Did You Know Perfectionism Is Another Word for Procrastination?

A coach told me she's got writer's block. "I promised clients my book would be available in January, but I'm stuck. It's embarassing. I'm supposed to be an expert on Imposter's Syndrome and I'm guity of it myself. All I can think about is what if people don't like it?"

I told her, “If there's anything I've learned in 20 years of helping people get their stories and insights into the world, it's that done is better than perfect."

"I agree with that. I just don't know how to overcome all these doubts."

I told her to write every day, no matter what, and to use these steps to overcome 3 P's that keep us stuck - Perfectionism, Pessimism, Procrastination. Hope you find them helpful.

Stuck? How to Overcome The 3 P's of Perfectionism, Pessimism, Procrastination

1. Put a launch date on the calendar. Simply said, if you don't have a date on the calendar your project will be out in the world, it's not going to happen. Once you have a date, you can reverse-engineer weekly deliverables so your project is about metrics, not mindset.

2. Pick a starting place. General Patton said, "If you don't know WHERE to start, you DON'T start." Presuppose you're going to have a 200 page book. This is just a starting point. It's not locked in, but it's better than being stuck because you don't know where to start.

3. Reverse-engineer your delievables. For example, decide each chapter will be 10 pages or less. 30-page chapters can feel like hard work. People may put the book down and never come back because they feel they're not making progress. Rewarded behavior gets repeated. Short chapters set up the Psychology of Completion. Readers are more likely to keep turning pages because they're completing something, which is a mini-reward. If you write 2 chapters a week, you can finish your manuscript in 10 weeks (that's by the end of this year.)

4. DO NOT NOT RE-READ WHAT YOU'VE WRITTEN. If you re-read what you've written, you'll re-write what you've written and at the end of a month, you'll have the same ten pages, and they won't necessarily be better, they'll just be different. Draft, then craft. The second you start judging your work, there goes the juice. Get it written, then get it right.

The coach said, "Really?! You're saying I shouldn't go back and edit my work?"

"Edit after you finish your first draft. If you edit while you go, you start second-guessing every line and FLOW goes out the door because criticism kills creativity. Your VOICE is in your first draft. If you don't let it come out and play, it will feel scolded and hide away."

She said, "Okay, I'll give it a try."

"Don't just give it a try, commit to it. Getting in a state of flow is about establishing and maintaining momentum. That's why progress beats perfection. Your book will come alive when you keep producing pages instead of halting forward progress by going back.

5. Talk yourself INTO - vs. OUT OF - completing your project. Instead of getting frustrated, "This is a waste of time," or indulging in doubts, "I'll never ge this done," pump yourself up. "I will always be GLAD I persevered and got this book out into the world."

6. Keep your project IN-SIGHT, IN-MIND. "It's easy to forget about your book when it's sitting on a shelf or tucked away in a file on your laptop because it's out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Instead, put a draft of your book cover where you'll see it every day so it stays top-of-mind. Every client of mine who posted a book cover on their frig has finsihed their book.

7. Go it TOGETHER instead of going it alone. New York Times bestselling author James Rollins told our Maui Writers Conference audience the only way he finished his first blockbust book - while running his own full time veterinary practice - was with the help of a writers support group at his local Barnes & Noble in Davis, CA. The accountability of supportive writing peers can be "oxygen to your soul" and keep you going in dark days.

8. Stop waiting for spare time. Do you know anyone who has "spare" time? Reframe what it means to write. Writing doesn't have to be at a desk, it can be done anywhere, anytime. Take a notebook with you everywhere you go. When an idea occurs to you, ink it when you think it. Whenever you're waiting, you could be writing. Use the OTTER.ai app (instant transcript for free) to jot thoughts when they're hot and turn your life into your lab.

The coach asked one more time, "I still worry it won't be perfect."

I told her, "You're right, it won't be perfect, however your stories and insights will be out in the world making a positie difference for people, and that's better than them residing in your laptop because you're still agonizing over getting every word right."

Tina Fey tells a marvelous story about this in her book Bossypants. She rushing to finish a skit at SNL and Lorne Michaels told her to wrap it up. She told him, ‘But it’s not ready.’

He laughed, ‘Tina, the show doesn’t go on because it’s ready. It goes on because it’s 11:30.’”

Exactly. It’s time to pick an 11:30 for your project. If you don’t, it may never get out the door, and that doesn't help anyone.

Pablo Picasso said, "The purpose of life is to find your gift. The meaning is to give it away."

The world needs more people willing to contribute their gifts, whether that's through writing, composing, drawing, painting or _____ (fill in the blank).

I promise, you will never regret completing and contributing your creative gifts, you'll only regret not doing it ... sooner.

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Sam Horn is CEO of the Intrigue Agency Her 3TEDx talks and 9 books have been featured in NY Times, on NPR and taught to Boeing, Intel, ASAE, Cisco, Nationwide, YPO. Want to join Sam's Finish Your Book This Year writing group? Contact [email protected]