Beating Perfectionism at the College Level

There once was a highly motivated individual at Carleton College. She loved Carleton so very much, and she was extremely eager to write about it. She wanted to be sure that the essays and projects she created reflected how much she had learned, so she spent more and more time “perfecting” the work she created. This desire extended to her Admissions Blogs, too.

On this day, she sat on 1st Libe, frantically typing words onto a Google Doc. She wrote a few sentences, then deleted them, wrote a few words, then deleted them. Click, clack! went her keyboard. Before she knew it, it was midnight, and she had not yet finished a single piece of homework or her Admissions Blog.

The next morning, she awoke early to finish her homework and Admissions Blog. However, instead of getting any meaningful work done, she laid in bed, scrolling mindlessly through endless Instagram Reels. She wanted so badly to get work done, but she felt paralyzed by her desire to turn in excellent work. Now she did not have enough time to create something she was proud of.

She was frustrated and confused. Why was she like this? How did she even get this far in life being like this? What can she do to manage her time more efficiently? How can she ever feel like the work she is creating is good enough?

If you’ve gotten this far into my cryptic confession about my struggles with perfectionism and procrastination, please read on to hear some thoughtful advice from people who have overcome similar struggles.

“Stop before you’ve finished.”

Wait, but stop and finished are synonyms! Yes, but they have slightly different connotations. Stop means that you end a task, but finished means you feel like you’re ready to end a task. For many students (like me and probably you!), stop and finish feel like they should occur at the same time.

However, my professor Seth Peabody disagrees. He thinks that in order to prevent the ruinous cycle of rewriting that plagues perfectionists, we should offer our work to another set of eyes before we feel like it’s ready. That other set of eyes can point out areas for improvement, but more importantly, things you’ve done well. 

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just hate everything I’ve written and want to scrap it all. That isn’t time-effective, though. By gaining another person’s honest insight about my work, I can more reasonably weigh the quality of my work.

Interrupting my work flow to talk something out with a classmate, professor, and/or Writing Consultant also interrupts my cycle of thoughts that say, “What you’re doing isn’t good enough.” By breaking free of those limiting thoughts, there is more space in my mind for creative thoughts about the subject matter. Then I can write something I’m proud of rather than being swallowed up by my own self-loathing.

“Perfection is the enemy of good.”

In striving for perfection, we lose out on high-quality work that serves its intended purpose. For example, the first version of this Admissions Blog that I wrote was sacrificed to the digital gods “Backspace” and “Delete.” It was a fine blog, but my desire to make it perfect, combined with the feeling that it was irredeemably awful, made me ax it all and start over.

And that…well, has put me behind schedule on my blogs. Extremely behind schedule. Because as soon as I gave into the feeling that my work wasn’t good enough, perfectionism’s equally evil twin, procrastination tackled me to the floor. Even though I wanted so badly to catch up, I couldn’t because I was afraid of the uncomfortable feeling of admitting I was behind. So, here I am now, writing blogs, versions of which I wrote and deleted weeks ago.

Aiming for perfection when good will do the job is a waste of time and energy. It also doesn’t feel very good. Trying your best, with the mental capability and energy you have in the moment, is the most we can offer. So why not offer it proudly and wholeheartedly?

“You are intrinsically valuable.”

At the end of the day, the thoughts that drive perfectionism are some version of “I am not good enough.” In my case, the thought is “Your Admission Blogs aren’t interesting enough.” Let’s all collectively agree that those thoughts are not true (and not because hearing you say my blogs are interesting would make me happy, though it would).

To say that we’re enough, that we can do things well, and that we are worthy of love and connection even if we get a C+ on a paper challenges fundamental societal assumptions. It is also an integral mindset to have in order to thrive at Carleton. It’s no secret that Carleton is a rigorous academic institution, and there will be times when you’re disappointed in the grade you’ve earned. But it is important to remember that such a grade doesn’t define you.

What defines you is actually incredibly difficult to put your finger on. I tentatively say that it’s an amalgamation of self-creating characteristics, including but not limited to, your actions, words, feelings, interests, hobbies, and more. They all combine into something that’s uniquely you, and oh so necessary in our world. After being at Carleton for a little while, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation of the phrase “It takes all types.” Carleton, and our world, wouldn’t be the same place without the senior who rides his unicycle around campus or the person who always orders an iced mocha at Sayles. The point is, no matter what anybody thinks about the essay or Admissions Blog you produce, you’re valuable. You’re not going to stop being valuable if someone doesn’t like your work.

Final Note

Well, that escalated into motivational speaker mode quickly. I hope that if you’ve read the entirety of this blog, you feel more empowered to tackle perfectionism and procrastination at the college level. Now, end the work you’re not finished with, quit fighting good, and remember that you are intrinsically valuable.

Lexi Wallace (she/her) is excited to be returning to Carleton as a sophomore. She works as an Admissions Blogger, Russian Teaching Assistant, and Writing Consultant. She plans on becoming a SOAN and Russian double major, but you’ll have to ask her what she ends up declaring in the spring. Her current obsessions are oat milk, NCIS, and Doc Martens.