Perfectionism and Procrastination

1. Perfectionism and Procrastination • David Nicholson

2. What is Purfekshonisem? • “Perfectionists... live in a constant state of anxiety about making errors. They have extremely high standards and perceive excessive expectations and negative criticisms...” • Some of these standards are really placed on the students and some are inflicted internally. • Perfectionism vs. Pursuit of excellence. (Adderholdt & Goldberg, 1999 pg. 6)

3. Perfectionism and the Gifted • Fear of Failure: This is the feeling that is brought on by not living up to your expectations. Without learning that failures are opportunities to better yourself, you end up taking on less challenging tasks so you will not fail. (i.e. Not taking an honors class when you know you will get an “A” in a regular class.) • Fear of Success: This is the feeling that is brought on by not living up to other’s expectations. These two are extremely similar. The higher you are the more you have to loose. If you do well, that is what people will always expect of you. (i.e. You succeed in school spelling bee and are then invited to continue to the regional level. You decide it is better to stop while ahead and decline the invitation.) (Galbraith & Delisle, 1996)

4. Typical Perfectionist Thinking in Famous People • “I have offended God and mankind because my work didn’t reach the quality it should have.” — Leonardo da Vinci • I think most of the people involved in any art always secretly wonder whether they are really there because they are good—or because they’re lucky.” — Katherine Hepburn • The Gettysburg Address was “a flat failure.” — Abraham Lincoln • “I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.” — Marie Curie

5. Dangers of Perfectionism • Damaged Minds: Your mood is determined by your achievement. You minimize successes and maximize defeats. You can’t forget failures and worry about future opportunities to fail. You put goals first over thoughts of others and yourself. You think it is all or nothing. • Damaged Bodies: You tend to run yourself into the ground by neglecting others in your life as well as your needs like sleep and eating. You create stress in your work environment. The impulse to take caffeine and more serious drugs in order to perform is a constant temptation or reality. A perfectionist mentality can be turned to self image and lead to eating disorders. Feelings of worthlessness due to not living up to expectations can lead to self-harm. • Damaged Relationships: You can be too critical of others. You look for the perfect partner, whether it be in a friend or a spouse. You overcommit to things and miss out on relationships. You tend to expect perfection from your family, which makes mistakes the faults of others and not to be owned by you. (Adderholdt & Goldberg, 1999)

6. What can be done? • As a teacher, we must demonstrate that it is ok to struggle throughout the learning process. The students must be presented with work that requires actual effort on their part. Help show that creativity comes by brainstorming through failed ideas until reaching the best answer by taking them through this process. • Students need to learn to fail by admitting vulnerabilities and accepting that they will not attain perfection. • Finding a system to combat thinking that will hinder success. This may be where an educator can help. Creating a process or step-by-step guide will help individual children succeed. (Winebrenner, 2001)

7. What is Procra • 1 out of 4 people would say that they are procrastinators. This raises to 3 out of 4 when college students are in question. (Espeland & Verdick, 2008) • True procrastination is a habit. This means that the person has learned to do this action as a default without thinking about it. (Espeland & Verdick, 2008) • “There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it.” — Andrew Jackson

8. Dangers of Procrastination • Without prioritizing events or work loads they can pile up which can cause stress. This can lead to rudeness or short temperedness, missing out with friends and family, and emotional meltdowns. • When time runs out, if someone is not able to complete the assignment, they will start to receive lower or failing marks. This may cause an individual to create a different opinion of themselves. (Espeland & Verdick, 2008) • However, when the individual receives success in a time of procrastination, it can reinforce this behavior and encourage it in other areas of their life. Knowing, “it all works out in the end” may eventually lead to failure when the task is too big to handle. This can be detrimental when the task is very important.

9. What can be done? • First, the problem behind the procrastination must be identified. • Do you hate the task? The solution is simply to charge ahead and get it over with or else it will continue to sit on the to-do list. • Does the task stress you out? Take the task and split it into bite-sized pieces. This will show progress and encouragement. • Are you too exhausted for the task? Figure out when you function best and schedule time to work on the task during that time. • Are you too indifferent when it comes to the task? Create an external motivator to accomplish the task. (i.e. reading textbooks with candy/chocolate) • Are you not planning ahead when it comes to the task? When given a big task, start by tackling it in a long-term plan with check points. (Espeland & Verdick, 2008)

10. Perfectionism & Procrastination • Procrastination is most common among the gifted when it is initiated by perfectionism. • If you don’t start a project, then you will not have a chance to do poorly on it. • If you don’t hand it in then you will not be evaluated on what you have done. • Starting too many projects can become an excuse. (“If only I had time, I could do amazing things with all of these!” (Adderholdt & Goldberg, 1999; Espeland & Verdick, 2008)

11. Activity Time!Perfectionism Quiz (1 pg. 2)Procrastination Assessment (2 pg. 13)

12. References • Adderholdt, M., & Goldberg, J. (1999). Perfectionism what's bad about being too good? Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. • Espeland, P., & Verdick, E. (2008). See you later, procrastinator! (Get it done). Minneapolis, MN: Free spirit publishing. • Galbraith, J., & Delisle, J. (1996). The gifted kids' survival guide a teen handbook. Minneapolis, MN: Free spirit publishing. • Winebrenner, S. (2001). Teaching gifted kids in the regular classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free spirit publishing.