Why DONE Is Better Than PERFECT

When going on job interviews early on when I first started to work in high school and college, a common question would come up from the interviewer. "What is your greatest strength?", they would ask. I would quickly answer, "My perfectionism is" - as though it was a no brainer for me. 

Little did I know at the time, that what I THOUGHT to be one of my greatest assets, was actually really one of the largest things often holding me back. Sure, there are some benefits that come along with being a perfectionist such as being a hard worker, attention to detail, resilience, quality work, thoroughness, and accuracy. However, it's when the perfectionism becomes an obsession, that it can really start interfering with your productivity and progress. This is when, in my opinion, if you're not careful, perfectionism can become debilitating and even feel like a disease that prevents you from getting anything completed. 

Most perfectionists have a fear of rejection or failure. They are sometimes deep down afraid of judgment that someone will conclude that they're not good enough. Or that their work is not worthy or it's amateur. Or, maybe someone will think they look and sound inadequate or unqualified and as a result they will be ridiculed and rejected. This is often what causes a perfectionist to keep redoing, updating, tweaking, and improving their work BEFORE ever even releasing it out there for anyone to see. As you can imagine, this can cause some serious procrastination and delays in completing projects on schedule. 

It wasn't until the last 3 to 4 years that I finally started to see the detrimental consequences that being an extreme perfectionist can have on the big picture and reaching your goals. While I do not think that perfectionism will ever go away, nor would I want it to completely as there are still useful benefits from it, the key is to be able to manage and control IT, before it controls YOU.

One of the best tips that I can give that has helped me manage perfectionism, is to set a timer and dedicate only a specific amount of time per task. When the time is up, move onto to the next planned task REGARDLESS if you actually completely finished it or not. You can always go back and add updates and additional details later. Also, it may help to think about your work as a "draft" with the goal of just getting SOMETHING out there as soon as possible with the intention of returning later to review it.

If perfectionism is something you sometimes also deal with, you are likely very familiar with the feeling that things never really feel COMPLETE. Or "done enough", before getting it out there. But, I promise you, DONE is still a WAY better feeling than "perfect". Especially as though "perfect" doesn't even exist. 

Business and life is an ongoing, continuous work in process. You will consistently be going back, making updates and tweaks as you go along anyways. But, if you have NOTHING tangible to show for all of the mental energy you have exerted in just thinking of all of your amazing ideas, goals, dreams, and projects - you'll have nothing to build upon.

It's impossible to know what works, and what doesn't, if you have nothing to show to begin with. So, start getting more of your work out there for people to see. You never know WHO you could be helping, even if you don't think your "ready yet"!