Perfectionism: A Great Way to Sink Your Project

Looking for a great way to sink your project? Perfectionism, at your service and ready to roll.

Now maybe the Big P's not in total command of your boat, but you are at this page. Right? Could be that perfectionism is to some degree an issue for you. Perhaps, with certain projects, you Do find yourself tinkering and tinkering...and then tinkering some more.

Does this tinkering drive your colleagues and loved ones to distraction? Do you sometimes drive even yourself crazy and wonder why you can’t just get it done? (She asked, raising her hand.)

If you said yes, perhaps you too bear the heavy yoke of the Perfectionism Gene. And that trait, when unchecked, can allow the lure of the “perfect” to drive you right off the rails instead of to your destination. Been there and done that, so I know.

You don’t mean any harm: you just want to make the project a little bit better…then a little bit better, still. And even better yet. But somewhere along the line, the enterprise starts to go stale.

While you dither over the final draft of your book, somebody else writes one like it. And gets it out to the world! If you’re setting up a website, it may eventually look swell, but it took you months instead of weeks.

If you’re painting a bathroom, you tie it up for days while you sand and do touch-ups until it’s "perfect." Same thing with your other projects. This is the curse of perfectionism.

Done Beats Perfect
Time for a a new model: “good-enough." In this mode, you drop the perfectionism—focusing on completion as opposed to perfection. No, you don’t slop or race heedlessly through your task: you do want an acceptable product. But you also don’t tinker endlessly with your task or project in a protracted pursuit of the sublime.

You do, however, work steadily toward your goal—step by step by step. And you keep going until you get that sucker done. No edits or fine tuning until the project is finished. Then, and only then, do you allow yourself to tinker. But do Not let such tinkering yank the project back into a work in progress.

Nope, be “certifiably” finished; in fact, say that you're finished. Just spit it right out: "I’m done." And mean it: you're done. Because you don’t want to still be tinkering on that project when you’re lying on your deathbed.

The thing is that, unless you’re doing such things as surgery, locksmithing, or boatbuilding, “good enough” generally IS good enough for all practical purposes. So, just wrap it up and be done with it. Now you’re free to start your next project! (Unlike that poor soul still trying to get it absolutely perfect.)

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Perfectionism(As in "getting it just right")

Perfectionism
(As in "getting it just right")