I am a raging completionist. Whenever I get an idea in my head, I envision the end state of that idea, and then I want to work maddeningly on it until it’s done. Whenever I am delayed by something outside of my control, it itches.
Here’s another problem: I don’t instinctively like sharing my work while it’s in motion. And another: I think (incorrectly) that I do my best work alone.
All of these add up to a dilemma where I take on a project, then get stuck. I can’t finish immediately, and that frustrates me, and the frustration causes me to distance myself from other sources of help and inspiration, and thus I feel incomplete until I’ve ground my way out, using far more effort than should have been required.
Great advice I received today on this topic: you can’t get to a hundred percent without getting to five percent.
The Opportunity Machine 