Perfectionism Is a Waste of Time

I used to be a perfectictism. Yeah, you read that right, I mistyped because of my possible dyslexia lol.

But when it came to artwork, or design work, or functionality, or deliverables, I used to get agitated if something wasn’t done right, or in the order, or in the way that I wanted it. The perfect alignments, symmetrical shapes and lines, and perfect distance…

I used to waste so much time on perfection, what a waste of time thinking back.

Good enough, let’s move on

Over the years, I learned to give most of it up. Still OCD? Yes I am, but with a guardrail to know when to say, that’s good enough, let’s move on.

And looking at how I approach it now, it had changed my life so much.

The problem is the time it can waste to get that extra little gain, which isn’t worth it, and the same time can be spent on something much more rewarding or of great value.

Misalignments can be a good thing

Even a misspelt word or a misalignment (as I wrote about, learning to see the world as cause and effect, and the probabilities of its shades) can actually be a good thing for marketing. It catches our attention, especially for those who also have some form of OCD, it gets your attention.

Waterfall falls and fails

Being fixated on doing things in one way was also a downfall. This is why a typical project management tool like waterfall falls and fails. It’s too rigid, and life isn’t like this. Again, even with Agile, which is about being more free and dynamic, I also wouldn’t opt for it.

A hybrid approach, and knowing where and when to use each of these tools. This is the Way.

These are all part of making good decisions: how to best approach a problem, and what are the right tools to use. You don’t want to use a sledgehammer to nail a small pin now, right?

Missing the golden timing

The biggest problem with perfectionism is that you may have missed the golden timing by the time it’s ready, as some products or services may have already matured and moved on to the next phase or stage of development.

So knowing when to draw that line and say, it’s good enough, let’s go and release it. This is why production or products have release updates and model numbers, so you can get it out there, test the water, and continuously refine it after release.

Striking that balance

I’ve learnt all these the hard way, lessons that won’t go away and could probably have been easily avoided, but sometimes my OCD gets in the way and it’s been a battle to become wiser.

But don’t get me wrong, being a perfectionist with OCD helps with quality control and ensuring things get done properly and right. It has its perks and uses. Striking that balance is the part that takes time, figuring out which matters more and when.

Get it out there

This is why one of the lessons learned as an entrepreneur is the ability to bootstrap MVPs (minimum viable products) quickly, or prototype, or build a concept. They aren’t supposed to be perfect, they are there for quick tests to ensure we don’t waste any more time.

It’s a few tricks some entrepreneur friends taught me. Throw shit at the wall and see which sticks. Only then, when you know what sticks, you may consider spending more time refining and improving it.

What that means in business terms: check there is a want and need, or a market for it, otherwise it’s a waste of money to pursue.

So whatever you build, get it out there and observe the response.