Why I am not a perfectionist

photo via flickr user Brandy

Sometimes there is a typo in my blog or I forget to do something or I make a mistake, but I have learned to let these things go. I try not to worry about being a perfectionist.

Of course this doesn’t mean I don’t proofread and do my best to avoid mistakes, but sometimes they just happen. In the beginning of my freelance career I was more concerned with little errors and slip ups. So much so that it would take me days to recover and I would end up beating myself up over being so careless. But with experience comes wisdom and the knowledge of when to let the little things slide and not sweat the small stuff.

I have come to accept that I’m not a perfectionist, and realize this is a trait that has allowed my business to grow. Here my reasons as to why letting go of the concept of “perfection” will get you further:

• Sometimes you just need to get stuff done

I have seen this happen time and again, when people are obsessed with getting something perfect… nothing actually gets done (at least not in a timely manner). While you should always take pride in your work and do your best, sometimes it’s better to just get it done right that to get it done perfect.

• Mistakes will happen

This may come as a shocker, especially to those type A personalities. But once you accept that sometimes mistakes happen you’ll be able to focus more energy on getting work accomplished. When owning your own business making sure you’re always moving forward is ultimately your main goal. Don’t cause your business do come to a standstill because you’re too busy focusing on unimportant details.

• “Perfection” is a waste of energy

Another reason I would never consider myself a perfectionist is because being a perfectionist can be a waste of energy. Not only does it take a lot of mind space to think about being perfect, but it can also be difficult to recover from mistakes. I can’t stress enough that even the best of us make mistakes, so you have to know how to recover quickly. Admittedly, I used to dwell on mistakes, but ultimately that would take up energy from work I could have been getting done.

For example, one time I got fired from a client because I made a mistake and rather than just moving on I spent a lot of time worrying about what I could have done better. And while learning from your mistakes is important, it’s also important to keep going after the mistakes are made. While I was busy worrying about a client that was no longer mine, I was neglecting the ones that were still giving me their business. You have to be able to bounce back quickly from mistakes so you don’t end up losing work.