Perfection or Completion?
We see the little things. We notice every brush stroke and every nuance. Our eye for detail is a component of our creative side. But sometimes we can miss the big picture.
With ADHD, we have the ability to hyperfocus, seeing things others miss. That can be a great asset in business – “Bravo! Very detail-oriented!” But keep it in check.
Combine our attention to detail, with our poor ability to notice time passing and you have the potential to turn that “Bravo!” into “Why can’t you meet deadlines?” I have always considered myself a perfectionist, but it took me forever to understand that sometimes getting the job done was equally important, if not more important.
There are times for perfection, times for speed and times when the job calls for both. Sometimes, we can’t allow our rigid adherence to perfection to stand in the way of getting the job done.
I’ve never really been able to keep this in check. However, what used to be a bad thing in school when it came to deadlines, has done nothing but helped me in the work-place. I’ve gotten that exact complement “You are wonderfully detail oriented”. This is probably why we might do better in things such as data-entry. I once had a temp job managing a bank account where my job was to go over forms and then balance out the daily numbers and make sure there were no mistakes. My bosses were always impressed that I hardly missed any mistakes.
Now, when it comes to what I consider my real job, my artwork, this is where my OCD and need for perfection becomes a problem. While I’m constantly striving to get better(which, in itself isn’t a bad thing), I’m always convincing myself that I’m not good enough yet. It’s like a constant roller coaster I can’t get off!
Artistic friends of mine sometimes used the guage of how much they are enjoying their art. If they feel fulfilled by what they are doing, then there is no limit as to where the development of their work may go. I can understand if there is a commercial aspect (time=money), then deciding when enough is enough must be more critical. If that is the issue you are dealing with, have you tried budgeting your time? You could look at your time and progress, and then decide if the room is there for additional time in improving aspects of the work.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Ali!
– Chris
Much of it has to do with actually DOING what I aim to do. I have several comic novels in the works, but have yet to actually sit and draw the comics themselves because I feel I’m just not good enough yet to, even though I have many people comment to the contrary.
Now that I’ve been doing 3D art, I absolutely love it and I can work 18 hours a day without blinking because I enjoy it so much! Sometimes I have to get scolded that I need to take a break!
I’m lucky that when it comes to my art, I’m my own boss, so there’s really no deadlines to work with other than the ones that I set for myself, and I’m usually pretty lax with those. *L* For productivity’s sake, though, my fiance makes sure that I get at least one sketch or idea done a day, and we go from there. He’s pretty imperative to managing my time and efforts and it’s working pretty well for us so far.
Good Post! I know a guy here in town, super ADHD and is like this and misses the big picture constantly!
But I can’t speak personally to this, Chris. My ADD-er was NOT detail oriented. Except that ONE Science test I told you about. Seriously. Can’t think of a thing. Except last year he DID make Cop of the Year, so he must have done a good job on all his paperwork, but having been in the juvenile court system myself as an advocate, I can tell you at least MY judicial district doesn’t have high standards regarding spelling/grammar on police reports. Just the facts, ma’am. Don’t know how detail oriented HIS cop-shop is. I’ll ask him next time he calls.
Amy