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Old Aug 27, 2014, 03:07 PM
Anonymous100151
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Hi winterglen! I too am your kind of perfectionist... my dad would laugh if I said so, but I am a total procrastinator to the max! And it's all because of obsessing over the minute details...and anxiety over even beginning a project due to the need for it to be immaculate.
We deserve a place in the world. Those others, they aren't actually perfectionists: they don't cling to one thing, and therefore are able to move on to the next project.
A lot of creative people are like you and me. Just think of the term "Writer's Block." They don't have a term for math geniuses who are stopped up, or business moguls.
I don't think that you have to be an A+ student to deserve respect. In order to live well, however, you may just need help organizing your life! Some people are masters at it, whereas people like us need a little extra push.
Also, we need help letting go. Throughout college, I was good at writing, but never able to write a really fantastic paper, because I was so full of anxiety about even beginning it because it had to be perfect! Then, I ended up having no time to write, and handing in a shoddy paper full of grammar mistakes and citation problems, merely because I didn't have time to proofread. If I had been able to let go at first, and just allow myself to write no matter how bad, I would have had ample time to write a better paper, and proofread.
It sounds like you are over-stressed, and maybe stretching yourself thin, two things perfectionists tend to do. Maybe you need to take some projects off your plate. Make a list of priorities, and break them up into time slots each day. School and work come first, but don't forget to include small household duties. If your space is cluttered, give yourself even 5 minutes a day to declutter. 5 minutes of putting away clothes. 5 minutes of wiping the kitchen counter. 5 minutes to wash the dishes you just ate off of.
If you write down the next days schedule ahead of time, and try to follow it, you can make yourself get things done! You can even set a timer on your phone...
I know it's stressful and miserable, but you can get through this! Don't listen to what other people say! (**though I would advise against telling someone you're a perfectionist as an excuse for not getting work in...most likely they won't understand.**)
Thanks for this!
winterglen