For those of us with anxiety issues, it is sometimes hard for us to get out of our heads to suppress our worrying thoughts and focus on the task in front of us. I have experienced this first-hand. My OCD tendencies allowed me to hyper-focus in the past, but as my anxiety ramped up into full-force the past few months, it has been harder and harder to focus. I am still battling with ways to suppress my emotions of not wanting to do certain tasks and just finish them. I often start the task but have anxiety about finishing. I realized my anxiety was not about finishing the task, but about finishing without capturing all the minute details and facts. My fear of not having a perfect finished product stopped me from finishing anything at all.

In order to get over this, you and I have to realize that it is okay for your product to not be perfect. It is better to get things done than for them to be completely right. Little mistakes can be corrected. Don’t be debilitated by your emotions, otherwise nothing will get started, finished, or accomplished. Instead you will be stuck in the same spot you’ve been idle in for far too long. As long as you move, you will progress. Not progressing means being stagnant, which should be feared more than being incorrect.

Having the ability to hyper-focus is a blessing and a curse. Realizing that sometimes you need to readjust your focus by broadening your scope can mean seeing things in a different light. Sometimes we get bogged down by the minutiae and that could leave us in a state of inaction. Try re-focusing on the big picture so that you can redirect your focus towards the tasks that will get your project completed. It may not be perfect, but try not to be too anxious about that. Progress is better than stagnation.