Business Today – August 25, 2019

goal.” Your aim is to take “some of the pressure off yourself,”
says Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist and author
of The Healthy Mind Toolkit and The Anxiety Toolkit. Of
course, that’s easier said than done. But the fact remains, “if
you genuinely want to be a high achiever, you’re bound to do
some things imperfectly.” Here are some ideas of how to let
go of your penchant for perfectionism.

See the Big Picture
As any perfectionist will tell you, being perfect is not easy.
Your diligence “takes a lot of effort,” and your attention to
detail is “incredibly time-consuming,” says Plummer. Of
course, as a perfectionist you’re never going to aim for merely
adequate – nor should you. But you must also “recognise the
opportunity cost and time” of your behaviour. “Ask yourself:
Am I using my time wisely? Am I being productive?” He

recommends focussing on “maximising the impact” of your

work. “You can spend an extra three hours making a presenta-

tion perfect, but does that improve the impact for the client or

your organisation?” Boyes concurs. “Shift your mindset,” she

says. You’re going to be “less perfect about some things, so you

can concentrate on what’s important”. If you’re continuing

to tinker on an assignment that most others would consider

complete, try to “recognise that just getting it done” is a decent

goal. “There’s a point of diminishing returns” when it comes

to sweating the small stuff and nitpicking niggling details.

Adjust Your Standards

Managing your perfectionism also requires you to “calibrate

your standards”, says Plummer. Say, for example, you’re grind-

ing out an important memo for your organisation. He suggests

showing your efforts to a colleague or supervisor early in the

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