One of the most viewed question on the popular Q&A website was, “What can I learn/know right now in 10 minutes that will be useful for the rest of my life?” so I figured this was a good place to start.

Being that I’m a life strategist, primary grade religious education teacher, and a single mom to an insanely active premed, I depend on life hacks to simplify & make my life more efficient, as well as keep me from total overwhelm.

So I’d like to take this opportunity to share 10 Things You Can Start Doing in the Next 10 Minutes to Elevate Your Life.

1. Nix Perfectionism

When you focus on perfection, you become so consumed in finding imperfections to fix, you will have little or nothing to show for in the end except unfinished, imperfect work.

By understanding it’s not about achieving one perfect goal, but the skills you develop from reaching several goals, you allow yourself to make constant improvements. This opens you up to recognize fulfillment from not only the victory of achieving the goal, but also the process of getting you there.

• Reevaluate Your Standards — Find out what “normal” standards are and get some accurate information to squash your unrealistic expectations.
• Experiment in Being “Good Enough” (Gasp!) — Face your fears and hit “send” on that text message without rewriting it 20 times. Submit a draft of your paper without polishing it up like it was your final material. Then see what happens. Chances are high that you’ll come out just fine… with time and energy to spare!
• Challenge Your Perfectionist Thoughts — Learn to identify that the voice in your head demanding, “This is not good enough” or “If I want anything done right, I have to do it myself” is not divine truth but negative self-talk and unrealistic expectations. Quiet that voice by comparing your expectations with normal standards.