You keep striving for perfection. I’ll be getting things done.

I knew this guy named Paul.

Incredibly creative.
Saw things others didn’t see.
Violently passionate about his craft.

All this made Paul hyper-critical of his peers’ work. He always had criticism to offer, and usually it was constructive and on-target, even if it was rarely presented well. His own products were nothing less than spectacular. He produced work others could only dream of creating.

However, it took him forever to get anything done.

Paul worked for me at a fast-paced media outlet where producers were expected to complete numerous radio and TV projects per week.

He got like three projects done in the three years he was there. If a project wasn’t going well, he’d simply abandon it.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team was steady getting things done. No, their products weren’t perfect. A lot of them were rougher than any of us would have liked. Some of them left their producers feeling disappointed.

But the products were complete.

Create.
Deliver.
Learn.
Move on.

Paul was a victim of what Gina Hyatt calls the three P’s.

Perfectionism, procrastination, and paralysis — one often leads to the next, in a vicious cycle, especially on large, long-term projects with no clear deadlines.
Gina Hiatt, PhD, The 3 P’s: Perfectionism, Procrastination, and . . . Paralysis

I bet most people in creative jobs know someone like this.

They’re gifted.
They’re talented.
They’re blessed.

They’re cursed — and they’re slow.

Ever since I met Paul, I’ve been able to spot people like him. They settle for nothing short of perfection in everything they do. They do great work, when it works. When it doesn’t quite work, they abandon projects and critique other people’s work.

While we’re all getting things done.