Perfectionist Procrastinator? 6 Ways in 30 Days to Greater Success and Joy
Posted on August 17, 2016 by Heather Legge, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
Is your inner control freak keeping you stuck? Specific, simple ways to overcome perfectionism to blast through your work and life a happier life.
If you’re anything like me, you have come to realize that being prone to perfectionism is both a blessing (you are very conscientious and driven to succeed), and a curse (sometimes you get stuck in ‘paralysis by analysis’ and cause frustration for others).
What stops your inner perfectionist or Control Freak from moving you forward at times? Fear of failure? Fear of success? Be completely honest with yourself and consider how this may be holding you back from experiencing true business success or daily happiness.
Time to check in: Are you a Perfectionist Procrastinator?
Which of the following apply to you?
X You find yourself procrastinating until the time, mood, office, or other circumstances are “right”
X You make assumptions about how perfect everyone else is and how you don’t measure up
X It’s less painful to do nothing than to do something partially
X You start, but it’s not going well so it sort of fades from the priority list, or you jump onto a new idea
X You can’t quite wrap your head around what it’s going to take or it seems overwhelming because you feel all the details need to be included
X All of the above
If you answered “yes” to any of the above, congratulations: You’re Human!
Now it is time to learn how to better take things in stride, be compassionate toward yourself and others, and put in practice results-focused behaviors. Below are 6 ways to limit perfectionism for greater success and joy. Please, be patient with yourself while changing habits!
I challenge you to practice any of the following exercises during the next 30 days and let me know what progress you’ve made:
*Tune into your own thoughts or comments about how you are not meeting expectations. Seek to catch yourself, stop, and change it into a statement about something POSITIVE you have done recently.
*Apply the 80/20 rule when planning your work for max effectiveness: Acknowledge that sometimes 20% of the time you’d normally spend, when applied with quality focus and a sense of urgency is good enough, but to get to “perfect” takes another 80% (time), which is rarely worth it.
*Pick a project or goal and challenge yourself to discover the least amount of work possible to still get a good result.
*Work ONLY to first/rough draft level of completion on something important. Consider if just a LITTLE bit of tweaking will make it good enough to get the job done.
*Hold your tongue when you feel like criticizing another’s performance. List 2-5 positives about the person or performance (silently). If you decide to comment, lead with praise.
*CELEBRATE your small wins daily!
There are so many more simple techniques I can share with you on your path to overcoming perfectionism. Let me know how you’re doing and when you’re hungry for more at heatherlegge.com.
Be proud of your intentional evolution!
Heather Legge
Recovering Perfectionist, Runner, Revolutionary, Red Wine Drinker
Founder and Coach, EnvisionSuccessInc.com
