How to overcome perfectionism without lowering your standards
完美主義 簡單步驟 讓你戰勝完美主義
Pursuing perfection in your work may seem noble. After all, many would attribute part of Steve Jobs' legacy to his refusal to accept anything short of perfection. But for the average professional, an unrelenting drive for perfection can create significant inefficiencies.
Perfectionism causes you to spend time on work that has little impact, particularly in three parts of your workflow:
1. Getting started on work
2. Reviewing and advancing others' work
3. Finishing work
To overcome these sinkholes of inefficiency, adopt some new practical tools:
Avoid empty-handed thinking
If you have a desire for perfection, you probably don't share your opinion until [it's] fully formulated.
To avoid getting stuck, avoid empty-handed thinking. Adopt some system for capturing what you're thinking at all times whether that be a notebook or a voice recorder. To overcome the psychological resistance to allowing ideas out of your mind, don't expect too much of your thoughts in their earliest forms.
Give feedback based on best practices, not preferences
If you have perfectionist tendencies, your team likely finds it frustrating for you to review their work. When giving feedback to your team, you may struggle to articulate what was wrong because your changes are driven more by a feeling than a clear gap between their work and expectations.
Info Cloud
Practice makes perfect. 苦練可以帶來完美
Hello, friends. Welcome to Info Cloud. Rex, have you ever heard the expression: Practice makes perfect?
Oh, yeah, I heard it all the time from my music teacher since I was really young. But I don't really believe it because nothing is perfect.
Well, "Practice makes perfect" is a saying that is used to encourage people to work hard at practicing some kind of skill. It's unusually said when someone is learning something new.
This expression implies that if you practice a lot, you will become really, really good at what you do. People say that all the time. It's nice to hear...
Rex, since you don't really believe in it, what do you believe?
I believe that practice makes permanent. It means that whatever you practice, either right or wrong thing, it will become a habit or you will get used to doing it all the time.
I see what you're saying. Sometimes we practice the wrong things, such as playing the piano the wrong way. Then you get used to it, and it gets really hard to correct later on.
Exactly. You know, this applies to learning a new language, too.
Oh, good point. Practice may not make perfect. But remember, students, keep working on your English because practice makes permanent.
今天要跟大家分享一個用語是西方人經常用到的 Practice makes perfect. 苦練可以帶來完美。這一句話通常是用來鼓勵年輕人在學習某種技能的時候，要勤奮練習，最後一定可以帶來很棒的成果。雖然這一句話不一定完全正確，因為沒有什麼事情是完美的。但 Practice makes perfect. 卻是一句非常正面積極的精神喊話。我自己是相信 Practice makes permanent. 練習會帶來長久的習慣，不管好或不好。例如，用錯誤的方法練鋼琴，也會帶來某種彈奏的習慣。
Language Lab
attribute v.認為是某人事物造成的；歸因於
/əˈtrɪˌbjuːt/
to say that (something) is because of (someone or something)
- Annette’s stomach bug was attributed to the street food she had eaten earlier.
Annette的腸胃不舒服歸因於她之前所吃的路邊小吃。
- The sales team’s failure to reach their goal was attributed to the team members’ lack of teamwork.
業務團隊沒有達標，歸因於隊員們沒有團體合作。
attribute v.. 歸功於、承認某作品的創造者
to think of (something) as being made or created by (someone)
- No one knew where the painting came from, but it was attributed to Picasso by some people.
沒有人知道那幅畫從哪來，但是有些人認為它是畢卡索的傑作。
attribute n. 屬性、特質
/ˈætrəˌbjuːt/
The office assistant doesn’t always do a perfect job, but his coworkers do appreciate his many attributes. 辦公室助理也許不一定做事完美，但是他的同事們很欣賞他的許多特質。
inefficiency n. 低效率、沒有效率
the lack of ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy : the quality or state of being inefficient
- The inefficiency of the customer service department drove a lot of customers crazy.
客服部的低效率讓很多顧客抓狂。
- One of the first things the new manager wants to figure out is the cause of his department’s inefficiency.
新經理想了解的其中一個首要事項，就是他的部門為何效率那麼低。
efficiency n. 效率
the ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy : the quality or degree of being efficient
- The boss praised his workers for their efficiency.
老闆稱讚他的員工的效率。
- That sales team is always number one in the company because of their efficiency.
那個業務團隊在公司裡一直是第一名，因為他們的效率高。
preference n. 偏好
something that is liked or wanted more than another thing : something that is preferred
- Our dinner choices are Italian, French, or Japanese; do you have a preference?
我們的晚餐可以選義大利料理、法式料理或是日本料理，你喜愛哪一個呢?
- I don’t know Valerie very well, so I wouldn’t know her preferences.
我不太認識Valerie，所以我不太清楚她個人的愛好。
prefer v. 比較喜歡、偏愛於...
to like (someone or something) better than someone or something else
- Delores prefers to stay at home on weekends.
Delores 比較喜歡在家裡度過周末。
- Most of the committee members prefer having the meeting at the beginning of the month.
委員會裡大部分的成員比較喜歡在月初開會。
articulate v. 表達清楚、清楚說明
/ɑɚˈtɪkjələt/
able to express ideas clearly and effectively in speech or writing
- Matthew was very interested in Sabrina, but he didn’t know how to articulate his feelings.
Matthew 對Sabrina很有興趣，但是他不知道如何對她表達他的感情。
articulate v. 咬字清楚、字正腔圓
clearly expressed and easily understood
- You need to articulate when you make an announcement over the intercom.
你透過內部通話設備宣布事情時，必須字正腔圓。
articulate adj. 很有口才、表達得很清楚
to express (something, such as an idea) in words
- The speaker was very articulate, and his information was very interesting.
演說家的口才非常好，他分享的內容也很有意思。
