Prefer to listen as a podcast? Click here.

Hey there, my wonderfully weird friend! Welcome back to another episode of “Get It Together, Weirdo” – where we toss perfectionism out the window, light a candle for our half-used planners, and get real about figuring out systems that actually work for our brains.

Have you ever bought a planner that looked like it was going to change your life? I mean, this thing had everything – colored tabs, inspirational quotes, space for your morning routine, your goals, your meal plan, and probably even your horoscope.

You fill it in for a week, maybe two if you’re really ambitious, and then… it just kind of ends up under a pile of mail or maybe shoved into the back of a drawer, gathering dust while you wonder – why can’t I stick to this stuff?

Yeah. Been there. Lived there. Still pay taxes there sometimes.

And that, my friend, is exactly what we’re diving into today: how prioritizing purpose over perfection can completely transform the way you approach productivity – and save you from the guilt spiral of abandoned planners, digital task apps you never open again, and all those damn to-do lists that multiply like rabbits in your brain.

Quite honestly…those picture-perfect planners? They weren’t made for your brain. They were made for an imaginary productivity unicorn who never gets distracted by a random side quest about the mating habits of octopuses at 2 a.m. (Don’t ask. But also… do ask. Fascinating creatures.)

These one-size-fits-all systems promise a magical solution – just follow these steps, color code this way, and suddenly your life will be a beautiful Pinterest board.

Spoilers sweetie…they lie.

I’ve tried more of those systems than I can count. I would get all excited, set them up just right, maybe buy a few too many highlighters and washi tape rolls. And then? My brain would rebel like a gremlin that was fed after midnight. Suddenly, all that structure that was supposed to help me felt like a suffocating chore.

It’s not that I didn’t want to be productive. I just wanted to be productive my way. A way that made sense for me, my energy levels, my values, and my reality – chaotic kids, full-time job, business, and the occasional existential crisis included.

So today, we’re going to break this down step by step. If you’ve ever felt like a productivity failure, like you just can’t figure out how to “do it right,” buckle up. Because we’re tossing the rulebook and writing a new one – based on your values, not someone else’s checklist.

Our first step is to understanding the disconnect.

Let’s start with the real reason those systems don’t work. It’s not because you’re lazy. It’s not because you’re broken. It’s because they weren’t designed with you in mind.

Most traditional productivity tools are built around structure, rigidity, and a very narrow definition of success. Like: check every box, or you’ve failed.

And when you’re neurodivergent, creative, easily distracted, or – let’s be honest – a human being with more going on than just what’s in a damn planner… that structure doesn’t feel helpful. It feels like trying to force a square peg into a round hole. With glitter. And expectations.

We buy these systems, spend hours setting them up, and within days, we’re overwhelmed and more behind than when we started. Now our life is spread between five notebooks, three digital tools, and the back of a receipt we wrote something important on and definitely lost.

Sound familiar?

It’s not your fault. It’s the system’s fault. Because those systems weren’t designed with your specific needs, values, or beautiful, weird brain in mind.

So instead of plugging into someone else’s template, what if we started with you?

Our second step? Identify your core values and build around them.

Okay, so let’s talk values. What actually matters to you?

Not what your boss says should matter. Not what TikTok productivity coaches scream at you at 6 a.m. while doing jumping jacks. I mean, what you value.

Is it trust? Honesty? Creativity? Rest? Compassion?

When your productivity aligns with your values, it stops feeling like a grind and starts feeling like growth. You’re not forcing yourself to check boxes – you’re building something meaningful.

Take a minute to think about some real-life situations. How do you react when things go well? What about when everything goes to shit? What threads run through your responses? Those are your core values showing up.

Now, imagine building your productivity system around those. If you value honesty, maybe that means keeping realistic to-do lists – ones that reflect what you can do, not what a robot would do. If you value family time, maybe it means blocking out non-negotiable time for the people you love, even if that means other things have to shift.

You’re allowed to prioritize your real life.

And when it comes to all the to-dos – look at them through your values lens. Which ones feel aligned? Which ones make your stomach knot up? You don’t have to keep all of them. You’re allowed to chuck the ones that don’t serve you.

You’re allowed to burn the to-do list, metaphorically. (Or literally, if it’s safe and won’t set off your smoke alarms.)

For step three…embrace imperfection and practice self-compassion.

Now… let’s talk about that pesky little goblin called perfectionism.

You don’t need your productivity to look pretty. You don’t need it to impress anyone. It just needs to work for you.

Maybe you’ve “failed” at a hundred different planners and systems before. Cool. That just means you have research data. You know what doesn’t work – and that’s just as valuable.

You’re not a failure for needing to try different things. You’re human. And being a human means screwing up, learning stuff, trying again, and occasionally crying in your car with a vanilla cold brew in hand. (Right?)

So when you’re testing new productivity practices, build in grace. Take breaks. Journal. Go for a walk. Pull a tarot card and see what your subconscious is screaming at you. Let your brain breathe.

You don’t need a 5 a.m. routine with seventeen steps. You need space to find what makes sense for your life.

Step Four: Celebrate the Progress

Here’s your final step – and honestly, it’s the most fun.

Celebrate the hell out of your small wins.

I don’t care if the only thing you did today was send that one email you’ve been avoiding. That’s a win. That’s dopamine. That’s one less thing weighing on your brain.

The more we celebrate our progress, the more we reinforce that we’re not just surviving – we’re doing the damn thing. And the goal here isn’t perfection. It’s purpose. It’s joy. It’s integrating the things that matter into how we spend our time.

So maybe you focus more on your hobbies this week. Maybe you let the dishes sit an extra day so you could finish a book that lights you up. That’s not failure. That’s choosing your life.

And it’s freaking worth celebrating.

So here’s your mission, should you choose to accept it:

Take a few minutes today – yes, even just one or two – to reflect on your core values. Then pick one productivity process to experiment with this week. Something small, something purposeful, something that feels aligned.

Try it out. Tweak it if you need to. Toss it if it doesn’t work. But let it be your process. Not someone else’s pre-packaged bullshit.

And as you do this – remember that perfection is overrated. Progress is magical. And your weird, wonderful way of doing things? That’s your superpower.

*Some links on this page may contain affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase anything from those links, I would make a small commission. There’s no additional cost to you when you purchase, it just contributes to the building of my home library 😉

Read all of my blog posts about organizing.