Perfect is the enemy of done

Ever stared at an unfinished project, knowing you could make it just a bit better if you had more time? If you’re nodding along, welcome to the perfectionist’s club, where we try to overcome perfectionism in the most perfect way. We’re an odd bunch—masters of the almost-done, collectors of nearly-perfect drafts, and champions of the eternal work-in-progress.

The curse of being a perfectionist isn’t just about being meticulous—it’s about having a graveyard of brilliant ideas that never saw the light of day. Like that novel sitting in your drawer, that website redesign gathering digital dust, or that blog post that needs “just one more edit”. Sound familiar?

The perfectionist’s paradox

What do perfectionists have in common? They have very few perfect masterpieces to show. Paralysis by analysis is largely to be blamed for this. We spend too much time trying to perfect the work, because we have an ideal mental image of what we think the outcome should be, yet what we produce isn’t close to what we visualised.

Many of us wear perfectionism like a badge of honour, yet unfinished projects clutter our devices and desktops, and our notebooks are filled with ideas that never saw the light of day.

Breaking free from perfectionism

Good enough is always better than perfect, because with the former you put something out, but you have nothing to show for the latter. You might tell yourself that it’s there, it’s great, and it just needs the time for you to finally get about doing it.

The culprit? That pesky little voice in our head whispering “not good enough” every time we’re about to share something with the world. Here’s a little secret: people won’t know if it is good enough or not. Most people would only have a fleeting interest in your content, if they even noticed, and they don’t care whether you perfected it.

Those who care? It’s already good enough for them!

The 80% rule

Visualise your perfect work as 100%. Let yourself let go at 80%.

80% shipped today is better than 100% shipped six to twelve months later.

The beauty of the 80% rule is that it keeps you moving forward and boosts creative productivity. It’s like a creative conveyor belt—keep the work flowing, and something magical happens: you actually get better. Each good enough piece becomes a building block for the next one, and before you know it, your 80% today looks better than your 100% from six months ago.

Making it work

Strive to give your best. If your first attempt is above 80%, it is good to go. If it isn’t allow yourself a couple of rounds to polish it to 80%. Stop once you hit 80% and move on.

This allows us to complete more tasks. By putting out more writing, drawings, or any time of creative output, we are training ourselves. The more we practice, the closer we come to our illusion of perfection. What we don’t realise is that our level of perfection rises as our skills develop and we grow as creators.

Perfection is constantly changing

Perfection is a moving target and it constantly lies far away. Your standards rise as you grow, and your definition of perfect keeps going up. In rare cases, perfection comes within reach, but it will move again. If our ideal of perfection remains stagnant, then we need to take a step back and look for why our bar hasn’t increased as we grow and improve.

Done is better than perfect, shipping is better than sitting, and starting something new is better than endlessly polishing something old. Give yourself permission to be good enough, and watch how much more you accomplish.

Ready to overcome perfectionist tendencies? Start with your next project: aim for 80%, ship it, and move forward.