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Perfectionism and Procrastination: Things You Need to Know to Overcome Them
When it comes to chasing our dreams, we can get way over our heads. The pressure we put on ourselves due to the fact that these things mean so much to us is immense and that’s why, in a lot of situations, people tend to hide behind perfectionism. Fear is the biggest motivator here and you should not allow yourself to give in to it.
When you are chasing perfection, you are basically wasting your own time and boosting that dread that creeps up on you when the deadline starts getting closer. The truth is that we almost never have the time we need to finish the work we have to do “properly”, but if we focus on perfection, we are going to waste a whole lot of time without achieving any results.
Don’t let fear control your life or your actions. Allow yourself to think more of effectiveness rather than perfection and you will not set yourself up for a fall. Furthermore, you will allow yourself to to experience the joy and relief of a completed project. Here are some of the things you can do to help yourself on this path.
Do Something
Taking action is the first step on the road to defeating procrastination. Overthinking is usually a big issue for most people here. A lot of times the problem is that we want to know the plan from beginning to end, and while it sounds like a sensible request, it usually isn’t. Identify the first step and go for it. You’ll cross other bridges when you get to them.
Question Your Standards
Don’t allow yourself to become overly critical of yourself, since this can be quite damaging to your productivity. You need to remain objective, follow your own progress, and focus on the goal. Not all tasks require a quality of work that goes beyond the standards of what’s expected of you.
I know this sounds like we are actually telling you to settle for mediocrity, but we all need to realize that not every step of our way is an art form; some of it is just work. Work at a pace the yields results, whatever they may be, and move on to your next project.
Observe the Bigger Picture
Over-thinking and perfectionism usually lead to a shift of perspective. In other words, we tend to perceive each and every issue connected to our project/work as equally important and this usually means that we devote more time and energy to tasks and issues that will not really make an impact on the bigger picture.
Avoid being destructive when you criticize yourself. If you combine self-criticism with an emphasis on perfection, you will find out why they say that the devil is in the details. Keep things in perspective and prioritize; don’t waist your time.
Set Goals That Will Be Realistic
Overestimating yourself or underestimating the difficulty of the tasks at hand can lead to a lot of trouble. You are not prepared to tackle the task before you because you haven’t been honest with yourself. Don’t sugarcoat it. If it is a lot of work, it’s a lot of work – deal with it and get it done. The sooner you realize the reality of the situation, the sooner you get to a solution.
Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
Those who compare their lives with lives of other people around them tend to have skewed perception of their priorities. It is more than ok to look at other people’s lives and include smart moves or approaches to your own but if you start thinking about how everybody’s got it better than you, it can destroy your motivation and produce some feeling that you really want to avoid.
Listen To Your Gut
You should avoid demanding perfection and don’t confuse it with striving towards for excellence. You will feel the difference between the two because excellence inspires and motivates you while perfectionism drains you of your energy and makes you incapable of being productive. Ensure that you course of action and decision making process don’t fall victim to overreactions, perfectionism or defeatism. If something doesn’t feel right there is usually an underlying reason – find it, deal with it and start being productive.
Procrastination does nothing good for you. It wastes your time, makes you to feel stressed out and makes you uncomfortable even when you are free to do whatever you please because it leads to neglecting obligations. This causes every moment of free time to be clouded by the worry about the unresolved responsibilities. Don’t let this problem spread – get things in order so your free time can truly be free.
