How to Stop Perfectionism From Killing Your Productivity

Are you the type of person who endlessly fixes your content and is afraid to share it with the world? Maybe you worry that it’s just not good enough and everyone’s going to notice.

This type of behavior is killing your productivity, though.

You’re completely overthinking everything, and wasting precious time on things that you shouldn’t even be worrying about.

Because think about it. When you’re spending more time fixing the work you’ve already done rather than doing the work you need to do, there’s a problem.

It’s an endless cycle, and it needs to stop.

To help you out, I’m going to walk you through 5 game-changing things you can do today to stop perfectionism from killing your productivity tomorrow.

 

Recognize When Good Enough is Good Enough

The most important thing you can do to stop perfectionism from killing your productivity is to recognize when good enough is good enough.

And I know this sounds totally obvious.

But do you do this?

Do you look at your work and acknowledge when it’s good enough to call it a day and move on to the next thing?

Or do you notice all the little things you can fix to make it even better?

Now, I’m not telling you not to check your work.

Of course you should check your work. And you should fix all the little mistakes.

But honestly, if you keep checking it, you’re going to keep finding little ways you can make it even better.

So learn how to recognize when it’s good enough for the world, and hit that publish button.

 

Improve it Over Time

The next thing you can do to stop perfectionism from killing your productivity is to recognize that you can always improve something over time.

When you hit publish, it isn’t the end.

In fact, most of us come back and work on something after the fact.

If I learn something new or figure out a better way to do something, I’ll go back and update any content I have on the topic. The extent of this will completely depend on what I’m changing, but if it’s something that will take me a while to fix, then I’ll turn it into a project and schedule it in according.

(Curious about how I schedule my projects? You can get a complete behind the scenes look as well as a step-by-step tutorial to do it yourself in my Goal Crusher’s Workshop!)

If someone points out a typo, I fix it when I get a chance. And it’s not the end of the world if a few other people see before I get back in there.

I also continue to create new iterations of my online courses as I fine tune my methods and really get to know what people need.

We’re human, and our perceptions and views are constantly evolving. So allow your work to grow with you.

And if you get it right the first time, then there is no room for growth.

Which brings me to my next point.

 

Embrace the Process

Another great way to stop perfectionism from killing your productivity is to embrace what you’re doing every step of the way.

Now, I admit — I’m the type of person who can look at something I wrote a year ago and go, “Ugh, what was I thinking?!”

I’m prone to being highly critical of myself.

But honestly, it doesn’t get me anywhere.

I’ve learned that it’s so much more effective to embrace whatever I’m working on in whatever stage its in.

My first go at an online course wasn’t perfect. And I never would have published it if I tried to make it perfect.

But I love listening to those original recordings because I can clearly remember the passion that went into them.

And the new iteration of that course was built on that original foundation. And it’s absolutely fantastic.

But I’m not done. And I’m sure this version isn’t perfect either.

But I’ll continue to work on it and make it better every single time.

And I’ll completely embrace the process every step of the way.

 

Embrace Progress

Another way to stop perfectionism from killing your productivity is to embrace the progress you are making.

Any project can seem completely overwhelming if you let it.

And it’s super easy to think that you’ll never get it right.

But every step you take is progress.

And as long as you continue to make progress, you’re moving in the right direction!

 

Keep Going Forward

And the final thing you can do to stop perfectionism from killing your productivity is to just keep going.

Don’t let your big scary goals make you feel like you have to do it right.

Just do it the best way you know how.

Yeah, it can be intimidating to put something out into the world.

People can be pretty cruel.

But you can’t focus on that.

And honestly, if you aren’t a little scared, then you’re probably not doing it right!

That fear — of what others might say, that you may not have it right — will only motivate you to keep going.

And if you don’t keep going, then you’re just letting your fear win.

 

“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” John Steinbeck

 

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