Stop the Perfectionism - Procrastination Cycle: 5 Simple Steps
Image by Vitaly Gariev via Unsplash
Do you find yourself chasing an unreachable standard while constantly delaying the very tasks that matter most? You aren't alone.
For many high-achieving professionals, perfectionism and procrastination are deeply and inextricably linked.
While society often views the pursuit of perfection as a noble trait, in reality, it can act as a shackle that keeps you smaller and more muted than your talents deserve. By understanding the psychology behind this cycle, you can start to unhook yourself from these patterns and move into messy, meaningful action.
Here are 5 Simple Steps to finally breaking free from the Perfectionism-Procrastination Cycle:
Understand the Perfectionism-Procrastination Cycle
To break the cycle, you must first understand how these two inflame one another.
Perfectionism is a personality trait typified by unreachably high standards and a deep fear of failure or rejection.
Procrastination is a behaviour where you put off important tasks, even when you know the delay will cause stress.
If a task must be done perfectly – and perfection is impossible, but anything less than perfect is unacceptable – then there will never be a right time to start. Putting it off feels essential, but the delay creates more pressure and makes the task feel even higher stakes, which (in turn) leads to further procrastination.
2. Accept that Perfection is a Myth
Perfectionism often masks itself as a quest for excellence, but it is frequently a form of self-protection against judgment and scrutiny. To move forward, you must acknowledge these truths:
Perfection isn't real: It is a subjective, unreachable fallacy.
It is an endlessly moving goalpost: You never reach the ‘end’, and you never feel like ‘enough’.
It exhausts you: Rather than making your work better, it drains you and diminishes your creativity.
3. Manage your Internal Threat and Reward System
In her article Why Procrastination isn’t Laziness…, Annemieke Apergis-Schoute explains “that procrastination isn’t a time-management problem – it’s an emotion-regulation problem”. Your brain is caught in a tug-of-war between two systems:
The Threat System: Triggered by the fear of getting it wrong or being scrutinised (and ultimately rejected) which makes you avoid the task so you can find immediate relief.
The Reward System: Activated by “any (task) that feels good right now” – like deep cleaning a cupboard instead of writing that report.
To overcome this, you must lower the stakes. Ask yourself what is truly at stake and challenge the assumption that you’ll be rejected if your work isn't perfect. Also: find other ways to build reward and pleasure into doing the work.
4. Use the Intentional Procrastination Method
What if procrastination wasn't inherently bad? What if you accepted it as a neutral and necessary part of your task-completion process?
Many of us require a ‘marinading’ stage’ when we’re working on something, where our ideas and thoughts are literally marinading. My friend calls this her fallow period. It may look like procrastination, but actually the work is still happening beneath the surface. We are baking, processing, problem-solving and ideating.
To use the Intentional Procrastination Method:
Initiate early: You cannot marinade a task you haven't started yet (don’t start perfectly, just start!)
Finish something: Aim for what Anne Lamott calls a shitty first draft. Get at least some part of your task messily complete, then intentionally step away
Set a deadline: Return to the work in a time-pressured way and use the looming deadline to complete your next (or final) iteration
Be flexible: Cycle through the process as often as you need or as much as your deadline allows. Using the method will look a lot different for a piece of work due next week, versus one that has no imminent deadline
Manage your loops: Too many tasks will lead to overwhelm or distraction. Prioritise your loops according to time-sensitivity and learn to understand what your maximum number of open loops is. Reached your limit? Close some off before you open any new ones.
5. Disrupt your thinking, change your behaviour
Using principles from Cognitive Behavioural Coaching, you can disrupt the cycle and change your behaviour by changing your thoughts.
Instead of thinking, "If this isn't perfect, I'm a failure," (which will make you feel hopeless and unlikely to act) try a new thought: "Perfection is a waste of time; I pursue experience and creativity instead". This thought will make you feel more hopeful and open, and is much more likely to inspire you to action.
Make messy action the point
And as for those imaginary (or very real) voices of critics of your imperfect work? Let me share the Theodore Roosevelt quote Man in the Arena so often quoted by Brené Brown, it has been a huge inspiration for her, and it is so relevant here…
"It is not the critic who counts … the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena… who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming…who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly."
- Theodore Roosevelt
Stop waiting for optimal conditions.
You don't need a fresh notebook, a green juice or a perfect night’s sleep to begin. You just need to start. Step into the arena and make messy action the point.
This article was based on my podcast episode “How to Stop the Perfectionism-Procrastination Cycle”. Listen to the full podcast episode here.
Monique Shaw is an Executive Career & Leadership Coach and Brand Story Specialist helping passionate, frustrated and ambitious professionals create careers, teams and businesses that are aligned and effective. Book a consult or get in touch to explore how she can support you.
