Throw less at the problem

When we're creating something new, we have a tendency to analyze, plan, and think about all the details from the beginning. We prefer to be thorough. This happens even more when we feel like we need to perform or prove ourselves to someone.

Our perfectionistic mindset often makes projects take longer, with unnecessary work and inefficiency. It gets frustrating. And exhausting.

We're actively working on changing this pattern. We try to recognize when we are leaning into our default perfectionistic ways of thinking and pause to ask ourselves, "What actually needs to be done first?"

6-week focus

Our 6-week "work cycle" for the end of 2024 was split into two areas of focus.

Focus #1: Make communication with new potential clients for Matt's asynchronous website service (Joy) less dependent on Matt's time. (We did this. Whoo hoo! You can read about it here.)
Focus #2: Start creating our online film summit, specifically to define the summit scope and find a nonprofit partner.

Focus #2: Online Film Summit

We wanted to focus on getting a nonprofit partner for Filmit Together, our online film summit — or multiple partners, if we're lucky. Their support would help establish credibility and promote the event to larger audiences, which we don't have yet. At that time, we had started our A Creative Duo newsletter only one month ago and had about 50 subscribers.

To get a nonprofit partner, we first needed to define the scope of the summit.

What is it?
When will it happen?
How long is it?
What's the format?
What are our goals?
What is the purpose?

We got to work. We started to create an outline for a "Partner Deck" we could give to potential nonprofit partners.

The outline for the 4-page document included sections for:

The event's mission, summary, and goals
The format and schedule
Sponsorship tiers and perks, and
Benefits of our partnership

Creating this outline turned out to be harder than we expected. We would sit with the outline open on the screen and barely write a few lines within an hour.

It felt so slow and we felt stuck.

Then, we also started to feel the pressure to finish quickly because, financially, we didn't have time to work that slowly.

Uh oh. 🫣 We were doing it again.

The perfectionistic approach. Performing for someone. Proving we are capable and prepared. Providing more details than are necessary because we are motivated to make Filmit Together succeed.

Pause. ⏸️

"What actually needs to be done first?"

It doesn't have to be this hard

In the book Rework, which we reference a lot for how to approach working in a business, there is a section titled, "Throw less at the problem." Put another way: trim down first, polish what's left. We leaned into this.

Trim down first

Instead of trying to answer all their possible questions right away in a polished 4-page "Partner Deck", we imagined we were in their position. If we were nonprofit organization leaders, what would we need to know first to decide to be a partner for Filmit Together?

Well, we'd want to know:

Who are you?
What is the event?
What are you asking me to do and by when?
Why are you asking me?
How can I learn more?

Ok, now that's an outline we can work with. Answer five simple questions.

To answer these questions, what do we actually need? And, more importantly, what don't we need?

Who are you?
✅ NEED background context. Since we haven't talked in a while, they likely don't know what A Creative Duo is or that Joehey is working on film stuff now, too.
🚫 DON'T NEED to share or prove our credibility. In both of the nonprofit organizations we were planning to reach out to, both have leaders who already know Matt from previous film-related projects.
What is the event?
✅ NEED a description of the event. They are familiar with educational events for filmmakers, including summits, but Filmit Together is unique.
🚫 DON'T NEED sponsorship tiers or perks. We are not asking these nonprofit partners to be paid sponsors. Knowing what we will ask from paid sponsors doesn't help them decide to partner with us.
What are you asking me to do and by when?
✅ NEED event format and dates. They'll want to know if their teams have the time and resources to promote the event.
🚫 DON'T NEED event schedule and goals. These details don't help them decide. Plus, the schedule and goals could change later based on sponsorships and presenters who agree to participate.
Why are you asking me?
✅ NEED to show our shared values/mission. They'll want to know if Filmit Together aligns with their goals.
🚫 DON'T NEED to outline all benefits to partnership. Future conversations can address this.
How can I learn more?
✅ NEED an invitation to schedule a call. 👋🏼
🚫 DON'T NEED a visually formatted document. 😅

Polish what's left

Since we didn't need a fancy document or detailed sponsorship packages, we decided an email could answer these five questions. As simple as that.

We got to work. We wrote an email and sent it to both nonprofit organizations in about 30 minutes. Here's the real email Matt sent:

Within one business day, both contacts at the nonprofit organizations agreed to partner with Filmit Together! We were NOT expecting that. 🎉

It was a welcomed reminder that sticking to what's truly essential to take the next step is often more effective than trying to polish multiple steps in advance.

From perfect to effective

We tried to make something "perfect." It was too much, too detailed, too soon. It made us feel stressed and uninspired.

When we recognized we were throwing too much at the problem, we paused.

We narrowed our focus to the essentials and quickly felt a sense of relief and renewed motivation.

What's something you've been working on for a while that feels like it's in a standstill? It keeps getting pushed off on your to-do list. Maybe you feel less inspired by the project than you used to.

Consider taking a pause to ask yourself, "What actually needs to be done first?" Then, give it a try. It's possible you'll end up with a quick win that brings back your motivation and momentum.

Take care,
A Creative Duo

A Creative Duo