subject: Overpromise, Under Deliver And Perfectionism [print this page] You basically understand the kind of competition you are in. You are not the only one who's doing the business you have right now. There are thousands of them. So for every opportunity that passes your way, you always nod your head "Yes, sir, I can do it." There's definitely nothing wrong in taking responsibilities. Clients, after all, would love to work with people who can accommodate their requests immediately. It makes them truly special. In the end, your hard work will be rewarded properly with an increase in your pay, performance bonuses, or more work for you.
On the other hand, when you have too many things to accomplish at one time, you are motivated to always work hard and meet their expectations. But if you're going to look at it closely, there's a huge possibility that you're going to have so much on your plate. You will end up feeling so stressed, and thus, you will be taken away from your main focus, which is to finish the most important tasks available. It's okay to say no sometimes, especially if it means you don't want to sacrifice the quality of your work. As they say, it's always better to say less and do more.
Perfectionism
Everybody wants to put his/her best foot forward. After all, your name is on the line here. Yet, there's a thin borderline between doing things effectively and doing things obsessively. There's still such a thing as perfectionism, which, in turn, could damage your time management habits.
Time thoughts considers perfectionism as a very bad approach to work as it can steal whatever time and energy you could be saving to something else. You are investing on something whose results will still be the same if you just avoid yourself from trying to be perfect. Constantly changing the fonts of your presentation, arranging and re-arranging the meeting venue, or even adding graphics or animation to your report don't really add substance to your job. Worse, you're just wasting your time.
The first thing you need to do when you're tempted to go beyond what is asked of you is to ask yourself this question: Will this idea add more value or significance to what I did? If your answer is no, then there's no reason for you to waste your time and energy with doing something more. Proceed to the next task.
