How to tackle Perfectionism Procrastination

So many of us struggle with procrastination, and we can be really self-critical about it. ‘I'm so lazy! I still haven’t done it, I’m a total failure!’ Listen, I’ve been there. It sucks.

But from my personal and clinical work, what I’ve found is that overwhelmingly, the source of procrastination is not laziness or inability. The source is often perfectionism, and fear of failure.

‘What if I mess this up? My boss/tutor might think I’m an idiot!’ 

We want to do a perfect job, and we know that this isn’t possible. Add in some all-or-nothing thinking, and it suddenly feels like there’s only one alternative to a perfect piece of work: total failure. Ouch.

So we procrastinate: we avoid doing the work, as we fear we would be risking the agony of complete catastrophe. 

So what can be done about it? How do we get unstuck?

🌱 Release perfectionism.

There’s a broad spectrum of results between a perfect job, and a 0 value job. An imperfect job may be a solid piece of work, and that might get you over the line. Release yourself from the pressure by acknowledging that an imperfect job may actually be totally fine. Know that so much of the work we admire has included plenty of mistakes and edits along the way. And that getting it done will feel great.

When this fear of imperfection comes up, correct your thought process. Instead of ‘This has to be perfect’, say to yourself, ‘I’m going to do an okay job. If I have time, I can improve the piece. But I’ll get it done first.’ 

😌 Calm your emotions

When that fear emotion comes up, communicate to your body and your brain that it does not need to be afraid. I do this by dropping my shoulders, slowly breathing in from my belly, holding for a second, and then slowly breathing out. Take three breaths like this, and let yourself enter a steady state. You’ll feel more able to move through the process.

⏰ Time block

Instead of generally having an idea that you ‘have to do this sometime this week’, make a plan. Choose a 2 hour window, as early in the week as possible, in which you will work on the project. Use the Pomodoro technique (25 min working, 5 min break) to divide that time, and keep you focused. By the end of the 2 hours, you’ll have a clearer idea of the project. Then book another block into your calendar for as early in the week as possible. Rinse and repeat until it’s complete.

📝 Reduce the pressure

Instead of sitting down to write the whole thing, change how you approach it. I like to create a document called ‘Initial Thoughts’. I then fill it with everything I already know about the topic off the top of my head. I can then do some research to fill gaps. This takes the pressure off, and allows me to access a more free-flowing way of working.

Give it a go, and let me know what you think. And if you’d like to work on this with a therapist, you can find me at cosytherapy.com

Warmth and wishes,

April

Cosy Therapy