Hey,<\/p>\n
A work ethic is the values that pride the ability to work hard. I’d
\nargue that perhaps more important than a work ethic is a completion
\nethic–or the values that pride the ability to complete things.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Many students I know (perhaps you as well) suffer from
\nperfectionism procrastination. That is, they never finish anything
\nbecause they are constantly doubting themselves on whether it is
\ngood enough to say, “Done!”.<\/p>\n
This perfectionism wouldn’t be too bad on its own, except that it
\nfosters a mean streak of procrastination. Not only do these people
\nstruggle to get things finished, they often procrastinate to avoid
\nthe lingering feelings of doubt about their abilities.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Defeating Perfectionism Procrastination<\/p>\n
The key to defeating this monster is to develop a completion ethic.
\nThat is, you need to start valuing and rewarding yourself for
\ncompleting tasks and projects–not just doing things perfectly or
\nup to high standards–but getting things finished.<\/p>\n
The first step in developing that ethic is simply to recognize that
\nbeing done matters. Yes–you can be sloppy and get poor results.
\nHowever, it’s far worse to delay serious work until a deadline
\nforces you to finish.<\/p>\n
The next step is to start organizing your life in ways that reward
\ncompletion.<\/p>\n
Weekly\/Daily Goals is an excellent system for this, since it
\nencourages you to close open loops and check-off any to-do list
\nitems. Instead of engaging in continuous work, you’re forced to
\nsee learning as a series of tasks from start to finish.<\/p>\n
The final step is to gain confidence in your ability and in your
\napproach.<\/p>\n
Since perfectionism procrastination often stems from doubt about
\nyour abilities, being more confident can be the remedy. The problem
\nis that true confidence isn’t easily obtained. You can’t just tell
\nyourself, “I’m confident,” and expect that to be a replacement for
\nthe real thing.<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, the best way I’ve found to overcome this problem is
\nby failing. Deliberately failing can help you overcome your
\ninhibitions about completing your work.<\/p>\n
Before anyone gets in a mess about getting expelled from school or
\nthat they need perfect grades to get into the university they want,
\nI’m not talking about failing your classes.<\/p>\n
Instead, I’m talking about failing in low-cost ways.<\/p>\n
For example–let’s say you’re writing an essay (a dreadful task
\nfor the perfectionist).<\/p>\n
One way you can build confidence here is by writing a terrible
\nessay. Punctuation and grammar will be bad. The thesis will be
\nmuddled. Your statements will lack proper citations.<\/p>\n
That’s now you’re first draft. Only after you’ve finished this step
\nshould you set a second goal to write a better essay.<\/p>\n
Another example–you’re working on an assignment. Deliberately doing
\npoorly on the assignment (but getting it completed) and following
\nit with a second step at refinement can help you overcome your
\nurge to procrastinate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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