Stop Trying To Be Perfect

Perfectionism destroys relationships, hampers careers and is one of the chief causes of unhappiness and frustration. It’s also a surefire productivity killer, an effect we’ll talk about in more detail in a moment. The tendency to want to be perfect stems from a variety of sources. Some of us were raised to meet others’ high expectations, and have carried that anxiety with us into adulthood. In our minds, imperfection equals failure. Others have imposed upon themselves performance standards that have little to do with the benefits they enjoy from meeting them. They aim high for the sake of aiming high. Still others use perfectionism as a way to compensate for perceived deficits in other areas of their lives. Here’s the worst part: it’s celebrated in our society. Kids are encouraged to study for hours on end just to achieve perfect scores on tests. Employees are pressured to turn in reports and finish projects with zero errors. Contractors are expected to deliver their services according to unrealistic deadlines. Perfectionism is praised as an asset. Unfortunately, that encourages folks to pursue it as a goal. Being perfect is unnecessary. Think back to the years you spent in school. Try to recall a project for which you toiled for hours and as a result, received a perfect score. How did that A+ or 100% affect your life? If you’re like most people, it had zero effect. Think about your job. Try to recall a report you worked on for hours to ensure it was error-free when you gave it to your boss. Did your perfectionism have a major impact on your career? Probably not. Being perfect is more than just unnecessary. It’s harmful to your productivity.

How This Bad Habit Hurts Your Productivity

 Perfectionism undermines your productivity in four ways. First, it prevents you from getting things done. You’re so focused on completing your current task with zero errors that you rob yourself of the time needed to complete other tasks. Second, it elevates your stress level. Studies show that individuals who pursue perfectionism are more likely to experience anxiety. You don’t need me to tell you that stress and anxiety negatively affect your productivity. You know this from first-hand experience. Third, it encourages procrastination. It’s easier to continue working on a current task than to start a new one, especially if the new one requires stepping outside your comfort zone. That can easily become a bad habit, eroding your motivation to take action. You’ll start to rationalize putting things off just to make sure the task you’re working on is error-free. An extension of this new procrastination habit is that you start to put off current tasks because you’re concerned about handling them with perfection. You resist working on them because you fear failure. That fear is based on an unfeasible definition of success. Fourth, perfectionism harms your self-esteem. Being perfect is impossible. No one achieves it over the long run. Striving for it is a recipe for frustration and disappointment, especially if your self-image is tied to unreasonable expectations about your performance. If you feel as if you’re failing to live up to your own standards, you’ll lack the motivation to take action and get things done. Let’s now talk about things you can do, starting today, to curtail your tendency toward perfection.

Action Steps 

1. Shift your focus from perfecting your work to finishing it. Granted, it will take time to develop and grow accustomed to this new perspective. Start slowly. Apply this shift in focus to a single task. With time and continued application, it will become second-nature. But expect an uphill battle getting to that point. Remember, you’re redoing mental programming that took years to gain a foothold in your mind. Be patient with yourself.

 2. Ask yourself whether the time and effort you plan to invest will help you to achieve a specific goal. For example, will spending hours perfecting that cost-analysis report for your boss result in a raise? Will studying for hours to get an A+ on next week’s chemistry exam result in a solid job offer? Make this the litmus test.

 3. Create obstacles that “short-circuit” your habit for perfectionism. For example, stand up from your desk and walk away the moment you notice yourself trying to perfect something you’re working on. Alter your behavioral pattern. Take a moment to recalibrate your focus toward completing the task at hand rather than perfecting it. Then, return to your desk and resume your work.

 4. Embrace your mistakes. Instead of criticizing yourself, use mistakes as learning opportunities. Use them to expand your knowledge, improve your work habits and become a better employee (or student, professor, musician or spouse). Practice developing and reinforcing this perspective each time you discover you’ve made a mistake.

5. Identify the worst possible outcome that can occur if you make a mistake. For example, if the report you’re preparing for your boss contains a misspelled word, will you lose your job? If you receive a B+ on your chemistry exam, will you be placed on academic probation? Chances are, you’ll survive.