When I was in college and doing research, I usually got things done "in time", but most things took me "a lot of time" to get done, and I always found myself disappointed with my progress. Even when I had a good product I was disappointed because it took me so long. Basically, perfectionism was a negative feeling that kept me from being happy with anything I did no matter how good it was, and that's not way I wanted to go through life. I wanted to be pleased with my results and had to learn a few things about the hardship of perfection.

Here's how perfection will get-in-the-way of your accomplishment:

#1. You will worry the task into a huge chore. If you're constantly thinking while you're doing other things that you should be working on your project, or you're going to have to start it soon, or if you don't get to it you'll never get it done - you will make it into an impossible task that makes you fearful of it. Once you've created fear around it, the task becomes unapproachable and much more difficult to get started.

#2. You will follow distractions. Distractions pop up because of looking for a good reason to avoid the task. This is why we get distracted and find other less important or less urgent things to do, because we fear failure. Observe distractions, excuses and your fear of failure. Notice that they're there, but don't give-in to them. Get back on a schedule to complete the job. If you follow a distraction, notice it, and tell yourself what you did and why. Don't beat yourself up about being distracted or for not getting the task done when you intended it. Be kind to yourself and start over again.

#3. You might do nothing. Fear of failure will stop you in your tracks, it will hold you back from personal success. It is mostly an imagined lie, something we conjure-up to keep us "safe hiding out in the cave".

Now that you know how perfection will keep you from completing your task, here are 5 hints for getting quality work done in less time:

Hint #1. Know what is most important and intend to accomplish it. Say to yourself, I will get this done. Imagine it completed. Make a list of steps toward completion and start step one immediately. What you fully intend, you will accomplish.

Hint #2. Plan when to start and when to finish. Schedule it, sit down to it, and it will begin to happen. Adjust the time requirement as needed. It's sometimes very difficult to correctly estimate how much time something will take, but at least have "plan A". If you have to go to "plan B", that's okay. You will increase confidence by knowing that you're working on it.

Hint #3. Concentrate fully on the task. I work in one and a half hour periods of time maximum and then give myself a break, but I find that I can concentrate fully for about that time. And some other points,

HInt #4. Celebrate your results. Celebrate what you accomplished at every step. Be your own cheerleader. "Yay! I got this first part done. Yay! I got this second part done".

Hint #5. This is the most essential tip; think about how your intention will make you and others happy. Rather than just getting it out-of-the-way, think about the good consequence it has. This will allow you to actually enjoy it, and fear and distractions will lose their power.

These few points help me with my perfectionism all of the time. I hope they will help you put your perfection aside, and get quality work done in less time. Don't forget to celebrate!