My family recently traveled to Utah for the funeral of my Grandma Prince. During the trip my brother Edd took this photo of my mom and me. One of the great leadership lessons she has taught me is what I call the 10 minute rule.
At one point in high school I was making banners to hang for an upcoming student election. I was carefully tracing my intended message on butcher paper when my mom walked in, grabbed the paint, and started painting the banners without tracing anything. She quickly perceived that my pencil tracing was making a 10 minute job into a several hour job, and that it would likely be GOOD ENOUGH to simply paint on the butcher paper. If I made a gross mistake I could simply try again, butcher paper is relatively cheap. I followed her lead, was done with the job in 10 minutes, and had time to go play football outside with my little brother.
My mom raised 9 kids like a champ, I think she knows a few things about efficiency and prioritizing. She always encouraged us to do quality work, but had a knack for discerning what should take 10 minutes and what deserved greater time. Perfectionists tend to make every task a big project. Leaders create time by prioritizing tasks and following the 10 minute rule.