How to keep your inner perfectionist in check
Key tactics to help you live the "done is better than perfect" mantra
Hey there,
When I was little, I used to hide my grades from my mum unless they were perfect. For my mum, unless it was the best grade, it never was good enough. Striving to deliver the best has helped her to be incredibly successful, but it also meant that when I brought home anything lower than top marks, it wasn’t enough.
Fast forward to a few years ago when Bunch was still in its early stages. I was participating in a pitch competition. It was a low-stakes situation—nothing serious was at risk. All the same, I obsessed over making the perfect pitch. I was terrified of failing in public. The issue is, when I get scared of failing, I procrastinate. So I kept pushing off practicing the pitch. This left me underprepared and meant that I actually ran out of time during the pitching—something that has never happened to me before!
My first reaction was to feel ashamed and guilty. Looking back, I can see the learnings much more clearly. It helped me understand that in the majority of situations if you fail once, you can still correct the course. It also made me realize that my perfectionism is what caused the failure. If I had just sat down and practices instead of panicking or feeling guilty for being underprepared, I would have been successful.
In a world of fast-paced startups and digital products, I know now that the surest path to success is to repeatedly, frequently ship B+ work. Shipping A+ work unreliably—letting those perfectionist tendencies take over—will cause you to fall behind.
I struggle with perfectionism still, and so I’m frequently looking to refill my toolbox with new strategies for keeping my eye on the prize. Here’s what I found this week:
How to fight the urge to make it perfect 💪
👉 How to Overcome Perfectionism by Anxiety Canada
Top Takeaways: Perfectionism manifests in different kinds of thinking. For some, it might look like “anything less than perfect is failure” while for others it might sound like “my boss will think I’m lazy if I take a few sick days.” Depending on what kind of thinking involved, certain tactics might help to keep perfectionism at bay.
👉 10 Ways to Manage Imposter Syndrome by Generation Women
Top Takeaways: Focus on others and the outcome/impact of your work. When we become obsessed with how “perfect” our work is it’s because of how we worry people will view us. By focusing on others or how our work benefits others, it can help stop the worry cycles.
👉 Tiara Syndrome: How to Stop it From Ruining Your Career by Rashida Tayabali
Top Takeaways: If you’re managing someone who struggles with perfectionism or Imposter Syndrome, you may want to have a proactive conversation with them on when/where they feel comfortable being recognized for their achievements. That way, they are more likely to acknowledge them and take the praise on board.
📰 News from Bunch
I was so inspired this week by a story a Bunch team member, Hannah, shared on LinkedIn. It was about her struggles with perfectionism and how she works to overcome it.
I’m always in awe of the vulnerability and feel so so so lucky to be working with such talented and inspiring people. Join the conversation with Hannah on perfectionism below!
Hannah is running our Teams at Work community, btw, which you should absolutely join, if you have not yet. It’s free and awesome:
Tips from the Bunch AI Coach:
This week‘s tip “Leave Perfectionism at the Door” will help you overcome that voice in your head telling you that perfect is better than done!
Remember to ship frequent, B+ work this week!
Darja
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