“Being productive” means nothing more than staying focused on a task and getting it done. Now sometimes getting something done seems to be a never-ending story for some people. They often call themselves “perfectionists.” They have high demands on themselves (and others) and accept nothing less than, well, perfect.
Of course, no one – or especially not the perfectionist sort of humans – wants to put out low-quality work. But people with the “perfectionist gene” have a problem. And that is that they are a victim to their own high standards. They may never get to the finish line or only with a huge delay due to endless refinements. And that’s a huge hindrance to being productive.
If you recognize yourself in this and want to get more things done more quickly, here are 4 tips how you can beat the perfectionism cycle:
1) Done Is Better Than Perfect
If you no longer want to fall prey to your perfectionism and move/work more quickly, the number one rule to keep in mind is that “done is better than perfect”. Make this your mantra and hit “publish” on whatever project you’re working on as soon as you created a minimum viable product (MVP), so to speak. That is, a version you can live with putting out into the world.
2) Give Yourself A Deadline
If you want to take more active measures or want to get more concrete, give yourself a specific deadline. Or if it already has a deadline, you might want to give yourself a certain amount of hours you want to work on it for. As already mentioned above, create a minimum viable version and run with it.
3) Get Some Outside Perspective
Have someone else look at the very thing you’re working on or look at comparable work. Would someone else view your project as good enough to be published or not? How long have other people worked on something similar and at what point did they put it out into the world? By asking other people or looking at similar examples, you’ll likely be able to assess if you’re getting caught up in your perfectionist mindset.
4) Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
To practice, you could pick something and make yourself call it done at its first or second draft. Make yourself publish it after none or one round of refinements and see what happens. More likely than not, the very act of putting it out into the world “not perfectly done” is only something in your mind. But also, nothing is ever perfect. By doing this, you’ll get less scared about hitting publish sooner and more often.
Would you call yourself a perfectionist? If yes, how is it hindering you at work or in your everyday life?
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