I struggle to get started sometimes. I don’t think it’s perfectionism. But I’ve realised it may be what I’ve decided to call “craftsmanship”. Here’s my thinking…
I’ve been trying to figure out something about how my brain works with tasks in my personal/home life that I get stuck on.
I don’t think this is much of an issue at work, but I’m sure some of what I’m thinking applies there too.
This thinking was been really hard to pin down until, this week, I saw the word “craftsmanship” and it got me wondering…
Getting started
The thing I struggle with at home is getting started on certain types of tasks.
These can be downright trivial (writing Christmas cards) or huge undertakings (renovate the bathroom!).
I am smart, and I know how to organise things. I am terrible with certain things (DIY!!!) but not all of the things that I struggle to start are things that I’m bad at.
Perfectionism?
It’s on the post title, and I’ve often wondered if it is perfectionism that stops me getting started. Is it that I don’t want to start because I know I will want the thing to be perfect?
Would it be easier to get started if I lowered by standards?
High standards can be a good thing. But you can take them too far. This is the curse of perfectionism.
But I’m not a perfectionist. When it really matters, I can be. But there’s loads of things that I’m totally happy to call done when they are not actually finished.
So I really don’t feel like I’m a perfectionist, or the “completer-finished” type. Not at all the latter, in fact!
Craftsmanship?
What I realised in the last few weeks as I stumbled through my Christmas preparations is that I do care about what I do.
- I care that presents are actually things that people would want to receive and won’t be things that they already have or will get from someone else.
- I also care that presents aren’t wasteful and are high-quality and will last or do their job well.
- I care about cards too. I like to write a personal message in my cards thanking people for their presence in my life or remembering and celebrating something that happened in the year.
- I care that my kids enjoy the holidays.
- I care that the food is good, that everyone likes their Christmas meal, and that there isn’t too much waste.
- I care about holiday travel. I time it to avoid busy roads, I like to pack the car properly to fit as much in as we can, and I want the kids to be happy and entertained while we are away.
There’s a lot to care about.
And I DO care. Not to the point of absolute perfection or completion, but I want to do a good job of the things that I do.
I am a craftsman. With my code and work. With my writing and gifting. With my parenting. With my travel. Heck, I’m a craftsman with my washing up, and my dishwasher stacking, and my recycling, and my laundry-hanging-outing!! (OK, you all think I’m super-annoying now, right?)
I don’t like things to be sloppy and not thought out.
And that’s a trait that I embrace and am proud of.
Getting things done
As I’ve said, I don’t think this trait is perfectionism: I’m still flexible and adaptable.
But I do think it stops me getting started sometimes, because I can’t see how to do a good job, and I don’t want to do a bad one.
How do you get past that to get things done though? Perfectionism strikes me as irrational. I MUST do everything… just… BECAUSE… all the things must be done!!!
But craftsmanship is more rational: I want to do a good job of this because if I do a bad job there are consequences that I can see.
Or in some cases: There’s no point doing a sloppy job of this, you might as well not do it at all. But I seem to be expected to do it. And if I am going to do it I’m going to do it well. (This is the case with Christmas cards. What is the point of just “Dear X Merry Christmas from Y”? Just sent a text message. Send the same one to everyone and be done with it in seconds and without all the manufacturing, transport, cost and emissions. Bah humbug!! But also, no. If I’m going to pay for a card and a stamp it’s going to be meaningful, and I’m proud of that!!)
So I either don’t start these things because I simply don’t know how to do them to the standard that I would like. Or because the job is too big if I do it well, and not worth doing badly so I tend towards the not doing.
I don’t actually have an answer yet to the question of how to get past this. But I had had the realisation of the distinction between craftsmanship and perfectionism and wanted to get my thoughts about it down.
I’m sure that’s very unsatisfying for the reader? But I’m also hoping that it speaks to the non-perfectionist in me!
Perhaps you relate?