The Academic Imperfectionist

Talk of optimising is everywhere these days, isn't it? If you don't want to be a complete loser, then you need to be optimising your workplace, your time, your social life, your holidays, your health, your nutrition, and everything else you care about. But this quest for optimisation is a trap, my friend. It's not the fix you think it is. In fact, the sort of optimisation you're after doesn't even make sense, and thinking otherwise is making you miserable. Settle in for a sub-optimal explanation of why you should forget about optimisation, and what you should be doing instead. 
Find the Wheel of Life exercise here.
References:
Steven Strogatz and Alex Townsend, 'The efficiency trap: why optimising everything can backfire, badly', The Guardian, 8th November 2026.
Catherine Houlihan, 'Optimising is just perfectionism in disguise. Here’s why that’s a problem', The Conversation, 16th October 2025.

Do you know which online tool to use for your expense claims? How about the one for requesting new library resources? Are you sure you used the latest template for your promotion application?  How confident are you that the process for getting essay questions approved is the same this year as it was last year? Are you update with all your online training? My friend, if you've ever thought to yourself 'I'm a bad colleague because I don't know the secret process for completing this simple task', felt frustrated at being asked to attend a webinar in order to fill in an online form, or worried that everyone except you is navigating this Kafkaesque mess, this episode is for you. Because it's not you. It's the system.

Think you can cope with a two-minute task? How about a zillion two-minute tasks? Do you do them right away, as they come in, to get them out the way? Or do you push them aside and risk forgetting about them? You could write them down to ensure you remember them, I suppose - but wouldn't it be just as quick to do them? But if you do them, how are you ever going to have time to do anything else - finish your thesis, submit that grant application, apply for that job? If you've ever sat down to tackle a quick bit of desk-clearing admin before you get on with the real work only to find yourself exhausted, hours later, having made no progress on the projects you actually care about, this episode is for you. Plug in the vacuum cleaner, friends. We're going in.

How often do you take breaks? Scrolling on your phone while your eyes sting with tiredness doesn't count. Do you even know what sorts of activities you find restorative? Do you remember what being relaxed feels like? And don't give me that 'I'm much happier when I'm busy, honest!' nonsense. If you find it hard to switch off and relax, that's not because you don't need a rest. It's because you're out of practice. But it's a skill you can learn (or re-learn) and have fun along the way. And, importantly, it's something you need to do before you crash and burn. Close that laptop and have a sit down with your Imperfectionist friend. Together, we'll locate your OFF switch.

With all the self-improvement advice that's out there these days, you could be forgiven for thinking that you have no excuse for feeling like your life is a mess. Here's an article about how to identify the right sort of to-do list for your personality type! Here's a quiz to tell you what career path best fits your star sign! Here's a t-shirt design that will help calm your nervous system! Sometimes, though, wading through this information takes more time, attention, motivation, and willpower than you currently have. Perhaps you're too overwhelmed even to open your calendar to see what you've got on today. Maybe even the thought of making a sandwich makes you want to cry.  If that's where you are today, I have you covered. I've boiled down some of my five best insights into little prompts that will take you 30 seconds. Dry your eyes and have a listen.
If you want these sanity-saving microfixes in a form that you can print out and stick above your desk (or crumple up and throw across the room, or rip therapeutically to shreds), you can download it here.
The BBC article mentioned in this episode is here.