Katy Perry on Lookalike Zooey Deschanel's Support During Her Maternity Leave: 'She Showed Up for Me'

Katy Perry is feeling extra thankful for the strong women in her life.

Five months into new motherhood, the pop superstar is still figuring out how to balance all the demands in her busy career and family life.

"[I'm taking it] one day at a time, finding balance and learning the lessons as I go along and not being afraid to learn," the singer, 36, tells PEOPLE in a new interview. "When I make mistakes, I learn from them. Those moments of imperfection — because I don't believe in perfection — are really valuable to me. That's where growth comes."

Six weeks after giving birth to her daughter Daisy Dove, Perry was itching to give her latest hit, "Not the End of the World," an accompanying music video.

RELATED: Katy Perry Is Collaborating with Pokémon on a New Music Program for Its 25th Anniversary 

Still on maternity leave, the American Idol judge — who's partnering with Pokémon on a new music program in celebration of its 25th anniversary — called up pal Zooey Deschanel, whom Perry was often mistaken for early in her career.

"I was so happy being a mother, but I was like 'Oh, there's this idea in the back of my head,'" says Perry. "I knew that time marches on and now was the time so I reached out to her personally, and it was amazing. She showed up for me while I was on maternity leave, basically."

"As a pop star, you don't really have a 9 to 5, so it's all up to me to create a schedule and balance, and she was totally down and thought it was fun," she adds. "I truly believe that mothers are the most powerful beings on the planet, and when women get together and support each other, it's incredible."

RELATED: Zooey Deschanel Gets Abducted by Aliens in Katy Perry's 'Not the End of the World' Music Video

Weeks away from giving birth last year, Perry opened up in a PEOPLE cover story about embracing both motherhood and her career.

"She'll always be the No. 1 most important thing ever, naturally," said Perry of her daughter. "But I love being a working mom. I don't think there's anything negative about it. It's like, 'Wow, you can do that and that?' All right! That's a woman, you know?"

For more on Katy Perry's new partnership with Pokémon and how she's settling into motherhood, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.