism quiz: samlaurabrown.com/quiz
- Follow me on Instagram @perfectionismproject
PGSD is open! From 14 March to 21 March 2024.:
My coaching program Perfectionists Getting Shit Done (aka PGSD) teaches you how to plan properly as a perfectionist so you can get out of your own way in your business.
The PGSD Process will get you out of your own way in your business and have you making more money more easily. The doors to Perfectionists Getting Shit Done will be opening at 6am New York time on 14 March and closing at 11:59pm New York time on 21 March 2024. Find out more about the program and join the waitlist here: samlaurabrown.com/pgsd.
Listen To The Episode
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FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Introduction
Hi and welcome to another episode of The Perfectionism Project, a podcast full of perfectionism advice for entrepreneurs. My name is Sam Laura Brown, I help entrepreneurs release their perfectionism handbrake so they can get out of their own way and build a fulfilling and profitable business. I’m the founder of the Perfectionist Getting Shit Done group coaching program, which is otherwise known as PGSD. And for even more perfectionism advice to help you with your business. You can follow me on Instagram @perfectionismproject
Sam Laura Brown (Episode custom intro)
One of the things that I see for perfectionist is that we give up on things that are about to work. Because we don’t have coaching available to help us see that perfectionist thinking that is going to make us change our plans, it’s going to make us quit or move on to something else, when we are right at that point where we are doing something that is working, but we don’t have the results yet. So whether this comes to marketing, or whether it comes to the productivity tools that you were using, we often want to quit right before it starts working. And so getting coaching on this, and hearing others with a brain very similar to yours. getting coached on this as well will help you to uncover the thought errors that would have you change your plan to do something else. So that you can stick with the thing that you have been trying to get working and actually get it working. So I want to share with you today, a coaching call replayed from perfectionist getting shit done. So this is a call where I was coaching Arielle.
And she had submitted and put her hand up rather on a coaching call that we had to get coached on this. And so we’ve pulled it off the private podcast and put it here for you to have a listen. If you’ve never listened to someone else getting coached before, you’re gonna see how powerful it is to see this, but really, I wanted to share this particular piece of coaching with you. Because it might be the case that you hear about power planning and planning properly. And that makes you put a bit of pressure on yourself, as we’ve infectious like to do to do it perfectly. And that you might be thinking, okay, well, I want to do this power planning, but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do it right. And then you feel like it’s something that’s going to be really hard to do, when actually it is something that’s simple and easy to do because it works for your brain and not against it.
But because of the way you’re thinking right now, you might actually be using it against yourself. And so that’s exactly what I coach Arielle on in this call. She had been power planning, and was using it against herself and also in a lot of drama about whether she wants to be power planning because she loves working in alignment, she loves that slow. And also is it okay, if she does things at the last minute, as I just want to address quickly that when it comes to getting things done easily and early, which is a concept that I talk about getting your work done ahead of time, being prepared, being organized, for sure, that’s something that you can work towards, if that’s something you want, but it’s also okay to intentionally do things at the last minute, what we’re wanting to do is to drop the drama and exhaustion around that, and actually planned to do it at the last minute versus pushing it off and then feeling guilty that you haven’t done it sooner and then you don’t know when you’ll do it.
And then you need to have that last minute rush to get it done. Instead, we want to be able to intentionally plan when we’re doing things using positive time pressure that comes from power planning to help us do that. And we work in a way that’s in alignment with how we best work, that we’re all different in a lot of ways as well. That’s why I’m not going to tell you exactly what time to wake up or when to schedule certain tasks. I tell you how to set up your week to figure out what’s going to best support you. So in this coaching, call a coach Arielle on how to not use power planning against yourself and actually have a tool that works for you. That feels supportive, and that doesn’t put pressure on you to be perfect and use it perfectly. But instead is something that to provide structure in your week clarity in your week, so that you can get shit done without burning out or without freaking yourself out. I also want to say thank you to Arielle because we have asked for her permission to share this and she has said yes.
So you will when you sign up for PGSD you’ll find all the coaching calls we’ve done on the PGSD private podcast. So if you love listening to this, then make sure you subscribe to the private podcast so that you can listen to all the current calls and recent ones as well. But thank you to Arielle and you can find her Instagram account in the show notes as well if you want to check her out. She’s doing some amazing things with her business. So thank you Arielle and I hope you enjoy hearing this coaching from perfectionist getting shit done. Oh, and actually before we get into it, I should probably mention that right now. The doors to PGSD are open and we do a quarterly enrollment so they won’t be open again for a while. So get yourself inside PGSD. This is the perfect time to sign up. Doors are closing strictly at 11:59pm New York time on the 21st of March. So make sure you get yourself inside PGSD. You can go to samlaurabrown.com/pgsd to find out more and sign up today.
Sam Laura Brown
So Arielle, tell me, what do you want coached on?
Arielle
Well, I’m not sure if this is going to be the exact same thing I wrote when I submitted for coaching as it was last week now. But essentially, it’s the fact that I’m still struggling a lot with power planning. And I can give you a couple of updates. Because last week, I definitely had a big struggle of a week because I had tried to plan my week. And I was putting, like, such intense pressure on myself like to get things done when I said I would. So if I said, I was starting a task at two o’clock, I was basically like, the thoughts that were like, you have to do it at this time, because you are committed to power planning. And you’re you’ve signed up for this course, and you’re making this work, and it has to work. And you’re not allowed, like, everyone feels resistance, but you like and you’re feeling resistance, but you just have to do it.
But like, it was like really intense pressure. And it was basically making me freeze. Like I was sitting like, I was like sitting on my computer and literally like, like, like, my heart was beating fast. Because I was so anxious about like the, the, I’m not sure if I describe properly how me and my thoughts were but I was basically like putting so much pressure and making it mean that like I’m a failure if I can’t make this work. And so, like kind of sabotage my week, in a sense, like, because I was trying so hard to make it work, I got almost nothing done. And it’s also the pressure of like, I’ve just launched my course, because I got my students, which is wonderful. But now I’m like preparing for that course. So I feel like extra pressure because now there’s people who have paid me who are counting on me to deliver something.
And I’m like, I have to be able to figure out my planning so that I can actually like deliver the course and keep up with my marketing and all the things that are happening. So I’m trying to I think the biggest thing I want coaching on is like, the when I’m sitting down to say like, Okay, I’m gonna get this thing done, like how to relieve that like intense sense of pressure. And like, I want to get to a place where I can like be like, I scheduled myself to do this task at two o’clock. And I do it at two o’clock. But I feel very far away from teaching that happening.
Sam Laura Brown
So tell me about your experience of getting on this call, because you were here on time. What was that like for you? I’ve always had you mean, talk happening as well with that? Or is it different? Or like, what is that self token experience like for you to get on a call at a certain time?
Arielle
It’s zero draw. Like, there’s none. And I’ve noticed this before, because for example, I served at a restaurant and like, I never was late for a shift or missed a shift, or even contemplated any of those things. It feels very, completely different. It feels different.
Sam Laura Brown
So what are the thoughts that you have about it?
Arielle
About getting onto this call, for example?
Sam Laura Brown
Yeah, that helped me enough worrying thoughts. If we like the call that whatever time, I need to get myself like do you know what I mean, it’s probably just a very calm conversation. Yes. What is that? What does it sound like?
Arielle
The calm conversation you mean, in your head? Yeah. I don’t even know if there’s any thoughts about it?
Sam Laura Brown
Did you see it in your calendar, you know, in your head, what time it’s happening. And the reason that I’m wanting you to identify this is because a lot of us like we pay more attention to our very dramatic thoughts. But it’s a lot of our calm, subtle thoughts that create really great results for us. But we tend to not really know the thoughts that create the result we want. In this case, the thoughts that are creating you been on a call at the time you said ie following through with the plan that you had without drama. You want to identify how you’re thinking about yourself how you’re thinking about the task, when you’re able to do it in a way that you like doing it so that we can learn from that and replicate that. So it might be hard to notice, like what other thoughts are just like oh, the calls it, whatever the time it is for you the calls at 3pm, the calls at 10pm, the calls at 8am I’m gonna get on the call. I’m on the call like.
Arielle
I think one difference up the note is that it doesn’t feel like there’s pressure on the call, like, in the same thing with like, client calls or something I don’t know, like, it feels like I’m easily able to deliver what I meant to do on the so in this call, I thought maybe I would get coached because I had submitted but for like external commitments, it feels like I’m gonna be able to, like, do the thing really easily. Like it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be hard. Whereas with like the things I was scheduling for myself last week, it felt like it was going to be hard and like maybe it will be able to do it or maybe I would not be able to do it. Whereas like it’s impossible to mess up showing up for this call. I just show up and then you’re asking me questions. I just have to speak and it’s simple, like…
Sam Laura Brown
Yeah, and so that task you said specifically that you had that you just felt so much pressure resistance around what task was that?
Arielle
There are a number of tasks that I set up last week to for this program. And like I basically have done them all this week even though it’s getting down to the last minute but the one that like was on my mind mostly was like sending a welcome email for my program, which was gonna include like some pre journaling questions and stuff so I needed to like create the journaling questions and create the email and figure out like what the introduction to my program was going to be so it felt very high pressure because I was like it needs to be like a really doesn’t used to be my brain was telling me that it needed to be like a great first impression into the program. So I wanted like really high quality journaling questions and really high quality walk on messaging, and all of that.
Sam Laura Brown
And how much time did you give yourself to do that?
Arielle
In my calendar I I gave myself like, extra time and the power planning because I knew I was going to freak out about this. So I think I gave it like two hours. Or I might have even given it more. But it really just didn’t matter like, well, maybe it doesn’t matter. But in it took me like an hour and a half when I actually did it. And I didn’t do it until the weekend. So I think I had scheduled it for Monday. I didn’t get it done until like Saturday. And it took like an hour and a half. I’m not Yeah, sorry. I’ll just let you continue.
Sam Laura Brown
This is perfect. So it took an hour and a half. But you didn’t do it in the time that you said like you needed to do it later because the pressure was too much to get it. Yeah. Yeah, well, actually, I
Arielle
Yeah. Yeah, well, actually, I think I now looking back, I did it Friday night, I had told myself in my head like it needed to go out Saturday morning at the absolute latest to be reasonable for the timeframes for my program. And so I guess it’s not really a big surprise. But it got done. Like I think I did it Friday night from like eight to 930. So it took less time than I originally planned for it to take. But it didn’t happen during the time slot on Monday. I wanted to get done Monday, like I didn’t want this whole program to feel like pressuring crappy as I was delivering it. And so I was like, Okay, let me get all these things done early. So it’s not last minute. And also like I’m delivering the first training tomorrow. I’ve literally been building it today. Like some of its already been built. And I have core pieces, but like I’ve been finalizing things like I just finished doing that before I got on this call. So everything is just like last minute, last minute.
Sam Laura Brown
Okay, so it sounds like you like pressure. But you’re telling me don’t like pressure. It’s
Arielle
It’s like coming back to the last time you coached me. But I definitely just noticed that when I have the pressure, my work gets done. And so it’s like, I think the belief I hold is just like, if I know it has to get done, there’s not going to be all this procrastination and resistance. Like I hate the procrastination resistance I was so angry on I got so upset on Monday when I was sitting down at my computer and the words weren’t coming. And I couldn’t figure out the journaling prompts. And then when I did this on Friday, like, again, it’s just like, it came easily to me like the words were flowing. And the like, I’m so happy with how the welcome email turned out.
So I keep I’m getting a good result in a sense. But obviously, I’m creating a lot of like negative experiences for myself by doing things in this way. Because then I had to deal with the pressure all week of knowing that that email wasn’t sent in my students were waiting, and I felt bad about it and all this. So it’s like, it’s not something I want to continue with. But at the same time, it’s like, I know that like right now I’m working on the program for tomorrow and everything is coming perfectly like the thoughts are coming. My I’m coming up with all these great ideas like It’s like this flow state. Again, it’s basically the same coaching which in which is what I had mentioned in my coaching application.
Sam Laura Brown
So to just think about like what you want, because there’s no, it’s really important that I think for each of us, we decide what we want our work week to look like. And so a recommendation that I have is to get your work done ahead of time and to be able to have the relationship with yourself that you can create work early. And trust yourself to do that. And the kind of thinking you’re having at the last minute, you can learn how to have that thinking ahead of time. So that’s the recommendation I have.
But at the same time, you get to decide what you want your work week to look like. So for example, you can decide we really want to own this choice, versus being in a mentality of I have to get it done earlier, and I can’t do it the day before, you could decide really intentionally, I want to do it the day before it needs to be done. And I’m going to plan to do it the day before it needs to be done. I’m going to create the experience that I want with that. So instead of me having weeks before it, or whatever days before being like oh my god, I should have done that I didn’t know what I’m gonna do like all of that. We didn’t say no, I’m actually just planning to do it the day before. And then honoring that.
And then once you’re in that place where you can say the day before, I’m going to start it at 3pm and do it by 5pm, or whatever that looks like. And knowing we’re making little tweaks like when not a big part of why power planning is really developed for perfectionist is because when mine is all or nothing of like I have to follow the exact times and there’s no room for movement in this plan set in stone. It puts us in our own I think mindset which makes it really hard to follow through. Instead, it’s like this is the plan I’m making. I’m committed to that. And I know that part of being committed to a plan is allowing it to be workability and me figuring things out as I go and be updating the plans as they go. And me changing the plant isn’t necessarily a sign that I’m not committed to the plans.
And we just want to make sure that we’re not using power planning against ourselves or these ideas about getting worked out ahead of time and early and easily using that against ourselves and to separate ourselves from ourselves instead of having more connection. And so it could be in this example with where you’re at at the moment like yes, I can coach you on changing your thoughts you can get it done earlier and things like that. But could it be a positive ability that you would say, Okay, I’m actually going to plan to do what I’m currently doing. But I’m gonna create a much more intentional drama free experience around the way that I’m showing up.
And then once I’m doing that, and I’ve dropped the drama, and I’m commonly doing it at the last minute, instead of like, this kind of inspired frenzy. Once I’m doing that, then I can decide if I want to learn how to get that work done earlier, and have it say done a week before or two weeks before all you like traveling. So I can travel and have, you know, trust myself to create all this work ahead of time, not like at the last minute, but I can just calmly do my work and then live the life I want. That maybe it’s right now, what could be more powerful is to have you do the work at the last minute, but really own that as an intentional choice. Versue like it’s something you just happen to experience. There’s a lot of reasons why that we could go into about why you find it easy to get into flow at the last minute, the way your thoughts change, at the last minute, that allow you to unlock that. And you can have those thoughts at a different time in the week. It doesn’t have to be this last minute. But it’s so powerful to just say I’m actually wanting to do it then. And I’m owning that as a choice not like well, that’s just the way my brain works. And that happens to me, and I wish I could do it sooner, but I can’t.
Arielle
I hadn’t considered that at all. It definitely like, my heart literally felt like lighter as you were speaking like, oh, this sounds a lot more manageable with the goal be to like start developing the mindset that I do do things I say I’m going to do them just creating like an easier way to start building that self identity. And then once I get a little bit there, then start to move it further to like what like because I think optimally, I would get it done earlier because for example, if I was sick one week before the training, if I’m getting it done the day before, then I might have to cancel the training session like so I see that there’s like risks to doing things this way. But it’s probably still better to plan it this way and start to build the identity for and then the one week I’m sick, I’ll just deal with the consequences, I guess.
Sam Laura Brown
Yeah, we never want to use it against ourselves. And we want to build self trust. And so a lot of times in the beginning, especially. And by beginning I don’t mean like week one, I mean, like the first month of doing it, that is really a lot about just planning what you would already otherwise be doing. But actually having an intentional plan around it versus like, we love to go into pay it now nang and like plan, what my ideal self would do, and trying to hold myself to that and like it just actually creates separation with ourselves versus saying, Okay, what’s working for me right now that I can see might not continue to work. But what’s working for me right now is I do it the day before it needs to be done.
Sam Laura Brown
So I’m going to plan for that. And actually, like make that my plan versus having like seeing that as you like acting out or like not following through. Because we really want you to develop the ability to believe that you’re someone who follows through and to really be in that identity. And you already are in a lot of ways I saw in your submission, you said like this, and our brains have to do this. There’s no evidence that I can follow through when like you’re here on the call on time, and many other things that like you’re delivering the welcome things to people when you said you would like there’s so much evidence that you are that person, but having you really be able to step into, I am the one who gets to decide what I do things.
And also we want to work with ourselves. And if we’re like, Okay, notice this certain thing about myself, Yes, I could like coach myself to be different about it. But I’m just going to allow that to be the truth for now and work with that. And there’s so many different things we can do. Like you mentioned in the forum about like power planning human design or like syncing it with our cycle and all these different things we don’t want to be like I should just be able to operate the same every day no matter what, just because we could be able to coach ourselves into that mindset, but to actually be like, I’m going to use it for me and honor what’s working for me. And as I do that, then the next thing I want to do will evolve from that.
So as you become someone who can, like really have a great intentional experience around doing the work you’re doing in the way you’re doing it, then you might be like okay, now I’ve developed that self trust, maybe I could do that three days out and I can really study myself and study my thoughts like what are the thoughts I’m having that I don’t even notice I’m having at the last minute that in then practice are like what are thoughts that feel believable to me that will have that same experience like all of those things, but to just really be able to create a plan that gives you the highest opportunity or probability of being able to trust yourself. So what would that looks like for you?
Arielle
This is already resonating a lot and also the sense that last week I could have done a lot of other work but I almost wasn’t allowing myself to do anything because I was saying like welcome email has to come first and so then I was like struggling to get other like easier pieces done for the business and so it’s like this was just so ineffective, but we I was trying to operate last week. Yeah, like even getting something done like not the day before, but like two days before almost feels urgent enough that I think I could get my like self. I feel like I would get into that flow and be able to do it just because I know like I could, my brain can give into the fact that yeah, I could be sick the next day.
So like, I have to get it down. Like if I can convince myself it has to be done, it will get done. I don’t know what that’s all about. But I think I’ve really been creating my power planning from a place of like, if I was a perfect human being who wanted to operate on like, the most effective levels in like fitness, relationships, life, travel, everything, this is what I would do. And then I’m going to execute the week. And obviously, I’m not that person. So it’s not working at all. But like, what I’m thinking for next week is like the training session Thursday, if I wanted to maybe try to do it on the Tuesday, but I feel reasonable. Whereas like, before, I was thinking I was going to do it like eight days ahead of time, which this wasn’t working.
Sam Laura Brown
Part of it is doing like the Growth Goal and power planning, part of the design of it is to bring up perfectionist thinking that we otherwise don’t get to see and we don’t get to then have influence over. So it’s very normal to have this experience, I’ve had that experience, I still have that expert like I see my perfectionist thinking in a way that I couldn’t, when I’m just like, going with the flow and doing what I’m feeling like that even though I might be able to produce certain results, I was also having a lot of mental drama, a lot of burning, I wasn’t able to trust myself, like there was a lot of side effects from that.
So even though it worked, it really didn’t. And I wanted to learn how to actually be able to operate intentionally in the way I wanted to. But it is a journey in developing like I was, I want to say eight on La, maybe like five years into doing launches, before I was able to actually have myself create the content ahead of time, and not be in the mindset of like I need to do it live and be in the moment and like, but it’s like it that can work for me. And then at a point where I was like, I really want to develop the skill set of getting it done early, like that was something I genuinely had the desire to do. And then from that place, I could solve for it versus like, Well, someone told me, I have to do it early. And so I’ll try and do that. So I can be good.
It’s just not a fun place to operate from I think a lot of us created a business so that we could be the boss, which is pitches to ourselves. So we really want to be able to use power planning for us, not against us. And when we’re creating all this extra pressure, it’s like noticing those sorts that are going on, but really ask you like how can I use this planning method for me knowing that as I get more skilled and trust myself, even more than I can do different things that with it that I’m not yet doing now. But I know you just like plan out, like if I was a perfect team, and here’s what I would be able to do, I intellectually know how to do that. So I should be able to do it. But there’s this like, what we can handle physically, and what we can handle mentally, and we’re still developing that mental capacity to be able to do certain things and to be able to follow through in certain ways and have our equal if I guess it’s a certain way, that initially like a lot of things might take so much more time just because they need so much more courage.
And then after a year of doing that task, we don’t need any buffer time for like, you know, to be able to have that experience afterward, we just give ourselves a break. Because we’ve just it took so much courage to put ourselves out there and to like hit send on the welcome stuff or like, when you have new clients that you’re delivering to me like oh my god, they’re gonna want a refund, they’re going to think this is shared and all of that. So like, soon you’ll be delivering to them. And there won’t be all that mental drama, and you’ll be able to trust yourself to deliver like you did for past bosses like you do on a coaching call. But of course, in the beginning, it’s going to take a lot of extra time, and you potentially underestimated how much time was needed just to like, have that courage there and be able to support yourself emotionally through that experience, even though it’s as simple as like writing an email or whatever that is that it also needed this time for just like supporting yourself around.
Arielle
Yeah, it’s like that thing they say where like you take action once the consequences of not taking action are bigger than the consequences of taking action. So like, I had to deal with a bunch of fear and anxiety to write that email. But when I knew that my clients would be like questioning where the heck is this email that that scared me more, which allowed me to finally take action, which is funny, but this actually gives me a big sense of relief. I feel like lighter in in a big way. Because I’m going to try to just build my plan. Like if I could optimize this tool for myself versus like, I need to force myself to make this work or I’m going to fail as much.
SamLaura Brown
Yeah, and there’s a reason that like there are recommendations like trying not to do things at the last minute all of that. But the reason that I don’t say like here’s how much clean rest you should be getting, here’s what time your workday should start and here’s like how many hours of work you should do in a day. It’s because it’s a tool designed to work with you and for you, not against you but we perfectionist love to like use it against ourselves and we learn something new about like this is more proof that I’m just not good enough. So it’s really for everyone like thinking about what can I do to really make this work for me and support me and like it could be that, for example when you’re like wanting to work when you’re feeling inspired, and like over time, this might change.
You’re like, actually, I want to be able to do it when I said I wouldn’t do it. But for now looking at, like, if I want to be able to, like tune into that and use that, then I’m going to allow myself, I’m still going to plan but I’m going to allow myself, like a lot more generosity with changing my plans and reordering things. I do so much shuffling in my calendar throughout the week. But I don’t make myself wrong for that. And it’s just very easy for us to be like, Oh, no, it’s like little twigs. And like, I remember coaching Daisy, while she was like, well, there would be big tweaks, I was like, well, it can be big tweaks like it can be, there are loads of weeks where I’m like, okay, like this week is unfolding very differently to how I thought and that could just be purely self created. And I’m going to support myself by updating my calendar to support me versus now I’m going to like beat myself up for I should have been doing it this way.
And like, actually, I’m just going to now. Okay, what is a plan that I can follow through on coming back to that idea? Like, we want to have it be the plan that we have the highest probability of following through on and executing. So what changes do I need to make for that to be the case, keeping my growth goal in mind, keeping in mind that there are going to be certain things I never feel like doing, and that never have a last minute. And that’s why the reason I say about like getting work done ahead of time, a lot of important things as no client wanting it, there’s no like deadline. And we just push it off forever, like a big project that we might have like, wanting to get a new platform with things like that. There’s like delivering to clients and customers, where we’re like, I can imagine the person coming to me and be like, where’s my email, where’s my stuff, there’s so many things we need to do to build a business.
No one will notice if we do them, they don’t have any positive impact this like today this week is like for the long term. And so it just means we can’t let me go to a certain point, if we don’t have the skill set of getting things done, that aren’t urgent, like we really just max out, or we create a lot of artificial deadlines for ourselves. So we can have the pressure, but then it’s not fun to just be in pressure all the time, then you burn out and all of that. So that’s the reason that I say like learning how to do it ahead of time. So you don’t just indefinitely push off. Like I’ve been thinking about this thing for years. That’s a result of like not having that skill set and identity to be able to do things without external urgency.
But it’s looking at, like, if I’m going to use power planning for me and to support me. And I do have something where there’s genuine external urgency, I can just decide to do it the night before the day before two days before it needs to be done. And over time, I will develop the ability and the identity and the emotional capacity to get that done two weeks out a month out, three months out to be able to just resend the last one and actually see how that last email I sent for the last group that I have was sufficiently good enough. Like there’s a layers of it. And if we just want ourselves to be at the advanced level, before being at the beginner level, then we don’t ever get to be at the advanced level.
Arielle
Yeah, I need to play at the beginners level. I haven’t been playing there. I’ve been trying to go straight to level 10. And skipping level one than two and three through nine. So yeah, this makes sense.
Sam Laura Brown
Yeah, just how can I use power planning to help me trust myself? And to better do things the way I’m currently doing it? I think is a great question in the beginning. Then once you’re there, that’s when to look at, okay, now if I want to change the way I’m doing things, how can I use power planning to support me with that?
Arielle
Yeah, like using power planning right now just to start building the identity I want. Like I could basically build a plan for what I know I’m going to do next week based on just who I am as a person versus what I think I should if next week. And then I can be like, Oh my gosh, I follow the schedule because I did what I knew I was going to do and then start to make little changes as I build the identity, emotional capacity and courage and all those things.
Sam Laura Brown
Yeah, it’s just like the equivalent of if we want to wake up on time setting an alarm for the time we got to wake up, say like 7am versus like, 4:30am I need to wake up on my alarm and like to like, oh, do I have to do just like okay, I’m gonna set it for 7am. Cool, that match what I actually did. And then over time, that’s how we can change it. So wanting to do that with our calendar. But thanks so much for getting coaching on that. I know you’re not the only one. In that experience. We love to use it against ourselves. And that’s part of the design of how it works so we can see that and then shift the way we’re thinking.
Outro
I hope you enjoyed listening to that coaching call excerpt from perfectionist getting shit done. And that has allowed you to see that when it comes to PGSD and the process that we teach you inside PGSD, including the tools like Power planning, that you can come as you are that you don’t need to be better before you can actually start using them to get out of your own way and get shit done. That you can come as a perfectionist with the current perfectionism struggles that you have the overthinking, the procrastination, the burnout, the fear of judgment, the all or nothing mindset that you can come as you are, and power planning will meet you where you are. And then you can elevate and go into that advanced power planning.
As you begin to do those foundational skills you can then elevate and get better and better and better at it as you go but not expecting yourself to be advanced when you’re a beginner. PGSD and power planning will really meet you where you are. So you can come as you are. If you haven’t made decisions yet about what your niche is. And there are a few things you need to decide on. If we can even start planning properly. You can then use power planning to plan your week in a way that gets your perfectionist mindset on your side. And then you can be confidently and consistently showing up and putting yourself out there in a way that feels safe to you. So the doors to PGSD are open at the moment. But they are closing at 11:59pm New York time on the 21st of March. So to sign up, you can go to samlaurabrown.com/pgsd. I’m looking forward to seeing you inside.