How Perfectionism Destroys Your Productivity — & How to Overcome it

The idea that perfectionism destroys productivity sounds oxymoronic, right? Well, if you’re here I’m guessing that you’ve realised something has gone horribly wrong with your perfectionist tendencies. Yet, as someone with a devoted work ethic and immaculate living and working aesthetic who completes all their projects and tasks to the highest standards, always arrives promptly and is never in trouble, you’re probably left wondering why your productivity levels aren’t as outstanding as you suppose they ought to be.

Perfectionism is one of those traits that’s largely classified as admirable: those who have it proudly boast about it whilst those who don’t commend those who do. If I were a betting woman I would wager you first came into contact with the term perfectionism at school, most probably during some careers development class. I remember distinctly my careers advisor advising us to admit to any future employers that our biggest weakness was perfectionism because it was one of those appealing and ‘hireable’ flaws. Well, who doesn’t want to hire someone who will work through their lunch hour and work unpaid overtime during evenings and weekends because their low self-esteem and obsessive need for external validation pushes them into overachieving and torturing themselves to purify anything they produce from any trace of…