Procrastination & Perfection: The Two Ps That Keep Us Stuck

The last two years - especially after leaving my corporate job - have been an eye-opening journey. I've learned a lot about myself, particularly the emotional and psychological barriers I struggle with, the biggest one being procrastination. In a previous article, I talked about the emotional aspect of procrastination and my tendency to abandon tasks midway or after a few weeks, only to "start again" with the promise of staying consistent this time. The reasons for this cycle are many, but I've come to realize that the biggest culprit is not knowing exactly what I'll work on each day and how that will contribute to the bigger goal.

I know having a presence on social media is important, but there's a certain pressure to have everything figured out—your niche, your unique angle, and your contribution to a particular subject. If you're putting yourself out there, you’re supposed to know what you're posting about, and if you don’t, you should figure that out first before even starting. At least, that’s the unspoken rule I’ve now internalized. And for me, that perfectionism fuels procrastination. Even though my website and YouTube channel are still in their learning phase, I find myself obsessing over having the "perfect" topic before I can truly commit. The problem? I don’t fully know my niche yet.

In my previous article, I discussed the link between instant gratification and procrastination. Another layer to this is perfectionism. The solutions to these problems differ, but I believe the antidote to perfectionism, at least in my case, is specificity.

When I make vague plans for the next day, I often find myself avoiding the main task and instead tackling smaller, less important ones first—convincing myself that I’ll get to the real work "later." But later turns into tomorrow, and the cycle repeats. I’ve found that getting specific helps break this loop. Instead of writing “work on a newsletter article,” I will now plan to: “Write about the connection between procrastination and perfectionism from 12 PM to 1 PM on Sunday.” By identifying exactly what I’ll do and when, I plan to remove the friction of decision-making in the moment.

This shift has helped me. Case in point—I’m at the end of this article because I specifically wrote down that I’d finish it today. Of course, I still procrastinate. Just earlier, I caught myself opening tab after tab before deciding to cook instead—because hey, health is important, right? But specificity helped me get back on track, as I was determined to end the weekend feeling satisfied. As I mentioned in my previous article, research shows that people remember unfinished tasks better than completed ones, which leads to feelings of guilt and stress—something I definitely didn’t want for myself.

I want to practice consistency and develop a mindset where I’m okay with my website and channel being imperfect. But honestly? It’s hard. Still, I know that building something online is what I truly want. So here I am, starting again, trying again.

Maybe this will be the year?

Let me know your thoughts.

Shermeen ❤️