I love weekends, but not for the reasons that most people do. As laughable and nerdy as it sounds, I like using my time over the weekends to knock out big assignments such as papers, quizzes, or projects to lessen my workload for the upcoming week. However, every time I’m prepared to begin conquering my assignments, I freeze. My perfectionist tendencies kick in and I’m immediately hit with feelings of worry and inadequacy before my pencil even hits the paper.
What follows is what typically runs through my head during this state of paralysis: What if I start and it ends up not being perfect? What if I waste all my time and mental and physical energy on something that’s not even worth turning in?
As a result of this thinking, I end up putting it off — in simpler words, procrastinating. In a way, by procrastinating, I’m delaying my fear of inevitable failure and the by-products that accompany failure such as scrutiny, the possibility of disappointing others, and facing the negative judgment of others. My perfectionism and procrastination feed into each other, locking me in an inescapable loop of productivity paralysis that negatively impacts my mental health.
Procrastination is a Symptom of Perfectionism
Many people believe perfectionism to be a positive quality, and they’re not completely wrong. Individuals with perfectionist tendencies tend to hold themselves to high standards that assist in producing high-quality work. On the other hand, this strength can quickly turn into a debilitating weakness for others. For myself, these high standards often loom oppressively over me, scaring me into adopting the mindset of “do it well or just don’t do it at all.”
Choosing to procrastinate helps me avoid dealing with my feelings of self-doubt and fear of failure for a short while. In the long run, however, this cycle of procrastination has consequently built up a massive weight of overwhelming stress that has been detrimental to my well-being. This infinite cycle of perfectionism and procrastination is mentally exhausting and has exacerbated my feelings of insecurity and self-doubt. Despite knowing the negative effects that come with allowing this cycle to perpetuate, it’s difficult to turn away from something that I’ve already ingrained as a routine habit.
How do you break out of this loop?
If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering how to escape this seemingly never-ending loop. Below are some strategies that have assisted me in keeping my perfectionist tendencies from hindering my productivity:
1. Lower your high standards
As a perfectionist, one of the biggest things I had to come to terms with was that perfection just doesn’t exist. I realized that creating stressful and anxiety-inducing conditions for me to produce “perfect” work was just downright unhelpful and unhealthy.
It was difficult for me to push past my fears of failure and start a big assignment while accepting that it was okay for it to be a potentially “imperfect” product. Over time, I was able to recognize that I shouldn’t wait for the right conditions to create “perfect” work to strike before starting. It’s better to have something that is “imperfect” or “flawed” than nothing at all. Besides, I could always edit and polish it later, as long as I had something to improve upon. As one of my English professors said, “It’s okay to write terribly. That’s why we edit.”
2. Break big projects down into bite-size and achievable tasks
Tackling a big project can be extremely overwhelming for a perfectionist. By breaking down a large project into smaller and more manageable tasks, it’s much easier to lessen those feelings of anxiety and productivity paralysis. Completing smaller tasks of a big project also helps to build momentum in following through and completing the next tasks, and soon enough, the entire project.
3. Have a positive support system
It’s important to surround yourself with positive and supportive people who can help remind you that imperfection isn’t the end of the world. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to trusted individuals in your life for help whenever things get rough.
4. Be patient
Try not to place unnecessary pressure on yourself to immediately break out of this loop. It takes a lot of time and effort to ditch this toxic habit. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and you have much more time than you think to improve.
You are not alone if you also struggle with this perfectionism/procrastination loop. It’s a hard loop to break from, but at the end of the day, we just have to remember that it’s okay to be imperfect and to produce imperfect work. After all, to be imperfect is to be human.