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Writer's pictureCaroline Choi

Perfection and procrastination - two p's in a pod

Do you often find yourself procrastinating and unable to start things or do things?

Very recently I discovered truly how crippling my perfectionism could become and how it was the main cause of my procrastination. I've been making some small changes and it's been life-changing.


I've always known that procrastination comes from not wanting to do something or some form of fear of failure... but what exactly? I couldn't quite put my finger on it. For example, with admin I just don't like doing it but I know it doesn't take much time to do it. So why not just do it and get it out of the way???? Admin isn't hard, so you can't really "fail" massively with that. I'm also usually a doer, and don't overthink most things, and even though things might be risky, and the outcome uncertain, if I decide I'm going to do something, then I just do it. So it's not any fear of failing from trying. So why???


Then it hit me as I was meditating.... my perfectionism!

I wanted to make sure I dedicate the right time to get it perfect. So until I'm in the right mindset to dedicate the time and energy, I just wouldn't start. Even with work presentations, unless I know what I want the outcome to clearly be, I don't start, because I won't be able to make it perfect. I would chew on it, ponder over it, think about what I want it to look like. Then only once I have the skeleton in my head, only then do I get started. The only exception is when I'm up against a deadline, in which case I have no choice.


My perfectionism alone has never actually caused me stress, however I've recently realised that the work that piles up, from procrastinating and deferring to achieve perfection, was the initial trigger. Then thinking about the piled up work, not knowing which one to start with would stress me out until I get to a point where it becomes physically impossible to get it all done, and definitely not to the standard I want. The anxiety then makes me very unpleasant to be around. So when I think about all of this, given the outcome doesn't end up being perfect anyway, I might as well have just done it at 80% early on and saved myself the stress and anxiety!


So what now??? How do I change this habit?


In realising this, when I notice myself deferring (knowing I should be doing something, like this blog) I first ignore the other things I'm tempted to do (because mentally they're easy). I then don't think about what the outcome should be and just start. I've also started forcing myself to make the way I do things a little messy. What do I mean by this. For example, when I'm cooking, I would open and close the bin to throw scraps and packaging as I cook so that I don't create another dirty plate or bowl. Also, I would clean bowls and utensils as I go. Yes, I know to some how ridiculous this sounds but in my mind I'm saving myself cleaning later lol So now, I just find a plate or a bowl to throw my scraps and wrapping in, then at the end throw it all in the bin and put the bowl in the dishwasher at the end. While not opening and closing the door is only incremental time, it's changing my behaviour. I also don't clean as I go now =)

Imperfect picture of The Perfectionists' Cafe

Through consistency, each time I recognise the things that I do that feeds my perfectionism, I discard these habits through meditation and do things differently to what I would normally do. It's been a couple of weeks since I started doing this, and already it's getting easier. I'm still a work-in-progress and have found days where it catches up. However, I'm excited to see the smallest changes and excited to no longer be entitled to go to the perfectionists' cafe.


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1 Comment


David Clouston
David Clouston
Jun 20, 2023

Really nice ! The perfectionists Cafe makes me laugh 😆🤣 Maybe you would see me sitting in that Cafe (metaphorically and in real life) 🤣


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