What is it, exactly, that stops The Perfectionist from moving forward at times on some of the things that are important to them? Do a self check: Do any of the following apply to you?
1) It's just easier to do nothing than to do something partially
2) You find yourself procrastinating until the time or mood is right
3) You can't quite wrap your head around what it's going to take or it seems overwhelming
4) You start, but it's not going well so it sort of fades from the priority list, or you jump onto a new idea
5) Make assumptions about how perfect everyone else is and how you don't measure up
6) All of the above
If you answered "yes" to any of the above, congratulations: You're Human! Yet it is time to learn how to better take things in stride, be compassionate toward yourself and others, and put in practice results-focused behaviors.
I challenge you to implement one or more of the following over the next 30-90 days, and then to let me know what progress you've made!!
*Pick a project or goal and challenge yourself to experience the least amount of work possible to still get a good result.
*Select a task or project you've been putting off, and set a timer for 20 minutes, then focus completely on getting as much done as you can. Repeat as needed.
*Work ONLY to first/rough draft level of completion on something important. Consider if just a LITTLE bit of tweaking will make it good enough to get the job done. Honor the 80/20 rule and recognize that sometimes 20% time you'd normally spend, when applied with quality focus and a sense of urgency is good enough, but to get to "perfect" takes another 80% time, which is rarely worth it.
*Listen for your own comments about how you are not meeting expectations. Seek to catch yourself, stop, and change it into a statement about something POSITIVE you have done recently.
*Identify Good, Better, and Best goals and give yourself a pat on the back for any level of accomplishment. For example, if you want to workout 5 days/week, that is your Best level goal, and you might pick 3 for Good, and 4 for Better. 3 or more is a winner!
REMEMBER: 80% of "perfect" is pretty darned great!
To your continued success,
Heather A Legge- Executive Moxie Coach
EnvisionSuccessInc.com
Reprise published on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/6-ways-crack-your-procrastinating-perfectionism-30-days-heather-legge?published=t
and Noomii.com https://www.noomii.com/articles/6648-perfectionist-procrastinator-6-ways-in-30-days-to-greater-success-and-joy