Is Perfectionism Keeping You from Getting Organized?

Many people believe that perfectionists are highly organized, on top of everything that needs to be done, and are leading the perfect lives they desire. 

You might be surprised to learn that perfectionists frequently have the messiest houses, are the least organized, and often are far behind on things they’ve committed to doing.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines perfectionism as “a disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable”. The problem with this “disposition” is that it prevents people with perfectionistic tendencies from even getting started.  They feel unable to begin until all their ducks are in a row.

If you wait until all your ducks are in a row, you’ll never get started!

You might be a perfectionist if you can’t start a project until:

• you have the perfect amount of time to devote

• you have the perfect plan outlined

• you know what the perfect outcome will be

• you have the perfect containers and supplies

• you are in the perfect mood

• everything is perfect, perfect, perfect

Feeling that nothing can be done until perfect is achieved or a perfect outcome can be assured is an awfully heavy burden the perfectionist takes on. It can be completely paralyzing and incredibly stressful.

If you are identifying with any of the above, you might be wondering how you go about combating the desire for perfect that’s standing in the way of moving forward.

Pay attention to when you might be experiencing perfectionistic thinking.
Perfectionistic thinking can come in many forms. Notice if you find yourself chronically procrastinating, obsessively checking for errors, constantly re-doing things several times to make them “perfect”, giving too much importance to small details, or creating elaborate/extensive to-do lists that include when to do even the most basic of habits (like showering and brushing teeth).

Try a 5-minute challenge.
If you find yourself saying, “I can’t start going through my clothes closet until I have enough hours to devote to it”, try challenging yourself to only spend 5 minutes. The trick here is that you can’t spend any more than 5 minutes. Set a timer and stop when it goes off, no matter how much you got done. It will be uncomfortable at first, but try to remember that a bunch of 5-minute chunks of time will add up pretty quickly.

Talk to yourself as you would a friend.
If your best friend, parent, or child was holding themselves and their work to an impossibly high standard, what would you say to them. I bet you’d be a lot more reasonable in your expectations about their work than you are about your own.

Ask challenging questions.
If things aren’t perfect, what’s the worst that will happen? Going back to the closet example, you could ask, “If I start this project when I don’t have ‘enough’ time, what’s the worst that will happen?” One answer might be, “I only get 1/4 of the work done.” You can then work to recognize that 1/4 is better than the nothing you were getting done while you waited for the perfect amount of time.

Know that perfect might not be possible or even desirable.
How many things around you are perfect? Even if you are able to identify something that is perfect to you, someone else might not agree. Also, it might not feel perfect forever. Perfect leaves no room for growth and change.

Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I struggle with perfectionistic tendencies too! It’s taken me a ridiculously long time to start a blog because I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to make it perfect, so it was better not to do it at all. But, as author Gretchen Rubin reminds us, “it's better to get something done imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly.” The truth is, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders now that it’s done, even though I’m sure it’s not perfect.

I’ll keep reminding myself (and you should too) that it’s ok to give something your best try and have it end up good enough.