Stop Procrastination By Taming Perfectionism

If you have perfectionist tendencies, you probably have some unfinished projects. Projects that you began with great enthusiasm are now collecting dust somewhere in your home, head, or computer.

Perfectionists have a grand and idealized vision of the project’s outcome. They measure themselves against the ideal and often come up short. So, the perfectionist either toils endlessly to make it perfect or puts the project on hold until he has enough time to finish it. Of course, the day with ‘enough time’ rarely, if ever, comes.

News flash! There is no such thing as perfect. It is a figment of our imagination. The artist Salvadore Dali understood this when he said “Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.”

In my former career as a project manager, I endured more than a few projects that went way over schedule and budget because of stakeholders’ desire for more and better. When working with customers and developers, I advocated for the Principle of Good Enough (POGE). POGE is a rule used in software and system design that encourages functional, quick, and simple design. But, I had a hard time walking my talk when it came to my own work. It has taken me a long time to learn to accept ‘good enough as good enough.’

The quest for perfection is the enemy of done. Ask yourself the following questions to see if you may be expending too much time and effort on the task at hand:

* Where is the point of diminishing returns?
* What are the consequences of using a less elaborate approach?
* Will your work style result in a delay or a missed deadline?
* Do the means justify the end?

In answering these questions honestly, you may decide it is time to let go of perfect and just get it done!