Finding work/life balance in today’s busy and highly competitive world could never be described as easy. For most perfectionists, however, it is downright impossible. I see this play out every day when I'm working with busy web and marketing managers who have huge To Do lists and virtually no personal lives.
Although many people tend to think of being a perfectionist as a positive thing, true perfectionism can be extremely counterproductive. Not only does the need to attend to every last little detail waste unnecessary time and lead to tasks and projects taking MUCH longer than they need to, but it typically means that perfectionists end up allowing work to eat into their own personal leisure time. And even worse...once the job is finally complete, the perfectionist may feel that he or she has not completed it well enough, leading to intense feelings of frustration and low self-esteem. This can lead to a downward spiral of negativity and a lack of motivation at work and at home.
Striving for excellence is something that can benefit ourselves and our employers, but there is a world of difference between this and trying to achieve the impossible. As human beings, we are not built to be perfect; trying to achieve perfection is a certain road to unhappiness. By all means give everything your best shot, but know when to stop because your best really is good enough!
If you're a perfectionist and you're trying to do too much or get everything PERFECT in your web site or online marketing initiatives, it's time to sit back, take a deep breath and...LET IT GO.
Strive to remember the Pareto Principle--basically aim for 80% perfection and don't sweat the other 20%. There will ALWAYS be something that you can do better with your web site and online marketing campaigns: more content that you can write, more pages that you can add to your site, more marketing campaigns that you can run...but do your best and aim to do just ONE thing at a time (and do it well!). When you free your mind of clutter and focus, you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish. Complete that single thing well, and THEN move on to the next thing on your list.
Until next time,
Lisa Kirschner
Managing Editor, Content 911
Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.