Perfectionism is a productivity killer

I was never the student who aimed for a perfect 10 on exams. Not because I didn’t care about learning, but because I quickly realized that the extra effort to reach perfection wasn’t always worth it. Instead, I focused on the essentials, aiming for a 7 or 8, which allowed me to enjoy my free time without compromising satisfactory results.

Years later, I found scientific support for this intuition in Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s book Tiny Experiments. She explains how implementing “strategic mediocrity” can actually lead to long-term excellence. By prioritizing long-term sustainable success over short-term rewards, we protect our mental health by reducing the pressure of perfectionism.

If this philosophy resonates with you, here are three tips that can help you put it into practice:

Better done than perfect. How many times have you postponed something in an endless pursuit of perfection? Define a “ready-to-ship” state before you start or set a strict time limit to work on the task.

Identify affordable errors. Nothing in the universe is perfect. The key is to determine which errors are acceptable, justifiable, or easy to fix so you don’t waste time on unnecessary refinements.

Find a balance between risk and reward. What 80% of the task will maximize expectations while ensuring you’ve spent the least amount of time possible? This is where efficiency meets impact.

Have you ever felt that perfectionism has held you back more than it has helped you?