Imperfect Action Against Procrastination
Advance meaningful work before control and perfection arrive
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 97%
Burkeman argues that one deep source of procrastination is reluctance to feel limited and imperfect. A project held in fantasy can remain flawless; writing, studying, or launching turns talent, complexity, reception, and failure into real uncertainties. The response is not to remove that discomfort but to accept that imperfect execution is guaranteed and take an action that brings the work into the world. Watch especially for displacement activities—email, finances, desk rearranging, or attempts to clear every deck—that create a feeling of control without advancing what matters most. Start the meaningful action before control arrives, use deadlines when helpful, and judge improvement against your earlier behaviour rather than an imaginary perfect performer. Burkeman presents this as his thesis and experience, while acknowledging that procrastination has multiple possible causes.
Origin
Extracted from The Diary of a CEO
Core principles
- 01Keeping a project imaginary keeps it apparently perfect
- 02Real action exposes limitations and uncertainty
- 03Imperfection is unavoidable when work enters the world
- 04Control-producing admin can displace meaningful progress
- 05The decks will never be completely clear
How to run it
- 1
Name the avoided feeling
Identify whether failure, success, criticism, complexity, or lack of control is making the project safer to imagine than to perform.
Watch out Do not claim one explanation covers every person's procrastination.
- 2
Spot displacement work
List the admin, inbox, or tidying activities that provide control without moving the important project forward.
Pro tip Ask what you would start if the decks could never be fully clear.
- 3
Choose a reality-making action
Select one step that exposes the work to reality, such as drafting the chapter, studying the material, or launching the offer.
- 4
Act before control
Perform the meaningful step before completing the lower-stakes tasks that promise a perfectly ordered environment.
Pro tip Use a real deadline to interrupt perfectionism when one is available.
- 5
Release the imperfect result
Let the work enter the world at a sufficient standard and learn from the reception rather than preserving the fantasy.
Watch out Imperfect does not mean unsafe, deceptive, or careless.
- 6
Measure relative progress
Compare your behaviour with how you handled similar work before, not with a person who never hesitates.
In the wild
Burkeman says an important writing or thinking task can be displaced by inboxes, financial admin, and even straightening pens. Those tasks make his world feel controlled but do not move the work he cares about most.
→ Recognising the control-seeking pattern helps him begin the important work while loose ends remain.
Common mistakes
Waiting to feel ready
Readiness can become another fantasy state that postpones the contact with reality needed to improve.
Clearing every deck first
Inboxes and admin can always produce another loose end, so complete control never becomes a reliable start condition.
Using imperfection as an excuse
Acceptance of human limits permits action; it does not excuse avoidable harm or failure to meet necessary standards.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for creative, academic, or entrepreneurial work that remains safe and idealised while it stays unfinished.
Not ideal for
It is not a clinical explanation for every form of procrastination, which Burkeman says can have several causes.
From the transcript
“if you keep it in your mind in the world of fantasy it can stay perfect”
“the imperfection is guaranteed”
“they will never be clear”
From the episode
How To Finally Stop Procrastinating: Oliver Burkeman