Editing Procrastination (section)

=== Perfectionism ===
{{Main|Perfectionism (psychology)}}
Traditionally, procrastination has been associated with perfectionism: a tendency to negatively evaluate outcomes and one's own performance, intense fear and avoidance of evaluation of one's abilities by others, heightened social self-consciousness and anxiety, recurrent low mood, and "[[workaholic|workaholism]]". However, adaptive perfectionists—[[Egosyntonic and egodystonic|egosyntonic]] perfectionism—were ''less'' likely to procrastinate than non-perfectionists, while maladaptive perfectionists, who saw their perfectionism as a problem—[[Egosyntonic and egodystonic|egodystonic]] perfectionism—had high levels of procrastination and anxiety.<ref name="McGarvey">{{cite web|url=http://www.rps.psu.edu/sep96/almost.html|title=The Almost Perfect Definition|author=McGarvey, Jason A.|year=1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313153133/http://www.rps.psu.edu/sep96/almost.html|archive-date=2006-03-13|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a regression analysis study from 2007, it was found that mild to moderate perfectionists typically procrastinate slightly less than others, with "the exception being perfectionists who were also seeking clinical counseling".<ref name="Steel2007" />

Perfectionism is a common cause for procrastination because pursuing unattainable goals (perfection) usually results in failure.<ref>Hillary Rettig (2011). ''The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer's Block''</ref> Unrealistic expectations destroy [[self-esteem]] and lead to self-repudiation, self-contempt, and widespread unhappiness. To overcome procrastination, it is essential to recognize and accept the power of failure without condemning,<ref>James Prochaska, 1995</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Principles of ACT|date=October 2015}} to stop focusing on faults and flaws and to set goals that are easier to achieve.