Perfectionism - your best friend and your worst enemy

Best Friend

Perfectionistic tendencies drive us to do our absolute best. They keep us working long past when we want to quit. Perfectionism makes us strive for the A instead of settling for the C. We can accomplish great things when we ride the wave of perfectionism.

Worst Enemy

Perfectionism can also make us feel completely inadequate. No matter how hard we work, we will never reach perfection. It can be exhausting to continue striving for the impossible. Perfectionism can lead us to become hyper-focused on one or two aspects of our lives while we neglect others or create storms of guilt for not being able to do it all. Perfectionism can weigh us down and make it impossible to accept even our best efforts as good enough.

There’s a time and a place

Sometimes perfectionism is more helpful than others. In September, when classes were just starting to ramp up and you were working on your first assignments, perfectionism probably helped you to get off to a strong start and lay a solid foundation for the rest of the semester. When you have the time and energy to engage in perfectionism, it can produce amazing results.

Now that December is here, the time for perfectionism has passed. Finals week is looming and with it come more deadlines and assignments than you have seen during the rest of the term condensed into a shorter period of time. Proofreading each paper four times and studying for each exam until you know the material by heart probably isn’t an option right now. Perfection does not have a place on a college campus in December.

Letting go

December is a time for strategic planning and balancing of priorities. You may have to stop working on one assignment before it is up to your usual high standards so you also have time to finish an assignment for another class. It’s hard to let go and move on when you know you could do better if you had more time, but staying on top of multiple classes often requires this type of flexibility.

If you are a die-hard perfectionist, you may need to implement a draconian time management system this month. Breaking the major remaining tasks for each class down into bite sized pieces and putting them on your schedule with time limits for each one can do wonders for keeping you on track. Each assignment won’t be perfect when the time is up, but remember December is not the time for perfection.