Go Unstuck Yourself – Overthinking Is Boring and Perfectionism Is a Trap

Every creative student or professional knows the scenario: a deadline looms, yet you’re staring at a blank page, brain buffering. Instead of diving in, you’re caught in a spiral of overthinking every detail and insisting on the “perfect” start. You might tell yourself you’re being diligent, but hours pass, and that page is still blank. Sound familiar? The truth is, overthinking isn’t noble or productive - it’s exhausting. It drains your energy and enthusiasm, often leading nowhere. And that perfectionism you’ve worn as a badge of honour? It might be tricking you into procrastination.

The Trap of Perfectionism (and Why Society Falls for It)

In our culture, perfectionism is often praised. High standards and flawless results are celebrated in school and the workplace. You might even brag in interviews that your biggest flaw is “being a perfectionist” or “caring too much”. But here’s the irony: perfectionism is a trap. It looks like excellence, but it’s a sneaky form of procrastination driven by fear. Psychology experts note that perfectionism is procrastination in disguise - a way to cope with fear of failure.

We delay starting (or finishing) our work, telling ourselves we’re “polishing” or “planning,” when in reality we’re afraid it won’t be good enough to meet those sky-high standards we’ve often set ourselves.

I see this in my students all the time. They’ve been told “never settle for less than your best,” so they wait…and wait…for the perfect idea or the perfect moment to begin. Perfectionism is “la-de-da procrastination” - a fancy-sounding excuse not to act. We fuss over trivial details to avoid the scary part: actually creating something that might not turn out perfectly. The result? Nothing gets done. Overthinking keeps us in idle, spinning mental wheels but going nowhere. And for high achieving students this is debilitating. But it doesn’t stop there. When perfection isn’t instantly achievable, many students fall into self-sabotage. I often see an all-or-nothing mindset kick in. If they can’t come up with the best idea straight away, they decide it’s not worth trying at all. One late start turns into avoiding the task completely. A wobbly first draft becomes a reason to give up. This kind of thinking isn’t laziness - it’s protection. If you never finish, you never have to face the possibility of falling short. But in avoiding ‘failure’, they also avoid progress.

Overthinking Is Boring (Action Is Better)

Overthinking is boring, stressful and tiresome – it sucks the joy out of the creative process. Instead of playing with possibilities or experimenting, you’re stuck replaying fears and what-ifs. So, I encourage my students that doing anything, even if it’s terrible, is better than nothing. An imperfect piece of work that exists beats a perfect one that only lives in your head. As author Anne Lamott famously said, “Perfectionism will keep you cramped and insane… and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft.”

In other words, chasing perfection kills progress.

The exciting parts of creative work - the discovery, the aha! moments, the happy accidents - only happen once you start. Taking action, even a small step, breaks that dull mental loop. It gives you new material to work with. Many great creatives iterate through ‘bad’ ideas to get to good ones. So, the next time you catch yourself overthinking, remind yourself that overthinking is the enemy of creativity. Action, even a tiny imperfect step, is what leads to inspiration and improvement.

The Hidden Struggles of High Achievers

On the outside, high-achieving students and perfectionist professionals often appear to have everything under control. They get good grades, produce quality work, and make it all look effortless. Because they’re coping on the surface, their struggles often go unnoticed. Teachers, parents, and managers think, “They’re doing great,” so they pile on more expectations. Meanwhile, underneath the polished exterior, there can be crippling anxiety and pressure. I’m guilty of reminding high-achieving students that they are ‘talented, capable and destined for great things” but realise now that has the potential to heighten the pressure to succeed.

I’ve taught students who were at the top of the class at school yet secretly stayed up until 3 AM rewriting an essay five times or tearing up draft after draft. One student, “M,” always submitted pristine work and kept a smile on her face. No one realised she was having panic attacks every time an assignment was due. High achievers like M become experts at masking their stress. Unfortunately, this means they rarely get the help or compassion they need. Their teachers and peers assume “all is well,” which only makes these students feel more isolated in their anxiety.

What often goes unnoticed is that these high-achieving students, the ones who expect and demand excellence from themselves, sometimes underperform in creative disciplines - not because they lack talent, but because they struggle to let go. They equate effort with control, spending hours revising and refining, assuming that more time guarantees better results. But in creative subjects, this mindset can backfire. Design and creative thinking require play, risk, and a willingness to explore bad ideas in order to find great ones. Without space to experiment, they block the very process that leads to originality. In trying so hard to be perfect, they unintentionally prevent themselves from producing their best work.

Over time, this pressure-cooker situation can lead to burnout, depression, or that paradoxical “lazy” procrastination that stems from being overwhelmed. It’s a hidden crisis. The takeaway here is that just because someone looks like they’re “fine” doesn’t mean they are. High achievers need emotional support and permission to be human (i.e. imperfect) just as much as anyone else. There’s nothing shameful about finding things hard. Facing that truth is the first step to getting unstuck.

Real Stories: From Paralysis to Play

Let me share a couple of experiences from my teaching and mentoring that show how escaping the perfectionism trap can lead to breakthroughs.

Story One: I recently had an advertising student who was so anxious about a project that she couldn’t even begin. Every time she sat down to start, she froze. The pressure to produce something “great” was so overwhelming that it stopped her from putting anything on the page at all. In a mentoring session, I challenged her to do something ‘radical’: set a timer for 5 minutes and create the ugliest, messiest version of her idea possible. No polishing. No overthinking. Just make something deliberately bad. She hesitated, then agreed. With the clock ticking, she started drawing without judgement. She only needed 30 seconds. The result was chaotic but perceptive – and exactly what we needed. In that mess, we spotted a few interesting elements to build on. But more importantly, she broke the paralysis. By removing the pressure to be perfect and treating it like play, she found a way to move forward.

 Story Two: In another instance, a high-achieving writing student, “J,” had become completely overwhelmed by his own thinking. He’d done so much research, so many outlines, and generated so many possible directions that he didn’t know which one to follow. The deeper he went, the more stuck he felt. Paralysed by too many options, he couldn’t decide where to begin. To help him, I introduced the One Sentence Reboot – a simple exercise to break the mental traffic jam. I asked him to pause and complete this sentence: “The main point of my project is…” He paused, thought for a moment, then answered. That one sentence became an anchor. It gave him something solid to hold onto and helped strip away the noise. From there, he began writing with more clarity and confidence. By stepping back and simplifying, J saw that creative work doesn’t always need more - sometimes it needs less. The end result wasn’t perfect, but it was focused, thoughtful, and something he felt proud to hand in.

 The common thread in these stories is the power of playfulness and permission to be imperfect (much like saying that sentence out loud - go on, try it, right now, on the bus). When you approach work as an experiment, you give yourself the freedom to fail and try again. This playful mindset isn’t just for students - many creative professionals use it, too. Teams at innovative companies brainstorm ridiculous ideas in meetings on purpose because they know one silly thought can spark a genius solution. No one gets to a great final product in one flawless go. Messiness and mistakes are part of the process. Once you truly internalise that, you start working with less fear and more curiosity. You move forward instead of staying stuck. In other words, even the golden goose must have laid a shit sometimes.

Get Unstuck: Shift Your Mindset with a Practical Guide

Breaking the cycle of overthinking and perfectionism is easier with the right strategies. To help more people put these ideas into practice, I’ve compiled a short guide called “Go Unstuck Yourself.” It’s essentially a toolkit to reset your mindset when you feel blocked. The guide is organised by the stages of a project, so you can jump to whatever you need in the moment.

• Stuck at the start? You’ll learn a quick tactic to overcome procrastination and perfectionism that kick in before you even begin.
• Lost in the middle? There are tips to regain focus and clarity if you get overwhelmed halfway through. These help you sort through the chaos and find the next step when you’re drowning in ideas or information.
• Struggling to finish? You’ll discover ways to silence self-doubt and push through to the end, even when that inner critic starts screaming loud

Each section of the guide includes a few simple exercises and mindset shifts. You don’t have to do them all, even one technique can get you moving again. The guide is meant to be your friendly companion whenever stress, self-criticism, or overthinking creep in and paralyse you. These exercises may not seem like much - they may even feel trivial - but recognising when someone is struggling, especially a high-achieving student who often goes unnoticed because they appear to be coping, can make a massive difference. Download the “Go Unstuck Yourself” guide. Consider it a permission slip to try a different approach next time you feel blocked and if you work in education and recognise the symptoms of perfectionism, please share with your students.

Remember: being stuck is optional. With a little practice in embracing imperfection, you can conquer that blank page and rediscover the exciting, rewarding side of your work.

Download 'Go Unstuck Yourself' Guide - your creativity is waiting on the other side of fear.