How To Do B Minus Work

It’s officially the end of the year crunch time. In two weeks, most schools in the US will go on holiday break. At work, we all know that little gets done between December 25th and January 2nd. This means everyone is trying to get things done in the next two weeks and tie things up before the new year. That makes this time of year the perfect time to try a great time-saving hack, B minus work.

What happens when things need to be perfect?

As a physician, I am trained to be a type A, everything must be perfect, with no room for errors. While this might be a great attitude to employ while working in medicine, it does not always lead to getting things done. The truth is we often use making things perfect as an excuse to put off finishing things that scare us. We might be scared of failing or of being judged by others.  We think we can avoid those uncomfortable feelings if we can just make it perfect.

The other thing that happens when we try to make things perfect is we miss opportunities to improve. We keep our tasks to ourselves until we think the product is done, and when we release it, we become less open to feedback. We often have thoughts like, “don’t they know how much work I have put into this?” or “I just can’t look at this again.” 

How to do  B minus work?

First, you need to decide if this project can be B minus. I would argue that most can be. Projects or tasks that are good for B minus work are those that have a strict deadline or ones you find yourself procrastinating. Remember, done is better than perfect.  Your goal is to get the project done and off your to-do list. 

Once you have identified that your task is B minus material, it’s time to get it done. This means looking at your calendar and setting aside a date and time to work on it.  Be specific about how long you will spend on it and what the end project will look like. For example, I have set aside one hour to write these daily emails. At the end of that hour, the email needs to be written, edited, and scheduled to send. You might think, I can’t believe she is accepting B minus work in these emails. Here’s the truth. If I had spent hours working on these emails, I would never get them out to you. There just isn’t enough time in the day. B minus work on these emails feels more authentic because you all get the real Suzana, not a polished and overedited version. And finally, the tips and inspiration in these emails have been things that have literally changed my life. The need to share them will all of you so you can have the same amazing experience far outweighs my need for things to be perfect. Plus, people will judge and decide if they like these emails regardless of whether they are A plus or B minus work. What great things are you not putting out into the world because you are waiting for A+ work?

Save the A plus work for a couple of high-yield projects or tasks and use B minus to get the rest of your stuff done!