One of my writing buddies
is a perfectionist.
She doesn’t want
to publish a story
(ship a product)
unless it is perfect.
Whenever I urge her
to hit the publish button,
she tells me
‘It isn’t ready yet.’
I doubt it will ever be ready.
Dexter Brown,
in September’s
CPA Magazine,
shares
“Folks who fit into this category
[perfectionists]
are also big procrastinators
– they have a tough time
finishing their work
and are overly cautious
(it can take them hours
to finish a task
that should take 20 minutes,
for example).
They agonize over details
– their to-do lists are elaborate
and they can rewrite
the same document or email
over and over
to make it perfect.”
There’s good enough
and there’s perfect.
The first is achievable.
The second is not
and is usually more harmful
than beneficial.
If you’re a perfectionist,
put systems in place
so this trait can’t hinder
your success.