The Problem with Perfectionists

Here's the problem with perfectionists:  They see the world as a 2 dimensional chart, with the "level of perfection" running along the X axis, and the "effort" running along the Y axis, like the diagram to the right.

But what the perfectionist fails to see is that there is a third axis - time.  Time is our most precious resource.  We are all given a short time to do our thing on this planet, and being a perfectionist cheats you of the ability to work on all the things that have to get done.

What the chart *really* looks like is more like the second image, at right, with the Z axis representing time.  And by definition, being a perfectionist means you are using up a lot of your time... how ironic that the perfectionist is very much an imperfect user of time, the most precious resource any of us have.

So instead of trying to make something "perfect", just make it good enough to get the job done, and spend the time you would've spent perfecting it on something else.  (See my related post on the 80/20 rule.)

And by "good enough" I don't mean substandard or sub par.  I think most of us know when we're being perfectionists... it's kind of like the Supreme Court's definition of pornography.... it's hard to describe, but you know it when you see it.  Especially if you have a history of being a perfectionist, you'll know when you are overdoing something.  So just make yourself stop and use that time to focus on something else that needs to get done.

Here's the problem with perfectionists:  They see the world as a 2 dimensional chart, with the "level of perfection" running along the X axis, and the "effort" running along the Y axis, like the diagram to the right. But what the perfectionist fails to see is that there is a third axis - time.  Time is our most precious resource.  We are all given a short time to do our thing on this planet, and being a perfectionist cheats you of the ability to work on all the things that have to get done. What the chart *really* looks like is more like the second image, at right, with the Z axis representing time.  And by definition, being a perfectionist means you are using up a lot of your time... how ironic that the perfectionist is very much an imperfect user of time, the most precious resource any of us have. So instead of trying to make something "perfect", just make it good enough to get the job done, and spend the time you would've spent perfecting it on something else.  (See my related post on the 80/20 rule.) And by "good enough" I don't mean substandard or sub par.  I think most of us know when we're being perfectionists... it's kind of like the Supreme Court's definition of pornography.... it's hard to describe, but you know it when you see it.  Especially if you have a history of being a perfectionist, you'll know when you are overdoing something.  So just make yourself stop and use that time to focus on something else that needs to get done.

Could the 80/20 Principle be Wrong?

When I started this blog in 2006, my first post was about my belief in the 80/20 principle, also known as the Pareto principle.

I've lived my entire entrepreneurial career with the 80/20 rule as a guiding principle, and it's served me very well.  As an entrepreneur, you simply can't put all of your time into everything, so putting 20% into any one thing and reaping 80% of the benefits is a very time-maximizing way to live.

But over the past 2 years at PointAbout, I've begun to feel like it's also limiting, but I haven't been able to put my finger on exactly how.  Part of what I've been feeling I expressed in my Nov 2009 post on ABBA, which, as my co-founder Sean Shadmand puts it, is really just the thought that you have to be focused on what you're unfocused on (read the whole post if that doesn't make sense).

What's been gnawing on me is more than just a focus on preventing ABBA, though.  I've been wondering what's truly possible with extreme focus.

This very insightful post on "Why the 80-20 Rule is Wrong" by David Wurtz just put me over the edge.  I'm becoming a believer.