Perfectionism or procrastination? I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a perfectionist. I’ve certainly made a whole heap of mistakes and pushed things out there when they probably weren’t ready and could have certainly done with some refining.
I used to think this was a bad thing. That I took on too much, and then did it all quickly to get it done.
But I listened to a brilliant podcast by Amy Porterfield this week that resonated with me.
And in it, she said that perfectionism was simply a form of procrastination.
Perfectionism or procrastination?
All the perfectionists out there are probably spitting chips at my statement that perfectionism is just another method for putting themselves off from completing the tasks that should be getting done.
But honestly, I think it’s true.
Case in point – when we launched David’s program Write Your Novel recently, he realised that he’d recorded more than 50 videos with the mouse’s cursor in the middle of his forehead.
He wanted to re-record.
This could’ve potentially delayed the launch of the program and cost him another few days in lost productivity.
Days in which he could be recording other, newer modules to make his program even better for his students.
“NO!” I practically shouted at him.
No one would even notice the cursor’s position, I argued. But they would notice if he was late to launch, or if he didn’t deliver as many modules as he would’ve liked.
And so he left it, and we launched.
Was it perfect? No. But was it still brilliant? Yes. And no one has mentioned the little dot on his forehead in the videos – funny that!
Perfectionism stems from fear
Amy only touched on this lightly in her podcast, but I wholeheartedly agree – perfectionism stems from fear.
Perfectionists often fear the outcome of a completed task, which is why they put it off, or delay the release of something because it’s not yet ‘perfect’.
This perfectionism unfortunately stems from a deep-seated fear that what we’re producing isn’t good enough, or that what we produce might be harshly judged.
The good news is that these fears can be conquered but it takes a change in mindset to overcome these fears. And what’s the best way to do this? By failing.
Done is better than perfect
As a perfectionist, it’s worth remembering that YOU are your biggest critic. One of the best ways to conquer your inner self-doubt is by getting more things done, learning from your mistakes, and moving swiftly on.
The more you fail, the easier it will be to recover from these failures, learn the lesson and grow.
And anyway, I don’t really believe in the word ‘failure’. If something doesn’t turn out the way you planned, it’s simply a stepping stone towards improvement.
But you will never improve if you don’t complete the task in the first place.
Perfectionism isn’t laziness
Firstly, if you fear that you are procrastinating because of perfectionism, get the thought out of your head that you’re being lazy. You’re not.
You are battling insecurities surrounding your ability – self-doubt that probably isn’t even justified.
Take some time out to work on this mindset and build on your self-confidence. Ask your friends and family what they feel you’re good at, so you can think about these kind words when you struggle to speak kindly to yourself.
How to spot whether you’re procrastinating due to perfectionism
If you are feeling anxiety around completing a task, fear of it not being perfect, or lacking in confidence – which is putting you off from working on something, you could be procrastinating due to perfectionism.
If you struggle with indecision and have a hard time focusing – and get ‘bored’ multiple times throughout the work day – these could also be signs of procrastination.
You might also tell yourself that you’re not yet releasing something out into the world because you have “high standards” and the work is not yet to this “high standard” level. Be careful with this terminology too – as it’s often just perfectionism in disguise.
The first step to letting go of your perfectionism is by acknowledging that it is hindering you from getting work done.
How to battle perfectionism or procrastination and get it done
If you are procrastinating on an immediate task at hand – such as scrolling Instagram for hours or getting lost in the rabbit hole of YouTube – recognise what you’re doing and zone in your focus back to the task.
Tackle the task in bitesize pieces and give yourself a deadline to get it done by. Try not to imagine worst-case scenarios as the outcome of the task, and instead flip these thoughts on their head to think about the brilliance that could come from the task’s completion.
Reward yourself when you complete a task – no matter how small – and acknowledge that completing the task is the true achievement here, no matter what happens following its completion.
Remember – the more you fail, the more you win and the quicker you grow. Perfectionism is often just delaying the outcome that you’re going to reach at the end of the journey. By removing the perfectionism, you’ll simply get to your desired outcome faster.
