Hi there, Reader!

Thanks for taking part in the Weaver's Quests, I'm happy to go questing together!

In today's quest, we're looking at perfectionism and we're going to raise an eyebrow at it.

It's one of my biggest flaws and I'm trying to find a way to manage it. You see, I've been taught to try to do the best I can whatever I do, and I think it's slowing me down and making me miserable.

For example, my mouse broke down recently. You'd think replacing a peripheral like this would be a simple matter easily solved by ordering on Amazon.

Well, not for me.

Even the simple act of choosing a new mouse led me down a rabbit hole in search of the perfect mouse. Five hours and fifty-nine minutes later, I was obsessing over details.

You know those comparison websites for mobile phones or cameras? There's also a version for comparing mouses. Don't ask me how I know.

Now, this wouldn't be a problem if my hobby was collecting mouses. Everyone spends time learning about things they are interested in. However, my computer's mouse is not an object of interest to me.

My requirements (ergonomic, wireless, reliable connection, sturdy) aren't that special and I probably found the "perfect" mouse in 20 minutes. The rest of the time was spent browsing other options and wallowing in fear of missing out on finding another, more perfect mouse.

What's worse, I felt exhausted after ordering that new mouse. And when I realized I could have almost finished reading a book in that time, I got angry and decided to do something about this.

Maybe you've experienced something similar?

If so, then today's quest is a friendly reminder that not all things are equally important and deserving of the same amount of time and energy.

Our quest for today, dear Reader, will be using a bit of a trick.

We're going to use a bit of magic from our school days.

I don't know about you, but the time it took me to write an essay as homework differed from the time it took to write an essay during a test in class.

You know why?

Because during those tests, the clock was ticking and I was very much aware of it. It made me focus my mind on the task at hand and lo and behold, the essay was finished by the end of those 50 minutes, every time.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that we set a timer and then stop even if the task is not done. However, being aware of how much time we have and how much time we are using will help us focus and avoid getting sidetracked.

Here's how we'll try to use this to our advantage:

• schedule the task
• think about a reasonable amount of time required to complete your task
• set a reminder for that amount of time
• do the task aiming to stay within the allotted time, and keep the timer in view

If you don't manage to finish within the time you set, don't be harsh with yourself. You can reassess how much time you need to finish and set the timer again. In time, you'll get better at estimating how much time you need.

The Weaver's Walkthrough:

I already ordered a new mouse, but since I over-analyze most things I do, it was easy to find another situation to complete my quest. In fact, I applied these steps to my newsletter today.

Usually, it takes me three or four hours to prepare the newsletter and re-read it a dozen times before I send it.

Today, I set a one hour deadline and actually managed to write the bulk of my newsletter in that time.

Then my phone rang, and I got sidetracked for a while... but when I started to edit my text I set another timer for 30 minutes and almost met the deadline. I still feel like reading it again even now, but I've only allowed myself 3 read-throughs.

Final thoughts

It's amazing what we can do if only we're mindful of our time.

From now on, I'll try to evaluate what is worth spending five hours on, and what can be accomplished in 20 minutes (I'm looking at you, new mouse!).

I'm planning to use this exercise whenever I have a task I know I usually loose track of time with.

Did you find this quest useful? Shoot me an email and let me know.

​

Love,

Daria

The Weaver of Stories

​

The Weaver's reading list this week:

• If you haven't seen it yet, here's a link to my last post. I'm discussing how stories shape our identities.
• I've just started reading Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism. It has some very good tips so far.
• This week, I've been reading short horror stories. I've got two volumes of H. P. Lovecraft's collected works and have been reading through them. Usually, I read horror stories in winter, when I can light a fire and listen to its sound while reading, but the weather this week was so bleak it felt like winter.